A 16-month-old toddler was injured in a coyote encounter in Los Angeles’ Atwater Village on Friday, prompting wildlife officers to euthanize an animal found nearby that same evening.
The child was hurt on the 3300 block of Glenhurst Avenue, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed. Officers responded to the neighborhood and located a coyote in the vicinity later that night. The animal was put down, according to the department.
The toddler received treatment at a local hospital and was subsequently released, officials said.
Investigators collected DNA samples from both the child and the euthanized coyote to determine whether that specific animal was responsible for the injuries. The department has not yet confirmed whether testing will establish a link.
The incident has stirred fresh alarm in a community where residents had already spent months warning about an aggressive coyote they nicknamed “Wiley.” In August, the animal was spotted wandering through Atwater Village and was reportedly seen chasing children, according to local reports at the time. Some neighbors suspected a resident had been feeding the coyote, a practice that can habituate wildlife to human contact and increase dangerous encounters.
“We’ve run into the coyote maybe a few times a week. Every time we go walking,” Libby Stankaitis, a local resident, said Los Angeles in prior coverage of the neighborhood’s concerns.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife used Friday’s incident to remind residents that feeding wildlife is illegal under state law. Officials urged property owners to secure their premises and eliminate any food sources or attractants that might draw coyotes into residential areas.
Not all locals supported the decision to kill the animal. “I think coyotes are doing great in the urban area, and I think it’s sad that we’re putting them down,” Jacob Wollner told the news station in earlier interviews about the neighborhood’s coyote situation.
Wildlife officials have not specified whether the coyote euthanized Friday was the same “Wiley” that prompted the August complaints. The department also declined to detail exactly what transpired during the encounter, describing it only as an incident in which the child was injured “after an incident involving a coyote.”
The August sightings of Wiley had already put Atwater Village on edge before Friday’s injury. Residents reported regular appearances of the animal near homes and sidewalks where children walk, creating a sustained source of anxiety that the latest incident has now intensified.
Wildlife officials recommend that residents maintain a safe distance from coyotes and slowly back away if they encounter one. Adults should keep young children and pets close, make loud noises, and wave their arms to appear larger if a coyote approaches. If physical contact occurs, officials advise fighting back and immediately contacting animal control or calling 911.