A father in Los Angeles came face to face with a nightmare situation when a coyote attacked his 2-year-old daughter on Friday on the family’s front lawn.
The family told Fox News that the girl is okay after sustaining non-life-threatening injuries and being treated in the hospital. She also received a Rabies vaccination due to the unknown status of the coyote.
According to the girl’s mother, “She has a lot of scratches on her left leg and one of them is really deep.”
The mother, Shira Eliyahou, added that “the coyote just kind of dragged her, so her face is also a little bit bruised.”
In the terrifying scene, which was captured by the family’s Ring alarm doorbell, The girl can be seen exiting her father’s SUV and walking toward the house as the vicious coyote snatches her leg.
Ariel Eliyahou, the father, sees his dad-reflexes kick in as he quickly goes to save his daughter from the grip of the coyote which was dragging her down the sidewalk. As he helped his daughter back to her feet Ariel keeps a watchful eye on the dog that is now standing only a few feet away.
After trying to chase the animal away and being unsuccessful, Ariel grabs what appears to be a rock and hurls it, scaring away the coyote for good and saving his daughter before bringing her inside the house.
Here is a video of the incident.
According to the Humane Society, Coyote attacks are very rare, and severe injuries from these attacks are even rarer.
“Coyote attacks on people are very rare. More people are killed by errant golf balls and flying champagne corks each year than are bitten by coyotes.”
They go on to explain the extent of danger that coyotes pose in the United States and Canada.
“There have only been two recorded incidences in the United States and Canada of humans being killed by coyotes. One involved a child in Southern California in the 1980s and the other a 19-year old woman in Nova Scotia in 2009. These events, rare as they are, are serious and warrant serious response.”
This does not mean that coyotes are benign creatures and that bites carry no risk to humans.
The Humane Society says that coyotes are potential carriers of rabies, so vaccination after a bite seems to be a must.
They also note that coyotes are not scared of humans, which was on display in the above video where the coyote is not quick to retreat from an adult male.
This often happens due to coyotes being fed by people or living in close proximity to humans for a long period of time, and it increases the risk of dangerous encounters like these.
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