Coyote dead — but not the right one

Traps set for animal caught one, just not the one behind recent attacks

LAFAYETTE >> The search goes on for the coyote that has bitten five people, leaving residents on edge as it creeps around backyards and snaps at people.

The pursuit seemed to be over Tuesday when an animal was caught in a trap set on private property to snare the creature that has been targeting people.

The coyote killed Tuesday, however, was not the same one that has attacked people in Lafayette and Moraga neighborhoods over the past year, according to investigators.

Patrick Foy, a state Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesman, confirmed that a coyote was killed in the Lafayette and Moraga area.

DNA evidence is linking a single coyote to each of the five attacks that began last year. Testing at the Fish and Wildlife’s forensic laboratory in Sacramento confirmed the results, Foy said.

Among the victims was a man exercising after dark at Campolindo High School, 300 Moraga Road, also in Moraga. The same month, the animal bit an employee of Diablo Foods, 3615 Mount Diablo Blvd. in Lafayette as he was taking a work break outside.

The one caught and killed Tuesday was near the Campolindo campus, Foy said. He did not have an exact location.

A law enforcement official killed the animal with a firearm, he said. It was not shot with a tranquilizer and then euthanized.

Despite it being in a trap, authorities needed to kill it because if the animal escaped, people’s lives would be in danger, Foy said.

Police urge anyone with information or who spots a coyote in the area to call 925-2845010. Police also urge anyone who comes across a coyote to make loud noises and even throw rocks if needed to get the animal to leave.