{"id":502399,"date":"2026-10-20T16:54:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T16:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/502399\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T16:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T16:54:09","slug":"residents-fear-wild-coyote-becoming-too-comfortable-in-la-neighborhood-los-angeles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/502399\/","title":{"rendered":"Residents fear wild coyote becoming too comfortable in LA neighborhood | Los Angeles"},"content":{"rendered":"

One Los Angeles<\/a> neighborhood has been at war over a wild coyote, and over the weekend it all came to a head.<\/p>\n

For months, the animal had been roaming the trendy Atwater Village, showing up in broad daylight, sleeping in back yards and approaching residents. At least one person had reportedly fed the coyote and others affectionately nicknamed it Wiley. But some residents feared the creature had become dangerously too cozy.<\/p>\n

On Friday evening, the coyote entered a family\u2019s back yard and attacked a 16-month-old boy. When the boy and his mother fled to their house, the animal followed them inside and was reluctant to leave, according to local news station KTLA<\/a>. The child was treated at a hospital and discharged.<\/p>\n

\u201cA coyote was seen at the location where the incident occurred, and it was euthanized,\u201d said a spokesperson for the California department of fish and wildlife. He added that DNA samples were collected from both the boy and the coyote. \u201cThose samples have been analyzed and confirmed the coyote that was taken is the offending animal.\u201d<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t the first time the coyote showed aggressive behavior. Apparently, the animal had a track record of stalking people in the neighborhood. Door-camera videos showed footage of residents screaming when the coyote approached and the animal chasing a cat up a tree, according to KTLA.<\/p>\n

When local public radio station KCRW posted a story<\/a> on Instagram in August titled \u201cIs Wiley welcome in your neighborhood?\u201d, commenters were torn. One person wrote: \u201cI live here; I say he stays. It\u2019s as much his home as anyone else\u2019s.\u201d While another cautioned: \u201cWe gotta stay vigilant tho lmfao. Homie be casually prowling in the driveway.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rebecca Dmytryk, who lives in Atwater Village and is the CEO of Humane Wildlife Control, told the Los Angeles Times<\/a> that she filed a complaint in July to fish and wildlife asking that the agency speak with the man who was reportedly feeding the coyote, but she didn\u2019t hear back.<\/p>\n

\u201cSingle coyote reported loitering and hanging out in the person\u2019s backyard sleeping on top of vehicle,\u201d read Dmytryk\u2019s complaint, according to the Los Angeles<\/a> Times. \u201cCoyote reportedly following people as they will do when they are human conditioned, associating humans with handouts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other residents also filed complaints with the city and state, but say no action was taken. A spokesperson for fish and wildlife told the Los Angeles Times that the agency followed up on tips it received and is investigating the allegations of feeding the coyote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis situation required intervention long before a child was injured,\u201d Dmytryk told the newspaper. \u201cNow a child has been hurt, and a coyote is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n