Neighbour recounts helping Winnipeg boy attacked, injured by coyote

A nine-year-old Winnipeg boy is at home recoveringafter being mauled by a coyote on the northern edge of the city Saturday evening in what policedescribeas an exceedingly rare event.

The boy and his sister, 15, were walking in the area of Popko Crescent and Knowles Avenuewhen they noticed the animal,which chased them when they ran from it, according to a Sunday news release from Winnipeg police.

The boy was mauled before someonein the area chased the coyoteaway, police said.

That someone was Logan Funk, 18, who told CBChe heard the boy screaming on his front street around 6:45 p.m. He looked out his living room window,saw the coyote chasing the boy and saidhe knew he had to act.

"This is a little kid people need to go out there and help this boy, right? It could have been worse," said Funk.

Funk ran outside and screamed at the animal, which ran away into a nearby yard about 20 metres away.

Funk said he then ran to get a neighbour to help andto get water and paper towel for the boy, who had "marks" on the back of his head.

Noticing the coyote was still lingering nearby, Funk said he grabbed a shovel and chased it off into a nearby street.

Soon after, his driveway was flooded with neighbourswho had come to help, he said, and police and paramedics arrived shortly as well.

The boy had suffered "significant injuries" to his upper and lower bodyand was taken to hospital,Winnipeg Police Service spokesperson Const. Jason Michalyshensaid.

Hospital wait traumatic, family says

The boy's family said in an email to CBC thattheyare grateful to their neighbours for helping their child, but sitting in the hospital for hours afterward only added to the trauma he hadalready experienced.

"Our health-care system is broken and isn't robust enough to handle one serious injury in a timely manner," wrote the family, who asked for privacy and declined an interview.

"Our poor boy sat with an open scalp for hours, which lengthened the trauma he had already endured and made treating the gaping wound on his head that much more difficult," they said.

The family said the boy waited nearly three hours to see a nurse at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre, and nearly six hours for treatment. He was treated with staples and stitches to his scalp, was given a rabies shot and sent home early Sunday morning.

They said theyunderstandthis lengthy wait time was no fault of the staff, but "a direct reflection of the limited resources available to them." The family hopesthe attack brings more awareness to the "health-care crisis," as well as to the "ongoing coyote problem" in the area.

The area where the attack took place is a newer development bordering on a large expanse of open land just south of the Perimeter Highway.

Neighbours who spoke to CBC after theattack said they had seen alarge coyote stalking up and down the streets for weeks, and that a coyote had attacked house pets.

Michalyshen said it's not uncommon for police to get calls about coyote sightings, but rare to see one where a coyote has attacked a person.

"What's uncommon here is the contact made ... to my knowledge that's never happened ... incredibly rare," he said.

'Hazing' to scare off coyotes

Police advisedthe public to practice "hazing" to deter coyotes should they approach. That's the act of making yourself appear large and sound loud to scare the animal off.

"Examples of hazing include raising a jacket or another piece of clothing above your head to appear larger and shouting. A safety whistle is another option for creating noise," police said in the release.

Police are working with Manitoba's Conservation Officer Service regarding the attack, said Michalyshen. On Sunday, conservation and police officers were seen staging in a parking lot of an area church bordering an empty field.

"I think they're confident they will be able to identify, locate and manage that coyote hopefully sooner than later," Michalyshen said.

Funk said coyote sightings in the area are common, something he attributesto a high concentration of geese, rabbits and other wildlifenearby.

Winnipeg boy attacked, injured by coyote

1 year ago

Duration 1:57

A nine-year-old Winnipeg boy is at home recovering after being mauled by a coyote on the northern edge of the city Saturday evening in what police describe as an exceedingly rare event.