The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation says they shot and killed the coyote they think is responsible for attacking people three people in North Tonawanda. But new tonight, the father of one of the victims isn't so sure the state killed the animal that bit his son.
Roger Bush has seen the coyotes in his backyard for years but he's never had one approach his family until recently. "I couldn't believe it. He's a young kid, so I was like, yeah, sure. But after that, sure I was concerned."
The attack happened on March 31st at 2am on Sweeney Street. The coyote circled Bush's son and then lunged at him. Bush said his 21-year-old son fortunately only has a puncture wound in his leg, but he still has to go through the series of rabies shots.
"The county stepped up and thank you very much. It was very nice of them to help with the shots," said Bush.
That's because no one knows for sure whether or not the coyote that bit Bush's son was rabid. The animal was never caught after that incident. But two more coyote attacks have been reported since then. The last one happened yesterday morning and a cop shot the animal when it approached his cruiser.
"We believe this is maybe the same coyote, the culprit in all three incidents in North Tonawanda," said Connie Adams, Senior Wildlife Biologist at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
The carcass of that coyote was tested and it was not rabid. The DEC says residents need not worry now that the animal has been destroyed.
"I believe the problem may have gone away when the officer dispatched the animal recently," said Adams.
But Bush doesn't think the problem is solved. "I think they should address it. I don't think they've solved the problem by shooting one coyote down on the boulevard."
He doubts that one coyote was behind all three attacks when there are so many coyotes in his backyard. "They keep multiplying. That's part of nature and life," said Bush.
There is no way to know for sure how many coyotes there are in North Tonawanda. The animals tend to have a fear of humans but as coyote habitats grow closer to residential areas, the animals have started to lose that fear. March and April is the time of the year when coyote-human encounters are most likely to happen, because that's when coyote mothers are nesting and hunting for food.
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