By Neale Gulley
The second coyote bite in North Tonawanda this year was reported late Monday near the former Wurlitzer building on Niagara Falls Boulevard.
Niagara County Department of Health officials said a resident reported he was walking home from the store when he was bitten about 10 p.m. No other information on the incident was available.
The individual then notified county health officials of the incident.
“In New York state, rabies in coyotes is rare,” the health department reported Wednesday, adding seven rabid coyotes have been documented in the state over the past 10 years.
By all accounts, there have already been an unusually high number or run-ins involving wild animals in Niagara County.
An earlier bite was reported March 31 on Sweeney Street. In that case a man was circled and “nipped” in the leg before the animal ran off. A week before that, a man driving on Erie Avenue in North Tonawanda stopped to pet a fox, which then bit him before disappearing. A rabid fox was caught in Wilson prior to both incidents.
The animal in this latest attack has not been caught.
“I have contacted the NYSDEC and also some Nuisance Control officers regarding the possibility of trapping the coyotes if necessary,” North Tonawanda Administrative Assistant Jeff Mis wrote in a press release Wednesday.
This time, city officials are planning to set up a public forum involving the state Department of Environmental Conservation to address the issue. Details are not yet available.
Prevention advice offered by Environmental Health Director Jim Devald includes making sure pets have up-to-date rabies vaccinations and keeping them in at night, staying away from wild animals and reporting promptly all animal bites or contact with animals to the department of health. The department can be reached at 439-7444 or after business hours at 439-7430.
“The NYSDEC in conjunction with Cornell University is currently studying coyotes and coyote/human encounters to find the best ways to reduce the incidence of these occurrences,” a statement by the county’s environmental health division reads.
Further information can be found on the Web at www.nycoyote.org.
