Home NEWS Local Scene Coyote Roaming Downtown Lafayette Tuesday; Unconfirmed Report Of A Person Bitten

Coyote Roaming Downtown Lafayette Tuesday; Unconfirmed Report Of A Person Bitten

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Photo: File

Investigators with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are once again turning to science to determine the DNA profile of a coyote that reportedly nipped a store employee in downtown Lafayette Tuesday night.

Captain Patrick Foy of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed many reports forwarded to this site of a coyote roaming Mt. Diablo Boulevard around 7 p.m. Tuesday night.

The animal is reported to have bitten a store employee at either Whole Food or Diablo Foods market but Foy said that aspect of the story remains under investigation, with his office collecting evidence for analysis and forwarding it to their laboratory for analysis.

News24/680 can confirm that an ambulance crew was dispatched to Whole Food at around 8 p.m. Tuesday, but we have no insight as to the nature of the injury sustained.

“Part of the forensics work will include an attempt to isolate coyote DNA,” Foy wrote. “(We’re) working on a plan to address the situation but (it’s) complicated due to the highly urban area.”

Numerous residents wrote this site about the animal Tuesday night, apparently first spotted near the Lafayette Reservoir before making its way downtown in the direction of Diablo Foods and the Lafayette Circle areas.

If Tuesday’s encounter is confirmed, it would be the third – extremely rare – biting incident involving a coyote in Lamorinda since July.

12 COMMENTS

  1. I just don’t get these city folk. I grew up on the edge of a canyon and do not have the awe for coyotes most residents here seem to have. Even my neighbor here had an interesting experience with a pack of them trapping a baby deer in their backyard. These are not nice animals. They are large, they are predators, and will happily kill and sing about it later. You should be worried about the overdevelopment of housing and the cutting of trees here if you are interested in nature, and not these things.

    • I totally agree. I have NEVER had awe for these dangerous predators. And I agree that it’s no longer “extremely rare.” I believe the bite occurred. If an ambulance was dispatched to treat the bite wound.

  2. Not too big of a stretch that he would be attracted to the grocery stores. Perhaps he has been humanized? Too used to people and human food?

  3. Wondered about this. I saw the animal headed downtown a little after 7. I’ve seen them before but I remember thinking it was odd that he was headed toward to the center of town. They usually stay clear of people. Hope the person wasn’t hurt badly.

  4. Their natural prey seems abundant but if they develop a taste for our food it follows that they are going to hang out where that is. Previous story reports person feeding or attempting to feed an animal in Rheem Starbucks and we have seen video of an animal running through there. This animal may day shelter at the rez and come down into town to feed at night.

  5. Wisdom and strength and patience to those entrusted with protecting wildlife in our area. This is a potentially volatile situation and I hope they are able to withstand the public hue and cry to kill every animal unfortunate enough to cross our paths.

  6. What is their natural local diet? I’m guessing they put away their fair share of gophers, voles, frogs, bugs and snakes.

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