HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON – There
was apparently only one rabid coyote that terrorized the Hastings-on-Hudson
area two weeks ago when it attacked seven people – including a police
officer – over a 24-hour period in Greenburgh and Yonkers.
The animal was shot and killed and testing proved it was, in fact, rabid.
There was some concern that there might have been a second infected coyote,
but given that the attacks on people stopped when the one coyote was killed,
officials believe that was the culprit in all of the attacks, Hastings-on-Hudson
Mayor Peter Swiderski said on Thursday.
He said the number of people attacked by the one animal could make the
history books. “To the best of my research, this series of attacks
in the larger single coyote-on-human series of attacks recorded in US
history – most others are single or pair of attacks.”
Town parks will be re-opened at mid-day tomorrow (Friday) once warning
signs and snares have been removed. “This does not mean that coyotes
have been chased or eliminated from Hastings,” the mayor said. “In
fact, they are here to stay in Hastings and elsewhere in the northeast.”
The bottom line is if you see one, don’t taunt it, shout at it or
feed it; just leave it alone. If it is acting aggressively, call the police
because it might be rabid.
