Police issue warning after 8-year-old boy bitten by coyote in Thorncliffe

A coyote is seen stuck in an animal trap in Mississauga in this undated photograph.

Toronto police are warning residents of the city's Thorncliffe neighbourhood after an eight-year-old boy was bitten by what is believed to be a coyote last week.

The boy was riding his bike on June 19 in the area of Thorncliffe Park Drive, near the Don River, when he was attacked by the animal, police said.

According to a news release issued by investigators, the boy was bitten on his elbow and leg.

“The animal was reported to be salivating, foaming at the mouth during the incident and as a precaution the boy was treated with the rabies vaccination but does not exhibit signs of rabies on his own,” police said.

This is the second incident in which a child in the Greater Toronto Area has made contact with a coyote. A few days earlier, a two-year-old girl from Aurora sustained a superficial lesion on her body after a coyote knocked her over in a backyard.

The girl was traumatized, her mother said, but has since recovered.

Toronto Public Health said that if a person is bitten or scratched by a wild animal, they should immediately wash the wound with soap and water for at least 15 minutes. Antiseptic should then be applied to the wound.

Residents are  urged to speak with a doctor and to report the animal bite or scratch to Toronto Public Health.

Anyone who sees a wild animal acting strangely or showing signs of rabies should contact the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry at 1-888-574-6656. Members of the public who are attacked by a coyote should call police immediately, investigators said.

Police say there have been no cases of rabies in Toronto.