Coyote nips two boys; officials setting out traps

BELLEVUE, Wash. – Two small boys were nipped by a coyote in this suburb east of Seattle, and state wildlife officers were setting traps to try to catch and euthanize the animal.

Jacob Town, 4, and Tristan Bec, 18 months, were released following treatment for minor puncture wounds and scratches at hospitals and were started on a series of rabies shots as a precaution.

Residents were advised to secure garbage, keep pet food and pets indoors or in a secure compound and avoid feeding stray cats, which often are prey for coyotes, among other protective measures.

The older child was nipped in the bottom Tuesday evening while playing in the front yard of his home while his mother was doing yard work nearby, and the toddler was bitten on the ear and scalp about an hour later while playing with his mother and brother at Eastgate Elementary School.

Cassandra Town said she didn’t see the first attack and learned what had happened only after her son said he’d been bitten by a dog and a commotion arose down the street when an adult neighbor reported being nipped by a coyote.

Rachelle Bec said she was about four feet from her little boy and had just turned her back to get a bottle of water from her stroller.

“When I turned back the coyote ran so fast and jumped on him and started to bite his ear,” Bec said. “I turned around and threw my water bottle at him and it kind of startled the coyote.”

Grade school Principal Anissa Bereano advised parents in a letter that children who walk to school go in groups and be accompanied by at least one adult. During recess the children will be barred from playing by a nearby greenbelt, supervisors will be given whistles and pupils walking outside will be given an adult escort, she added.

Capt. Bill Hebner of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife said the attacks were the most recent of five confirmed coyote encounters since March 2 in the Eastgate area, south of Interstate 90 and a couple miles north of Cougar Mountain Regional Wildlife Park. All likely involve the same animal because they were in the same area, he added.

Hebner said the biting was the first of which he was aware in 12 years of work in a region stretching from the Seattle area about 100 miles to the Canadian border. “It was just a matter of time. I expect this to be a recurring problem for a long time.”