Posted by Wayne G. Barber
WELLFLEET – Officials from the Cape Cod National Seashore are urging visitors of the park to never feed the local wildlife after a coyote recently bit a child.
The bite happened on August 11 at approximately 8:30 on North Herring Cove Beach.
According to the Seashore, the child was taken to Cape Cod Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The coyote has since been shot by park rangers, who will also collect the animal so it can be tested for rabies.
Seashore officials said that summer rangers have been responding to incidents of coyotes acting assertively toward people in attempts to obtain food.
That behavior starts with people feeding the coyotes intentionally by leaving food out, or inadvertently by not removing food scraps and packaging from the beach.
They said that leads to the animals becoming habituated and bold in attempts to obtain food. 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.
Seashore officials urge visitors to report assertive coyote sightings to rangers or the dispatch center at 617-242-565
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