Coyote That Attacked a 2-Year-Old While Sitting on Porch in White Rock Valley Has Been Located

We hear them at night — the coyotes howling. Like many property owners, we think they are part of the appeal of our woodsy neighborhood. My husband and I sometimes see them when we come home, even once a pack of four in my driveway as I pulled into the garage alone one night. We also have seen bobcats.

But in our North Dallas neighborhood, neighbors lose cats and small pets to coyotes nearly weekly.

Now come reports that a 2-year-old Dallas boy underwent surgery this morning after being attacked by a coyote in White Rock Valley near Walnut Hill and Audelia. According to reports, the attack occurred while the child was on the front porch of his home this morning in the White Rock Trail area.

Initial reports said that the animal was shot at by police though it was not killed. It ran into the nearby woods that make this area so appealing. According to the most recent facts from Dallas Animal Services, “… the coyote has been located using DPD’s infrared drone and is isolated in a wooded area at this time. The city’s wildlife biologist has also arrived on the scene.”

A statement from DAS said that neighbors knew the animal and had been hand-feeding the coyote, too.

What do you do if you come across a coyote?

Dallas Animal Services issued this warning this morning directly after the coyote attack:

This morning, Dallas Police Department officers responded to a reported coyote attack on a two-year-old child in the White Rock Valley area. DPD officers, along with the assistance of the Game Warden, Parks and Recreation, and Dallas Animal Services, are actively searching for the coyote. If you live in this area and spot a coyote that does not appear to be afraid of humans, please call 911 and do not approach.

Dallas Animal Services’ investigation into this situation has made it clear that this specific coyote was well known in the neighborhood and residents were routinely hand-feeding and petting it. This behavior eroded the coyote’s natural fear of humans and gave it the confidence to carry out this attack. This tragic incident shows why it is critical that residents treat all wildlife as wild animals – when wild animals become too comfortable around humans, there is an increase in problematic and dangerous interactions such as this one that put both residents and the animal itself at risk.

Coyotes are generally reclusive animals who prefer to avoid human contact. Coyotes are wild animals and should be regarded as such. Citizens should never approach, interact with or feed wild animals. If a citizen encounters a coyote that has entered human territory, they should instead try to humanely scare it by employing hazing techniques that will help to re-establish the coyote’s natural wariness of humans.

Hazing Coyotes:

Use your body: The simplest method of hazing is making yourself loud and large. Stand tall, wave your arms and yell at the coyote until it runs away.

Use noisemakers: Try sounding off whistles, air horns, or bells; shake soda cans filled with pennies or pebbles; stomp your feet or bang pots and pans together.

Use projectiles: Toss sticks, small rocks, cans, tennis balls or rubber balls near the coyote to startle it (do not attempt to hit the coyote with these objects).

Others: Spray the coyote with a hose, or fill a water gun or spray bottle with vinegar water and spray at them. Pepper spray and bear repellant may also be used.

It may take several rounds of hazing before a coyote will cease returning to the location. Make sure pets and children are supervised at all times when outdoors.

Update:

According to several White Rock Valley neighbors, residents of the area reported the coyote they believe attacked the toddler in the weeks before it mauled the 2-year-old. In response to its statement on its Facebook page, many neighbors are refuting the allegation that residents had been feeding and petting the animal. Dallas Animal Services has responded to comments with this statement:

We did receive calls from this area regarding a coyote, however, the calls we received did not communicate what is considered unusual behavior for urban coyotes. Since this morning’s incident, we have received videos of this coyote exhibiting highly concerning behavior and screenshots of social media conversations describing direct human-coyote interactions. We’re working on educational materials in addition to the ones posted above that outline the differences between atypical and typical urban coyote behavior that will help improve resident-officer communication.

Many neighbors are upset about what they see as DAS blaming the neighborhood for the incident. In response to a comment from a Dallas resident, DAS said this:

DAS is in no way blaming the innocent victim of this attack or his family. We are trying to educate residents that socializing with a wild animal can have dangerous consequences to prevent similar occurrences. In no way are alleging that this family had any previous interactions with this coyote; our heart goes out to this boy and his family. We are actively working with DPD, Parks & Rec, and the Game Warden to capture this coyote and ensure there are no other incidents. DAS did receive calls from this area about coyote sightings – we receive hundreds of calls from all over the city each year about coyotes displaying “typical” urban coyote behavior that is best addressed through hazing practices. DAS’ priority is public safety, and we want to ensure that all calls are being handled appropriately, which is why our team is actively reviewing records of the calls in this area. We have not yet located any descriptions of behaviors that were atypical, but we will continue to review until all have been assessed.

And another response:

DAS’ investigation is far from complete. Though we believe that the majority of residents were taking safety precautions, we do have evidence that this was occurring in the neighborhood. We cannot speak to what was reported to the Game Warden as we are not part of the same organization and are not privy to their records; we are however actively reviewing our own records and have not yet completed that review.

Neighbors are also alleging that calls to DAS were met with no response.

DAS has completed an internal review of all calls received this year related to coyotes in the area surrounding White Rock Valley Park near where this morning’s coyote attack on a two year-old child occurred. We have located a cluster of calls near Walnut Hill Lane from earlier this year including calls regarding non-aggressive coyotes frequenting a nearby school playground. In response, DAS worked with parents and staff at the school to successfully haze the coyotes. Throughout the day, many residents have indicated on our social media that they made reports of coyotes in White Rock Valley Park; however, only one call has been identified from this immediate area and reported normal coyote behavior. DAS’ priority is public safety and we want to ensure that residents concerns are reaching us, so we ask that if you made a report to 3-1-1 regarding coyotes in or within blocks of this park, please send the SR# you received as part of your call confirmation to [email protected] so that we can investigate it directly. If you see unusual coyote behavior (aggression, lack of fear of people at close proximity) or sick or injured coyotes, please call 3-1-1 and describe the behavior you’ve witnessed as specifically as possible. Please note that DAS is not aware of reports on social media platforms or through other authorities such as the Texas game Warden, so calling 3-1-1 is key.

Additionally, a neighbor posted the following video from just days ago to the Dallas Animal Services Facebook page: