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Melissa Rowley left her children playing in the front yard for only a moment to step into her house.

When she came back a coyote was dragging her daughter away.

It was the third time in five days a coyote had posed a threat to a small child in Southern California, San Bernardino Sheriff's spokeswoman Arden Wiltshire said.

The coyote grabbed the 2-year-old by the head and tried to drag her towards the street in the mountain community of Lake Arrowhead on Tuesday.

When Rowley came out of the house and ran toward her daughter, the animal released the girl and ran away.

Rowley took her daughter to a hospital where the toddler was treated for several puncture wounds to the head and neck area, and a laceration on her mouth.
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"In the past they've been frightened of humans and if you shooed them, they'd go away, but they're not doing that," Edwards said. "I feel responsible, because I didn't call Animal Control and I should have. We all should have because he was like, stalking us."

On Friday, a nanny pulled another 2-year-old girl from the jaws of a coyote at Alterra Park in Chino Hills, a San Bernardino County community about 30 miles east of Los Angeles. The girl suffered puncture wounds to her buttocks and was treated at a hospital.

A coyote came after another toddler in the same park Sunday. The child's father kicked and chased the coyote away.
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The animal that attacked the baby in the sandbox was described as limping on its left leg, and one of the animals trapped had a broken left leg, he said.

Morse said biologists can't explain the rash of coyote incidents.

The animals are lured into neighborhoods by dog or cat food left outdoors, food that people leave out for wild animals and scraps in garbage cans, he said.

"People get used to seeing them, but this is a wild animal and you do not want a wild animal in your backyard," Morse said.

"When coyotes get habitualized to being around people and lose that fear of humans, that's when it's very tenuous." http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=4811654&page=1 one I heard about was that one in Chino Hills, but apparently it's even bigger than that! My bet? Given one was limping and another had a broken leg, they're looking for easy targets. But what do I know?

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Coyotes normally avoid contact with humans and hunt rabbits and rodents. But scientists said some that live near suburban developments are becoming bolder, raiding garbage or even attacking pets and humans.

An increase in coyote attacks on humans in the past decade is most evident in Southern California, where bedroom communities have quickly pressed into wilderness, allowing the canine scavengers to roam backyards for food.
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"We're not sure what pushes them over the edge," said Robert Timm, a wildlife specialist with the University of California system. "There may be no single explanation for it."

One possibility is that coyotes give birth to pups this time of year and may need more food for themselves and their babies. Toddlers fall into the size of prey that coyotes would normally attack.
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Another theory is that homeowners are unintentionally luring the wild animals by leaving pet food bowls outside or not securing garbage bins.

[It's also possible the coyotes are interbreeding with domestic dogs to produce coydogs, hybrids that according to Western lore have both the dog's lack of fear of humans and the coyote's aggressiveness.]

Game wardens don't normally hunt coyotes unless they pose a threat to people. After attacks, they trap and then shoot coyotes. They also carry shotguns or small-caliber rifles, but won't fire on the animals unless they get a clear shot.

Authorities dissuade people from hunting renegade coyotes themselves and suggest that they instead make noise or throw objects to scare them from neighborhoods
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"They're so brazen right now," she said. "They just stand there and look at you."
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Since last year, there have been seven coyote attacks in the Chino Hills area, including four in which children were bitten. State wildlife officials have killed 23 coyotes to protect the public.

Timm, the University of California scientist, said coyotes behave in predictable ways when they turn aggressive such as snatching pets during the daytime or chasing joggers and bicyclists.

If people recognize these signs, they may be able to thwart an attack, he said.

Timm has created a Web site, CoyoteBytes.org, where residents in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties can report coyote bites or sightings. Scientists use the information to study the scope of the problem.

"Coyotes are opportunistic," Timm said. "They go where the food is." http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,354988,00.html in all, I'm glad I don't live in Chino Hills!!

San Diego:

They're opportunistic, not that brave...as I've written before, Tashi met a couple up on the Divide, they all sniffed each other and went on about their business. Wish I had my camera with when it happened. But alone, they're no threat to anything close to their own size:

By the way, note that I even post Fox News, when they report something well.