PHOENIX — The Arizona Game and Fish Department is urging residents to not feed coyotes after the agency trapped and euthanized four animals following two recent attacks on toddlers in north Scottsdale.
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On March 18, a toddler was scratched by a coyote at Aztec Park near Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard and Thunderbird Road. Four days later, another toddler was attacked by a coyote within a two-mile area of the first attack.
Wildlife officials believe the same coyote was responsible for both attacks. The children involved are expected to be OK, AZGFD said. All tests came back negative for rabies.
Darren Julian, an urban wildlife specialist with AZGFD, told 12News last month this type of behavior for coyotes is "very unusual."
"A normal coyote, when they hear us, see us, smell us, they are hiding away or running away," Julian said.
AZGFD said it "concluded operations" but continues to monitor the situation for reports of aggressive behavior.
There have been 24 coyote attacks on people in the Phoenix metropolitan area in the past 26 years.
AZGFD said the root cause of many human-wildlife conflicts is giving wildlife easy access to food, water and shelter.
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