Colorado Officials Hunting Down Coyote That Attacked a 4-Year-Old Girl on Thanksgiving

Officials from Colorado’s Park and Wildlife are “aggressively pursuing” a coyote wanted for attacking a 4-year-old girl in Colorado Springs on Thanksgiving.

According to reports, the attack took place on Thursday afternoon when the little girl and her friend approached what they believed to be a dog. As the pair approached the wild animal, the coyote lunged at the 4-year-old girl and clamped its jaws down on the back of her head.

"This could have been much worse – a tragedy – if not for the quick action of the child’s father to stop the attack, rescue his daughter and scare the coyote off," said Tim Kroening, CPW’s Area Wildlife Manager for the Pikes Peak region.

The agency was made aware of the attack on Friday following the girl’s release from the hospital. News of the attack prompted a full-scale investigation and hunt for the coyote, but have admitted that identifying the exact coyote in question would be a difficult task.

Given the amount of coyotes known to frequent the area, CPW has vowed to lethally remove any coyote they come into contact with and will be testing all carcasses for human DNA and other diseases.

"We don’t know yet what brought the coyote into the yard with this child," Kroening said. "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."

The agency has used the incident to serve as a warning to those who might be thinking of blurring the lines between human and wildlife interactions. Reminding the public to keep their distance from coyotes and other animals, the agency is also asking the public to immediately report any aggressive coyotes.