West
Washington girl, 4, ‘dragged’ by coyote just inches from door amid string of alarming encounters: report
A 4-year-old Washington girl was “dragged” by a coyote just inches from the front door of her home on March 11, her father told local news.
The incident comes amid a string of coyote encounters and attacks in a Bellevue neighborhood, prompting state wildlife officials to lethally remove two coyotes in recent days.
“It was just walking on the mat,” Chang Tong of Bellvue told KIRO, referring to his doormat outside his home in the Factoria neighborhood.
He and his daughter were inside, standing by the front door, when the 4-year-old reportedly pushed the door open and stepped outside.
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FILE – A Coyote – Canis Latrans – standing in a green grass field in Western Washington State.
“She [was] about to pet on the dog at that time, and with just one second, the coyote just bit her hand and tried to drag her,” Tong told KIRO. “She was dragged to the ground.”
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife noted in a March 12 update to a press release about the recent coyote incidents that the child was bitten on the hand and taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for “minor injuries.”
“Officers quickly responded to the scene and located two coyotes. Officers were able to lethally remove one at the scene, however, the second ran away. Officers are increasing patrols in the area to locate the second animal,” the Department said.
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Five coyote incidents in the same area of Washington state have been reported since March 7.
The department fatally removed a second coyote on March 13.
The incident involving the 4-year-old girl is one of five reported over a week.
Earlier on March 11, WDFW officers received a report about another incident involving contact between a human and a coyote with no reported injuries in the Factoria neighborhood.
“Earlier that morning a coyote went up to a group of children waiting at a bus stop and made attempts to bite them, ripping some clothing and attempting to take a backpack,” WDFW said in a press release. “Adults at the scene intervened and the school bus arrived; the children left on the bus. Fish and Wildlife Officers and Wildlife Conflict staff responded to the scene.”
FILE – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has lethally removed two coyotes after a string of human encounters since March 7.
On March 7, a coyote picked up a child’s backpack left on a sidewalk outside Tyee Middle School and ran with it into nearby bushes.
Earlier on March 7, a coyote bit a man in his open garage in the Factoria neighborhood. He was treated at a hospital for minor injuries.
On March 6, a woman was sitting on her back patio when a coyote approached her from behind and bit her on the leg. She was able to retreat inside her home in the Norwood Village neighborhood while the coyote continued to pursue her, and she was later treated for minor injuries.
WDFW authorities believe the same coyotes were involved in each incident.
“Prevention is the best tool for minimizing conflicts with coyotes and other wildlife. Keep cats inside, keep dogs leashed, and avoid early morning and late evening walks with your pet in areas where coyotes are known to be,” WDFW said in the press release. “Don’t leave small children unattended where coyotes are frequently seen or heard.”
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MOAB, Utah (KUTV) — Two wildfires that ignited along the Utah-Colorado border in Grand County have merged and were mapped at about 28,000 acres, according to Utah Fire Info.
Officials named the blaze the Snyder Fire. It was burning in Mesa County, Colorado.
Officials said the fire was threatening structures and that pre-evacuation orders were in effect.
According to the Moab Valley Fire Department, the wildfires started between 11 p.m. Friday and 3:30 a.m. Saturday on Bureau of Land Management land south of the Colorado River.
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Summer is Wyoming’s season for turning over rocks, poking into holes and walking with a perpetual hunch looking for snakes.
Herpalogists, the zoologists who study amphibians and reptiles, are out scouring the landscape and herping, the term used when they are actively flipping rocks and searching stream beds to find Wyoming’s elusive snakes in their native habitats.
Sometimes those finds can be unexpected. The fork-tongued reptiles appear on a trail when least expected.
Recently, a foot-long “nightcrawler” suddenly moved like a snake and slithered into the rocks, its tail disappearing into the shadows. Rather than a shapeshifter, this was an elusive rubber boa, Wyoming’s tiny constrictor snake that can look like a giant worm at first glance.
These rarely seen creatures are more common in the Cowboy State than most people realize.
“I personally don’t feel that any of our snakes in Wyoming are terribly rare,” said Matt Rasmussen, vice president of the Wyoming Herpetological Society. “However, a lot of them are very rarely encountered because they spend most of their lives either underground or under rocks.”
Rasmussen said most of the secretive snakes in Wyoming only come out at night or when conditions are right — typically warmer, humid times. The rubber boa, for instance, showed up on a day when it had rained and then the temperatures spiked hot.
Rasmussen helped found the new Herpetological Society two years ago to teach others to herp. He said it’s possible to learn more about our state by flipping rocks and seeing what is beneath.
“That’s the great thing with Wyoming,” Rasmussen said. “There is so little known about the herpetofauna — the frogs, lizards, snakes, turtles, etcetera — that live here, and so little known about their distribution.”
He said Wyoming is known for “large charismatic megafauna” such as bison, elk, moose and deer rather than the harder to find animals. As a result, no widespread surveying has been done on smaller non-game species. Wyoming Game and Fish has even asked for community members to help by reporting rarely seen reptiles and amphibians.
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The Great Basin gopher snake is a non-venomous snake found primarily in the western United States and parts of southwestern Canada. You can find these snakes in a wide range of habitats; grasslands, woodlands, and deserts. -
The plains hognose snake can be mistaken for a rattlesnake but is harmless to humans. -
The Eastern yellow-bellied racer is incredibly fast, alert, and primarily hunts during the day using their sharp eyesight. Harmless to humans but feisty and will bite and musky-spray if cornered or handled. -
The smooth green snake is completely non-venomous, quite secretive and rarely seen. The Wyoming Natural Diversity Database said they are mostly found in localized pockets within southeast and south-central Wyoming and the Black Hills area. Their habitat are moist meadows, marshes, stream edges, open woods since they can camouflage in lush vegetation. This snake feeds almost exclusively on insects and spiders such as crickets, grasshoppers and caterpillars.
Elusive, Not Rare
While most people think of the more common bullsnake or venomous rattlesnake when discussing reptiles, Rasmussen said Wyoming is home to many harmless snakes.
According to Rasmussen, a few snakes, such as the colorful pale milk snake and rubber boa, could be considered rare in Wyoming. However, he believes they are just harder to find and most people are not aware of them unless they stumble across them.
“There’s the plains black-headed snake, which we really don’t know much about their distribution in Wyoming,” Rasmussen said. “They’re just not studied and have a limited habitat.”
This tan snake with a black head is small and feeds primarily on centipedes and ant eggs. Rasmussen cautions that when found, rather than kill the strange looking snakes that are harmless, report finding them to Wyoming Game and Fish and leave them in their habitat.
In this way, Rasmussen said, herping can be fun. He encourages people to get into the action.
“There are some other really small fossorial snakes like smooth green snakes, which live along creeks in the mountains and eat caterpillars and spiders,” Rasmussen said. “Then there’s the Black Hills red-bellied snake, which is a very small snake that eats slugs, worms and snails primarily.”
People are often surprised that Wyoming is home to such a large variety of snakes. He especially likes to show off a milk snake, which is harmless and eats lizards and even baby rattlesnakes.
“It is a beautiful, almost tropical-looking animal that lives right here,” Rasmussen said. “They are just rarely encountered.”
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The northern rubber boa is found in the northwest corner of state such as Star Valley and east into the Bighorn Mountains. They are a small, docile, non-venomous constrictors that are rarely seen since they are excellent burrowers and climbers. The Wyoming Game and Fish consider them vulnerable/secretive and track sightings to help build their statewide database. -
The pale milk snake is not a venomous coral snake and is found in the Bighorn Basin, eastern plans and southeastern corner of Wyoming. They are rare to see because they spend their life hiding under rocks, within rocky outcrops, badland scarps, ponderosa pines, and shortgrass prairies according to the University of Wyoming. Since they are so secretive, spotting one in the wild is a rare treat and Wyoming Game and Fish is asking the public to report any sightings for their database. -
The plains black-headed snake is completely harmless because it’s mouth is too small to pierce human skin and its mild venom is for small invertebrates. Due to its secretive nature, it is rare to see one but they are known to be in southeastern Wyoming in the Platte and Carbon Counties. They are very small, secretive, burrowing snakes that spend almost all of their lives underground or hidden beneath rocks and logs, typically only surfacing at night. -
The bull snake or gopher snake is completely non-venomous but does not want you to know that. When threatened, they put on a dramatic show according to the National Park Service. The bullsnake will puff up their bodies, hiss loudly, flatten their head into a triangle and vibrate their tails in dry bush to mimic a rattlesnake. (Matt Rasmussen)
A New Snake & Frog Society
Rasmussen said the new society is trying to educate the community about these fascinating creatures in the Cowboy State that don’t get much attention, such as the skink, a short-legged lizard.
“We’re a group of herpetological enthusiasts who would like to spread the word, educate and do outreach about these animals,” he said.
This outreach includes presentations with live animals, field trips and a conference in November. Wyoming’s reptiles and amphibians remain a mystery, Rasmussen encourages reporting sightings on the app iNaturalist.
“Even if you don’t know what it is, post a picture because there are tens of thousands of experts who will identify that animal,” Rasmussen said. “That’s really important, especially for our herpetofauna in the state.”
He also pointed out that some Wyoming snakes are on the protected list, including the midget faded rattlesnake. They made the list, according to Rasmussen, because people were capturing them and they became popular in among owners who like to keep small venomous snakes as pets.
Rasmussen said awareness is the best protection for Wyoming’s elusive reptiles and he is excited to prove to residents that we don’t have rare snakes, only secretive ones.
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
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