Fish & Game Officials Investigating Reported Coyote Bite In Moraga

California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials are investigating a reported coyote encounter with a runner at the Campolindo High School track early Friday morning.

Moraga police were dispatched to the area at approximately 6:30 a.m. after a runner reported being approached and bitten by a coyote while at the track. The animal was chased away by another runner, according to police.

Investigators determined that a group of workout enthusiasts were stretching in preparation for a run when one of the men, who was in a push-up position, felt something grip his leg.

The Moraga man who suffered the bite struck the animal until it eventually let go. Another runner chased the animal off, investigators said. The injured man was treated for the bite and underwent a series of rabies shots but was listed in otherwise good condition Friday.

Moraga police officers reported seeing a coyote walking through the Rheem Center parking lot recently, a fairly common occurrence in the area, but were dismayed to see a person try to feed the animal near Starbucks.

While the animals are commonly seen in Lamorinda direct encounters and attacks on humans are rare. Fish and Wildlife officials are testing DNA samples taken from clothing worn during Friday’s incident with samples from an earlier incident in which a local child was reportedly nipped by a coyote earlier in the year.