Colo. Girl, 4, Approached Animal She Thought Was Dog. It Was Actually a Coyote, Who Attacked Child

Mar. 15, 2025

Stock photo of a coyote.Photo:Getty

Getty

The incident took place late in the afternoon on Thanksgiving Day in Colorado Springs, Colo., officials from the Colorado Parks and Wildlifesaidin a statement.

“The agency is reminding everyone to be vigilant of their children and pets when living amid wildlife,” the Colorado Parks and Wildlife statement said.

Park officials said the girl was attacked when she and another child “approached a coyote crouching behind a tree, thinking it was a dog.”

“The coyote lunged at the girl, grabbing the back of her head, inflicting serious injuries that resulted in an overnight stay at a hospital,” the park officials statement said.

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife agency says the 4-year-old girl was released from the hospital after the attack, adding that its officers are now on the lookout to “pursue the coyote” and hunt the animal.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

The agency says that despite it being “impossible to identify the exact coyote, CPW and its partners will lethally remove any coyote it can find in the vicinity of the attack.” The wildlife agency says whatever “carcasses” it collects from killing coyotes in the area where the attack occurred “will be sent to a health lab to be examined for human DNA and tested for diseases, like rabies.”

“We don’t know yet what brought the coyote into the yard with this child,” Kroening, the Aeea Wildlife Manager, added in his statement. “But it’s an important reminder to everyone to be alert and haze wild animals away from their homes and neighborhoods. That goes for deer, fox, bobcat, bears and other animals. Don’t let them get comfortable around people. If you see them, throw rocks at them, yell at them. And if you notice aggressive behavior, call us immediately. We’ll try to remove any aggressive animals.”

source: people.com