5-year-old bitten by coyote in Arlington Sunday

ARLINGTON, Mass. — A 5-year-old is recuperating Monday after a bite from a coyote. It happened around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, while it was still bright out. That 5-year-old was playing in a sandbox by himself when, all of a sudden, the coyote approached.

“Half an hour before that we were driving up Oak Hill, and we saw a coyote cross the street in front of our car just one house away where all of this happened,” said Hedrick Ellis of Arlington.

Neighbors were familiar with coyotes in their backyards, but not this kid who was visiting from Belmont. Police said he turned around to get away, and that’s when the coyote bit him in the leg.

“It’s very sad but not surprising,” said Mary Reeves of Arlington. “We see a lot of coyotes in the area, during the day, not just at night. I wouldn’t go out at night for that fact. Just like last week, we saw one walk down the street. There are lots of them; it’s not like you just see one.”

“Whenever there is a police siren, I think they think it’s a coyote, so all of the coyotes in the den here and the den over there, they call back and forth,” said Ellis.

Arlington HHS shared tips from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife for safely avoiding interactions with coyotes:

• Never provide food for coyotes or do anything to attract them. Coyotes rely on natural food and typically remain wild and wary of humans.
• Prevent coyotes from accessing food sources, food – including snacks – pet food, birdseed and food-related trash that can also attract coyotes and other wildlife. Left outside, these foods encourage wild animals to visit residential areas.
• Only feed pets indoors and keep dumpster and trash areas clean, as well as keeping trash containers covered.
• Spend time outdoors. Coyotes generally try to avoid humans, and their natural fear is reinforced when play areas, backyards and trails are actively used by people. The regular presence of people is a deterrent for coyotes to visit.
• Protect pets from coyotes. Although free-roaming pets are more likely to be killed by automobiles than by wild animals, coyotes do view cats and small dogs as potential food and larger dogs as competition. For the safety of your pets, keep them leashed and under your supervision at all times. Also, remember to feed your pets indoors to avoid attracting wildlife.

If you encounter a coyote, Project Coyote recommends taking steps to scare it away; these steps are known as hazing:

• Stand your ground: Make eye contact and advance toward the coyote while actively hazing until it retreats. Allow room for it to retreat.
• Make sure the coyote is focused on you as a source of danger. Do not haze from a building or car where it can’t clearly see you.
• Continue your hazing efforts, even if there is more than one coyote present.
• Use multiple tools, such as loud sound, light and exaggerated motion.
• Hazing should be exaggerated, assertive and consistent. Coyotes have routine habits, so make note of when and where you encounter them. Ask your neighbors to assist in scaring them off.
• If a coyote appears sick or injured, do not attempt to haze it.
• Hazing should be avoided in the months of March through July, as well as if the coyote is a comfortable distance away, or if you encounter a coyote in an open area where a den may be nearby. You should haze a coyote if it approaches you or if you see it comfortably walking in a neighborhood or park.

Still, residents in Arlington said the families of coyotes are getting bolder.

“I will scream, throw little pebbles at them, make lots of noise. Sometimes they go away, sometimes they’ll just hang out,” Ellis said. “We have a lot of rabbits in our yard, and that’s what they probably come for.”

Ellis said he has a three-foot fence in his backyard that coyotes jump over, and now he has to double the size of his fence to keep coyotes away so his family or pets don’t have the same interaction that 5-year old did.

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