A 12 -year -old boy who was bitten by a coyote in the municipality of King on the weekend says “scares” that the animal is still loose.
Rocco Morra was bitten near Highway 27 and King Road in Nobleton around 12:15 pm on Sunday. The York Regional Police warns residents to use caution after the attack. Police said there have been frequent coyotes since Morra was bitten.
In an interview with CBC Toronto on Monday, Rocco said he was sitting on the sidewalk outside his home on Sunday, waiting for a friend who would arrive early at his birthday party, when the coyote arrived.
“Suddenly, I feel that something grabs my leg, and then dug deeply, so I looked by my side and I saw that it was a coyote,” he said.
“I tried to get up, but then I couldn’t. And then, when I finally got up, I started running and started chasing me … when I was on my porch, he just looked at me.”
Rocco said he entered and shouted for his parents for help. He said he was shock.
His mother, Deborah Morra, who was up at that time, ran down and could not believe what had happened. She said she saw the holes in her son’s leg.
“The blood was on the leg. I ran to the closet and got alcohol. I just sprayed the alcohol. I poured it on its leg.”
Her mother said she wrapped a tensioner bandage to stop bleeding.
Shortly after that, Rocco was taken to the hospital and he received antibiotics injected into each wound, which could not be sewn, he said. Rocco also received a first round of rage shot.
‘A coyote should normally be afraid of humans’
Now, Rocco says it’s reluctant to leave now because he doesn’t want to be bitten twice.
“I really don’t want to go out because I really don’t want me to bite me again, so it gets worse,” Rocco said.
David Boyd, councilor of King Township, said there has been an increase in Coyote-Human and Coyote-Pet interactions in the last two weeks.
Boyd said a girl who was walking in the area was approached by a coyote on Thursday and grabbed her legs.
“A coyote should normally be afraid of humans. They don’t want to have that interaction,” he said. “But we believe in talking and working with our allied partners, with Vaughan Animal Service, Toronto Wildlife.”
In a Facebook post on Sunday, King Township said he is working with both agencies.
Boyd said that Vaughan Animal Services and the Toronto Wildlife Center believe that the coyote has learned the behavior and is reaching residential areas because there may be food sources there.
Boyd said the municipality is educating residents about prevention.
“We have to be aware that if we have a meeting that we keep the waste, certainly we are not feeding these animals or feeding other animals. A wild cat would be an example, where we believe it is harmless, we are feeding the cat, but it is also providing a source of food for the coyote,” he said.
Anyone who has video or photographs of coyotes in the area, including details about the date, time and location of the sighting, must communicate with Vaughan’s animal services.
“Please do not approach or try to photograph the animal directly,” said King Township.
