Coyote responsible for multiple Lafayette and Moraga attacks captured | Lafayette

The announcement was made by Captain Patrick Foy of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife: "The coyote walked into a trap on Thursday March 11, set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Wildlife Services, off of Calle La Montana in Moraga," he stated during a phone interview. "It was an adult male."

The capture ends an eight-month spree of attacks upon adults and children alike that took place within two miles of each other. A concerted effort to trap the offender was conducted not only by CDFW and USDA-WS, but with the help of Contra Costa County Animal Services, as well as Lafayette and Moraga police departments.

"It was an excellent example of a unified multi-agency effort," confirmed MPD Lt. Brian South, "and we are very appreciative of the CDFW team and the experts from the USDA-Wildlife Services for their hard work to remove the offending animal. We also appreciate the community support and their help by reporting sightings and communicating with us. We plan to continue working with CDFW to bring a wildlife awareness program to the community moving forward."

While the coyote in question "showed no outward signs of rabies," according to Foy, the UC Davis veterinary staff will perform the test. "Because of the severity of the disease, it is standard operating procedure in an animal attack investigation such as this one. Rabies tests can only be done post-mortem."

Foy noted that California is home to a healthy coyote population. As such, sightings will continue to be a common occurrence. "Only report a coyote if it exhibits aggressive behavior. It is the sincere hope of the agencies that locals can recreate outdoors in the area again with significantly reduced anxiety and that the community knows that outdoor recreation is still very safe."

He also stated, "I have a great respect for the cooperation of the local community. I have never seen this much citizen involvement."

For more information about coyotes and other animals that share our environment visit: www.keepmewild.org. Additional questions may be directed to Moraga Police at (925) 888-7055, ext 0, or the California Department of Fish and Wildlife at (916) 508-7095. As of press time on March 15, the rabies test results were not available.



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