Trappers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture shot and killed the coyote that bit a 5-year-old girl in the buttock last week at the San Francisco Botanical Garden.
As the girl played with other children at the garden Friday around 11 a.m., she tripped and fell, according to California Department of Fish and Wildlife Captain Patrick Foy. A coyote then scurried over to her and bit her in the buttock. Nearby park officials tried to scare away the coyote, which he said was attempting to get closer to the children, Foy added.
Foy said park officials were ultimately successful in staving off the coyote.
The girl received medical attention at the garden and an ambulance was called to the scene, but the child’s parents opted to drive her to a hospital, Gardens of Golden Gate Park spokesperson Brendan Lange said. Though all parties made it out alright, officials closed the park Friday after the bite out of an abundance of caution, Lange added.
At the hospital, officials with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife met with the family and swabbed the girl’s bite wound, scraping traces of the coyote’s DNA.
USDA trappers also reported to the botanical garden after the bite. They laid traps around the garden in hopes of capturing the coyote, but those traps were not successful. Within an hour of the original bite, trappers defaulted to shooting and killing three nearby coyotes by rifle, according to Foy.
One of those coyotes was, in fact, the one that bit the girl, Foy said. To ensure the culprit coyote was killed, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife compared the dead coyote’s DNA with DNA samples swabbed from the child’s wound.
The coyote attacked the child in pupping season, during which coyotes can be especially protective of their young offspring.
When there are frequent coyote sightings, Recreation and Park Department spokesperson Tamara Barak Aparton said the department places signs to alert passersby and provide information on how to “haze” a coyote, the process of warding them off and maintaining their fear of humans.
Usually open on weekends, Lange said the garden was partially closed Saturday and completely closed Sunday after the bite. It fully reopened just Monday morning, Lange also said.
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