This Day in History: Taylor Mitchell, 19, a Canadian folk singer, was killed by a pair of coyotes on this day in 2009 while hiking in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, in the only known fatal coyote attack on an adult.
The only known fatal coyote attack on a child happened on August 26, 1981 when three-year-old Los Angeles resident Kelly Lynn Keen was dragged off her property and fatally wounded by a coyote.
Coyotes are known to attack children and there have been 35 of such incidents in California alone:
In August 1979, in La Verne, a coyote attacked a 5-year-old girl. Her father and a neighbor saved the child from being dragged off, but not before she had suffered deep bites on neck, head, and legs.
In July 1980, in Agoura Hills, a coyote grabbed a 13-month-old girl by the midsection and started dragging her off. She suffered puncture wounds but was saved by her mother.
In August 1988, in Oceanside, a coyote bit the rollerskate of an 8-year-old girl who had just fallen but was chased away by two women throwing rocks. Another coyote grabbed a 3-year-old girl by the leg, pulled her down, and bit her on her head and neck before her mother and neighbors chased it off.
In May 1992, in San Clemente, a coyote attacked a 5-year-old girl, biting her several times on her back and legs. She climbed her swing set to escape, and her mother chased the coyote off.
In March 1995, in Griffith Park, a 5-year-old girl was knocked down twice by a coyote and bitten, before being saved by her mother.
In June 1996, in Los Altos, a coyote grabbed a 3-year-old boy's head and hand and began dragging him toward some bushes before he was saved by his 15-year-old brother.
In June 2001, in Northridge, a coyote attacked and seriously injured a 7-year-old girl, but was finally fought off by her mother.
In July 2001, in Irvine, a coyote bit a 3-year-old boy in the leg while he was playing in his yard. He was saved by his father.
In December 2001, in San Gabriel, a coyote bit a 3-year-old girl in the head, grabbed her shoulder and started to drag her away, but was chased off by her father.
In August 2003, in Apple Valley, a coyote attacked a 4-year-old boy on a golf course, biting him on the face and neck before he was saved by his father.
On June 28, 2010, a coyote jumped on a twelve-year-old girl in Spring Valley. The girl fell backwards and injured her elbow, but she was not bitten.
On July 18, 2013, at about 3:15 p.m., at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cypress, a two-year-old girl was attacked by a coyote while playing about ten feet away from her mother, who was visiting her grandmother's grave. The coyote grabbed the playing child and started to drag her off into the bushes, but dropped the child and ran away when "lunged at" by the mother. The child was hospitalized for a 2.5 inch gash to the leg and began precautionary treatment for rabies. Authorities killed three coyotes at the cemetery later that day, and cemetery officials ordered warning signs be posted and traps be set around the cemetery but away from public areas. On October 9, the mother filed suit alleging that the cemetery, by not warning her of the risk, had liability.
On November 16, 2014, a woman claimed that her four-year-old daughter was knocked down by a coyote outside her Hollywood, home. After the attack, the Department of Fish and Wildlife investigated but couldn't find any coyote, and a local television news program described the attack as "alleged".
On December 25, 2014, in Fremont, California, just after 6:00 p.m., a boy was bitten in an attack by an apparently sick coyote. He was saved by his father. Before the attack, about a block away, the coyote had attacked and bitten the leg of a man walking his children to his car outside a home. After the attack, the coyote chased and bit a jogger on a nearby street but ran away when kicked; the police shot and killed the coyote, which tested negative for rabies.
On January 12, 2015, in Ladera Ranch, outside a baby girl's residence, an injured coyote tried to attack and grab the girl from her mother's arms. The mother fought the animal off enough to get inside to safety. After the attack, the coyote killed two dogs and was being pursued by authorities.
On May 22, 2015, in Irvine, a three-year-old girl was picking up after their dog that she, her twin sister, and her mother had been walking, when a coyote ran out of a hedge and attempted to bite the back of her neck, but was saved by her mother and other nearby adults. After the attack, the Department of Fish and Wildlife attempted to track and trap the coyote. Before the attack, a coyote had reportedly chased another girl in the same area.
On May 22, 2015, in Irvine at Silverado Park, a two-year-old girl was in her garage when the door was opened and a coyote in the driveway came in and bit her on the neck and cheek.
On October 14, 2015, in Irvine, a thirty-one-year-old man and his three-year-old son were attacked by a coyote while they were in a garden.
On October 9, 2016, in Irvine at Springbrook Park, a coyote bit a six-year-old boy. The boy's father along with bystanders shouted at it and one woman threw sand, and the coyote ran away.
On July 22, 2016, a coyote bit a seventeen-year-old girl on her leg at Grant Rea Park in Montebello.
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