‘It stared them down and then lunged’: child injured in coyote attack on mend

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This article was published 27/06/2023 (851 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A coyote that attacked a nine-year-old Winnipeg boy Saturday lunged at the child while he waited for the animal to move past him, his mother told the Free Press on Tuesday.

The woman said her son, who is recovering at home, is not complaining of pain even though 24 stitches and staples were needed to close wounds on the back of his head.

“It honestly amazes me how resilient he is,” the mother wrote in a statement.

The boy also suffered severe puncture wounds on his legs during what was believed to be Manitoba’s first documented coyote attack on a human.

He was with his sister when he was mauled near Knowles Avenue and Popko Crescent in the North Kildonan neighbourhood at about 6:45 p.m.

Their mother said she and her husband had previously taught “coyote safety measures” to the children.

“They spotted the coyote. They knew not to approach or run,” the woman wrote. “They waited for it to move past them, but it stared them down and then lunged for them. Their base instincts when that happened was to run. I can’t imagine I would have reacted any differently.”

After hearing the boy’s screams, neighbour Logan Funk, 18, grabbed a shovel and chased the coyote away.

The mother said the animal still lingered and had to be chased off further.

She claimed the coyote had been seen acting in a similarly “brazen way” several times recently. “Until he is caught, I would caution people to just be very aware of their surroundings.”

“Until he is caught, I would caution people to just be very aware of their surroundings.”–Boy’s mother

Conservation officers continued to search for the coyote Tuesday afternoon. The animal will be euthanized if it is captured.

Human safety is the priority, said Janine Wilmot, a human-wildlife co-existence biologist with Manitoba Natural Resources and Northern Development.

“An animal that has been involved in an attack on a person would be at an increased risk to do that behaviour again,” she said. “If there’s any potential for genetic basis for their behaviour, that would be removed from the population.”

Wilmot is not aware of any previous documented attacks in Manitoba.

The boy’s parents, who were out when the incident happened, thanked people who helped him and have supported him through the ordeal.

“Everyone came together so quick to help,” his mother wrote.

She said an emergency room doctor, who was home nearby, provided care and calmed the child while they waited for paramedics.

Long wait for care: mother

The woman praised members of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service and police service, and Children’s Hospital staff — while levelling criticism toward Shared Health, the hospital’s operator.

“Our issue with our time at Children’s Hospital is in no way a reflection of the staff,” the woman wrote. “We want to make that very clear. Our problems come from the long wait times and the overall rundown-ness of the building itself.”

She claimed her son went more than three hours with no one really checking on him. The parents were eventually told ER staff would close the wounds, after waiting for a surgery consult.

“This took choreographing because there are only two ER doctors on staff, and if our son was to be put under sedation, both need to be present,” the woman wrote. “It was impossible to manage.

“We opted to keep him awake with freezing, just to get it attended to quicker. He got his procedure around 1:21 a.m. So, those six hours of basically waiting was terrible.”

“We just thought that coming in via ambulance with a very bad head wound that was actively bleeding from a wild animal attack would garner some urgency.”–Boy’s mother

The boy was sent home around 4 a.m. Sunday.

“We just thought that coming in via ambulance with a very bad head wound that was actively bleeding from a wild animal attack would garner some urgency,” the mother wrote.

“We understand that they are short-staffed, and were trying to figure out the best course of action with the staff and resources they have, which I’m sure is frustrating for them as well.”

A Shared Health spokesman said 39 patients arrived over a four-hour period at the children’s emergency department, resulting in longer waits for some.

Priority was given to patients deemed to be the sickest and most injured.

ER staffing was “stable,” and Saturday’s median wait times were at or near national benchmark targets, the spokesman said.

Don’t run from coyotes: biologist

Wilmot said coyotes that use human-based food sources, such as garbage or compost piles, tend to be the ones more likely to attack humans.

People should keep their garbage secure and clean up food waste in their yards, including fallen fruit or bird seed, she added.

If approached by a coyote, remain calm and pick up any small children or pets. Never turn and run.

“That can make you perceived as prey,” said Wilmot. “It can stimulate that instinctive chase response in a coyote.”

Dogs should be on a leash at all times during walks.

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Wilmot suggested people carry deterrents such as a walking stick, whistle, tennis ball to throw, or noise maker.

About 70 coyote sightings or encounters are reported in Winnipeg each year, according to Wilmot.

The province doesn’t conduct coyote population surveys.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @chriskitching

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.