Wildlife officials say 2 children injured in coyote attack near Westfield UTC

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Two children are recovering after being attacked by a coyote Tuesday night near the UTC Mall in La Jolla, according to the San Diego Police Department and California Fish & Wildlife officials.

According to SDPD, a 3-year-old girl was bitten on her arm and hip around 9 p.m. near the Crate and Barrel area on La Jolla Drive. The child was taken to Rady Children’s Hospital for treatment.

On Wednesday, officials with Fish and Wildlife confirmed to ABC 10News that another child was also injured in the incident, though no additional details were provided about the second victim’s condition or injuries.

ABC 10News reached out to the San Diego Humane Society to better understand why the coyote was so close to a shopping center.

“It’s actually very uncommon for coyotes to want to approach people. They’re naturally neophobic animals, so they have this natural fear of humans,” said Angela Hernandez-Cusick, Wildlife Rehabilitation Supervisor at SDHS’s Wildlife Center in Ramona.

Hernandez-Cusick, who works with coyotes at the San Diego Humane Society’s Wildlife Center in Ramona, explained that this time of year is when juvenile coyotes often leave their family groups to establish their own territories.

“They may be starting to leave their family groups and finding their own territories, essentially kind of figuring out what it is to live as a coyote,” Hernandez-Cusick said.

The UTC Mall’s proximity to canyons and greenbelts makes it more likely that coyotes will venture into urban areas, especially when searching for food.

“It’s not completely unheard of that they could still venture into those areas. Certainly, where there are a lot of people, there’s going to be a lot of garbage. There’s going to be other resources that they may not be able to find more readily in the natural areas,” Hernandez-Cusick said.

However, she emphasized that the attack itself was highly unusual behavior for a coyote.

When asked about the coyote biting the child on her arm and hip, Hernandez-Cusick said the behavior could indicate different motivations.

“We can speculate that it could have been some sort of prey motivation that maybe was enacted if the child moved a certain way, or maybe the child approached an area that the coyote wasn’t expecting,” Hernandez-Cusick said.

For parents who encounter coyotes, Hernandez-Cusick recommends using “hazing tactics” to deter the animals.

“Just remember, act big. It may help to shout, make loud noises,” Hernandez-Cusick said.