'Erratic' coyote put down after attacking two men and a dog in York County

A coyote displaying "erratic behavior" by attacking two men and a dog in Newberry Township this week was killed Tuesday by a resident, according to a Pennsylvania Game Commission warden.

The coyote carcass was submitted to a lab for testing, the results of which may be released this week. In light of the animal's behavior, it's possible it was rabid, according to Game Commission spokesman Travis Lau.

"I think that's certainly a possibility, especially since we're dealing with multiple incidents and possibly the same animal," he said.

Update: Coyote that attacked two men tests positive for rabies, Pa. Game Commission says

Coyotes live in all of the state's 67 counties, but typically are wary of people and their dwellings, although they are known to attack livestock and pets, Lau said.

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"Its behavior is completely uncharacteristic of coyotes that we usually deal with ... it's erratic behavior," said Amy Nabozny, a warden with the Game Commission in Huntingdon County. "For them to approach humans is not something we see."

Attacks on Monday

The attacks began Monday in the Red Bank Road area of Newberry Township, in northern York County, when the coyote attacked a man and his dog, Nabozny said.

The man's dog was outside when the coyote began its onslaught.

"He heard the commotion and in trying to intervene, he got bit," Nabozny said of the man.

Later that day, another man in the same area was working in his garage when the same coyote approached in an aggressive manner and bit him as well, she said.

One of the men was able to shoot the coyote with a shotgun, but it ran off.

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"They were able to track it and then lost the blood trail," Nabozny said,

On Tuesday, officers with the Game Commission were investigating the incident and asked Jerin Kennedy — a Dover Township resident who owns several fox and coyote hounds — to help them.

"I got the dogs, got out there and shortly after our arrival, a neighbor shot it," Kennedy said. "It was in his driveway."

Nabozny said the coyote was killed around 5 p.m. in the Popps Ford Road area.

Other causes for behavior

Brian Hartman, who said he traps coyotes and fox all over Newberry Township, including the area of Red Bank and Popps Ford roads, said there might be another reason for the coyote's behavior — an animal parasite known as mange.

Hartman said the disease eventually eats away at an animal's organs and can affect its brain as well.

"They become agitated and get aggressive," he said. In that state, "They have no fear of human beings."

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One other possibility that Hartman has seen is that coyotes will breed with pets, like German Shepherds, producing a hybrid called a coydog. The coydog is known to approach humans like a domesticated animal, but then its wild nature takes over, causing it to attack, Hartman said.

Ted Czech is a multi-platform crime/emergency journalist with The York Daily Record. He can be reached at tczech@ydr.com, at 717-771-2033 or on Twitter at @TedCzechYDR