TORONTO – Residents in an Oakville neighbourhood are on high alert after an 8-year old girl was bitten by a coyote.
Just before 4:00 PM Thursday, 8 year old Julia Couto was bitten by a coyote naer Canonridge Circle and Westoak Trails Blvd in Oakville.
Julia was playing with a friend, when she saw a coyote hop a fence. The coyote bit Julia in the leg. The two girls ran into the house with the coyote in pursuit. “It felt like someone slapping me, really hard in the leg…I almost tripped when I was running up the stairs, and I felt like it was right behind me, jump on my leg and rip off a big piece of skin.” Said Julia.
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She called 911 and moment later, Halton Regional Police Officers were able to track the coyote down and shoot it.
According to Amanda Barrett, Manager of Animal Protective Services from the Oakville and Milton Humane Society, public health will be testing part of the coyote for rabies.
The coyote was living behind a small ravine near the house. Julia’s mother confirms that coyotes are common in the area. “We’ve been hearing lots of things about this coyote, one of Julias, good friends, their mother was walking their dog, coyote attacked the dog they were walking… it’s been a concern in the neighbourhood.”
Coyote sightings, popping up all across the GTA, have spawned a public meeting at the Aurora Town Hall. Wildlife experts say coyote attacks against humans are extremely rare but there maybe a reason we are seeing them more. The Toronto Wildlife Centre confirms that in the winter time it’s more difficult for coyotes to find food than in summer when plentiful, so the coyotes may have to spend more time doing it, which can bring them closer to people’s homes.
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