Coyote killed after attacking 3-year-old girl on beach at Cape Cod National Seashore

A coyote bit a child Wednesday inside Cape Cod National Seashore and it was subsequently shot by rangers, according to the National Park Service.

The attack is the latest in a series of aggressive coyote incidents at Cape Cod, including one last month involving a woman who had to be rescued off a beach while being circled by a “relentless” coyote.

Park officials did not not release the identity of the injured child.

“At approximately 8:30 p.m., a coyote bit a 3-year-old female on North Herring Cove Beach,” the park reported in a release.

“The child was taken to Cape Cod Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Park rangers identified, shot, and killed the coyote responsible for the bite. After the coyote was shot, it ran into thick dune vegetation and died.”

A blood trail was tracked Thursday morning and rangers found the animal “approximately 50 yards from where the ranger shot it,” according to an update.

It tested negative for rabies infection, the park reported Friday morning.

The incident marks the second time in 15 months that an aggressive coyote has been shot at Herring Cove Beach, according to news releases.

The previous incident was in May 2020 when rangers said they “killed a coyote that had been acting aggressively around people.” Days earlier, a coyote had bitten a park visitor on the beach and killed a dog, officials said.

Coyotes in the region grow to nearly 50 pounds and are known to “maintain a territory” of up to 30 square miles, the state says.

“This summer, rangers have been responding to incidents of coyotes acting assertively toward people in attempts to obtain food,” park officials said.

“This behavior starts with people feeding the coyotes intentionally by leaving food out, or inadvertently by not removing food scraps and packaging from the beach. ... When wild animals lose their fear of people, they behave unpredictably and aggressively, resulting in injuries to people and a sad ending for the habituated animal.”

This story was originally published August 13, 2021 at 8:18 AM with the headline "Coyote killed after attacking 3-year-old girl on beach at Cape Cod National Seashore."