Coyote that attacked 2-year-old is euthanized in California

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Wildlife authorities caught and euthanized a coyote that attacked a 2-year-old child at a Southern California park earlier this week, officials said.

The attack happened Tuesday around 8:30 p.m. at Mile Square Park in the city of Fountain Valley southeast of Los Angeles, police said.

“California Department of Fish and Wildlife obtained a DNA sample from the victim’s clothing, which conclusively proved to be a coyote responsible for the attack,” police said in a statement Friday.

Fish and Wildlife trapped the coyote at the park and killed it.

The child was recovering from unspecified injuries, police said.

In late April, a coyote bit a 2-year-old girl on Huntington Beach, just a few miles south of Fountain Valley. That coyote was later shot dead.

Coyotes are found almost everywhere in California, including cities, and authorities have long warned that small children and pets can be at risk, even though attacks are rare.

Last year, Fish and Wildlife began workshops to help communities deal with coyotes because of an increase in the number conflicts with people.