Authorities in San Francisco may have killed a coyote that bit a 5-year-old girl at the San Francisco Botanical Garden last week.
The incident happened late Friday morning while the girl was at a supervised summer camp at the garden in Golden Gate Park. Officials said the girl was bit from behind by the coyote. She suffered minor injuries and was expected to be okay.
The incident prompted city officials to temporarily close the garden over the weekend. San Francisco Wildlife officials have since killed three coyotes in the area.
Captain Patrick Foy with the law enforcement division of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said officials worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to set traps and attempt to find and remove the offending animal.
“If a coyote or bear or mountain lion attacks a person, those animals are euthanized, and we conduct a rabies test on them post-mortem and take DNA samples,” Foy said Monday morning.
Officials said they shot three coyotes with the rifle in the area of the garden over the weekend, but have to analyze DNA samples from the animals to see if matches the DNA of the coyote that bit the girl.
The San Francisco Botanical Garden reopened Monday, officials confirmed.
