Child recovering after coyote attack in Winnipeg – Winnipeg | 24CA News
Logan Funk was in his front room Saturday night when he heard screams for assist coming from exterior.
He peeked out his window solely to see what he thought was a canine attacking a boy.
Funk, 18, rushed out the door of his North Kildonan dwelling to discover a nine-year-old being mauled by a coyote. He managed to chase it off and flagged down others for assist.
Residents quickly got here out of their properties to are inclined to the boy whereas Funk grabbed a shovel to scare the animal additional away.
“They’re not afraid of people, not afraid of dogs,” Funk stated of an rising variety of coyotes he’s seen within the North Winnipeg neighbourhood.
Police say the boy and his 15-year-old sister had been strolling across the Popko Crescent and Knowles Avenue space simply earlier than 7 p.m. when the coyote ran in the direction of them as they tried to flee.
The household of the sufferer confirmed he obtained stitches in his head and is recovering at dwelling.
This is the second time in latest months coyotes have been noticed encroaching in on metropolis limits. In December 2022 a canine approached an elementary pupil at Emerson School in the identical neighbourhood.
The pupil wasn’t injured, however the college saved college students indoors for the remainder of the day as a precaution.
Barrett Miller, supervisor of group companies at FortWhyte Alive stated regardless of the rising variety of coyotes being noticed across the metropolis, assaults on folks stay unusual.
“It’s not like it’s happening all the time,” he stated.
The supervisor stated coyotes are about as harmful as canines – with out millennia of domestication behind them.
“You don’t trust it, you don’t turn your back and you certainly don’t do anything to invite it closer to you.”
In December 2022 the province stated it receives, on common, 70 studies of coyote-human interactions in Winnipeg annually, although most are sightings and never conflicts.
Miller stated 9 out of ten aggressive encounters with coyotes within the metropolis contain small canines, and pet house owners must be vigilant when out strolling with them.
“Whether you live in a suburban area or right downtown … we do have wildlife around us,” he stated.
Securing meals sources and by no means feeding the animals can deter them from infiltrating residential neighbourhoods, whereas utilizing the hazing approach — changing into loud or elevating a jacket or piece of clothes to seem greater — can scare off a coyote if it approaches, Miller stated.
For Funk, the assault is a reminder there’s power in numbers.
“Parents need to be more vigilant and protective of children and to not let your kid walk alone.”
— with recordsdata from Global’s Katherine Dornian and Amy-Ellen Prentice
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
