Though she will require multiple rabies shots, Ariya Eliyahuo was able to avoid serious injuries after a coyote attack thanks to her dad.
The 2-year-old was attacked by the coyote in front of her Los Angeles home.
The girl’s father, Ariel Eliyahuo, said the attack occurred around 3:45 p.m. after he brought his kids home from daycare.
Video from the family’s doorbell camera caught the attack.
It shows the coyote running up to the child and knocking her down before he starts to drag her across the round.
It happened so quickly that his dad didn’t realize what was going on until he heard his daughter’s cries.
“I heard Ariya scream. I thought she fell down,” Ariel said. “I ran immediately to see what was going on and I saw the coyote attack her. I picked her up in my arms and tried to make the coyote go away.”
You can hear people off-camera screaming in horror.
Once Ariel scooped his daughter up in his arms, he tried to get the coyote to go away by shooing him.
He then threw a water bottle at it as it was running away.
He brought his daughter inside and then ran after it with a board.
Ariel’s wife noticed blood on Ariya’s pants and the couple rushed her to the emergency room.
The poor tyke had to get several rabies shots.
But thankfully, she is doing fine now. Still, the ordeal has both of the family’s children spooked.
Many were surprised to hear of the attack since the family lives in a suburban neighborhood that is developed with little nature nearby.
“We don’t live in a zoo, we live in Los Angeles,” Ariel said. “Now I’m really, really, really afraid to let the kids go out, even in the back yard, by themselves.”
Wildlife officials set out to catch the coyote with dar rifles after the attack. There were several coyote sightings in the area, however, they could not be caught.
Authorities are hoping to use samples from the girl’s clothing to collect DNA and see if they can identify the animal once it is caught.
The coyote will unfortunately be euthanized so it can be tested for rabies. While it’s unusual for coyotes to roam around in areas like this, it isn’t completely unheard of.
A different 2-year-old girl had also been attacked by a coyote in Orange County earlier in the year.
That child was recovering from her injuries from the attack when wildlife officers were able to trap and catch that coyote.
DNA matched the caught coyote to the DNA found on the girl’s clothing Prior to that, another young girl was attacked and injured by another coyote in Huntington Beach.
That child, unfortunately, sustained serious injuries in the attack. Coyotes are native to California and help to reduce the rodent population. They can, however, because dangerous to humans when they get used to interacting with them.
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