Girl attacked by coyote at southern Alberta rest stop
Posted Dec 28, 2023 3:05 pm.
A 10-year-old girl had to wrangle with a coyote after it grabbed her leg and tried to drag her into a rural field on Boxing Day.
It happened at a rest stop near Ralston in Cypress County, southeast of Calgary, at around 7 p.m. The incident left Hailey Nyberg with minor injuries.
“I got out of the car to go use the washroom and something came running at me. I thought it was a dog but it wasn’t, it was a coyote,” she told CityNews. “It grabbed onto my leg three times trying to pull me into the field.
“I was terrified. I thought it was a dream.”
Her dad, Dustin, says he and his wife, Alyshia, were in the car keeping an eye on Hailey and didn’t notice anything wrong initially, but then became horrified when he heard a scream and went on high alert.
“My wife was on the passenger side and she opened the door and could see the coyote there. And then she yelled at me that there was a coyote and she started making noise and banging on the car. And then I went to go get Hailey,” he said.
Watch: Calgary northwest residents worried about coyotes
Dustin says he leaped out of the car and jumped into action, saying he had to rip his daughter from the coyote’s grasp.
“I ran up to her and I was yelling, trying to be as loud as possible and hoping that maybe he would then let go, but he didn’t,” he said.
“I was able to grab her waist, and while I was grabbing her, pulling on her, (the coyote) was still pulling on her at that time. He was still latched on, so I just had to kick my feet and then he gave up and let go.”
Dustin says he was able to get Hailey into the car but adds the animal continued to charge at him after he put himself between it and his daughter.
“He still was lunging at us. I was able to kind of tuck her behind me and we moved towards the car and he still came towards us,” Dustin said.
Read More: Coyote kills chihuahua in NW Calgary; woman issues warning to pet owners
Eventually, Hailey was treated for five puncture wounds at the Brooks hospital.
“I’ve been recovering good. I’m on medicine now,” Hailey said. “I feel a little bit still scared.”
Dustin says he called Alberta Fish and Wildlife to report what happened, and rangers said it was concerning for them. They called back within minutes assuring him it was being taken “very seriously.”
“They’re not taking it lightly at all,” he said. “When a child gets attacked by a coyote … that’s a dangerous level of human-to-wild-animal interaction.”
After posting about the situation on Facebook, several people reached out to the family to say they had seen others feeding coyotes at that exact spot. This has not been confirmed by Fish and Wildlife but rangers have assured they are going to investigate the area.
Growing up in southern Alberta, Dustin says being around coyotes is common, and they tend to be afraid of people. However, he’s cautioning against feeding the animals and urging people to be more aware when they are around.
“They’re wild animals don’t … feed them … we’ll do our thing, let them do theirs,” he said.
“We were always taught that they’re … more scared of us than we are them, and (in) this case, that wasn’t the case at all. So … take caution, be aware of what’s going on, and just leave wild animals alone.”
