After a 14-year-old and then a 2-year-old were attacked by a coyote on Sunday night in Rye Brook, a police officer fatally shot the apparently "mangy" animal yesterday. The Journal News reports, "He and trappers witnessed the sickly creature turn on its own pup and bite its head off."
The coyote had lunged at a trapper, who had been following it; Jim Horton told the Journal NEs, "I hit, it flipped over, then it lunged at me again. Then I just chased it through the woods for 45 minutes." Then, when the coyote's pup appeared, "The mother started chewing on its head."
It's believed that the coyote attacked Eric Mandel, 14, who said he managed to fend her off by slapping her twice. He added, "It was just really skinny and the fur was all loose and not how a coyote’s fur should look like, and it wasn’t walking, you know, normal." Later in the evening, Jared Zuckerman grabbed his daughter when a coyote scratched her arm; the coyote bit him on his leg and then ran off. He and his daughter were treated for rabies; DNA swabs from their wounds were also taken to see if they match the coyote that was killed.
Rye Brook has been tracking coyotes this summer after other attacks. Police Sergeant Rich Carroll said, "We've had at least 150 sightings all over the village. They are just following the food supply, which are turkeys."
