Hunter Kills Rabid Coyote That Bit Two People in Chester Twp., Cops Say

For just the fifth time in the last 25 years in the state of New Jersey officials have confirmed a rabid coyote was roaming Chester Township prior to being killed by a hunter on Sunday, Oct. 5, police said.

Police first responded to the entrance of Patriots Path on Pleasant Hill Road near the Bethlehem Hermitage on Saturday around 3:15 p.m. for a report of a cyclist who was bitten in the leg by an aggressive coyote, Lt. Thomas Williver said.

The cyclist was about 1.5-miles in from the parking lot entrance, Williver said, and two other park visitors also reported being approached by the coyote in the same general area, but were not bitten by the animal.

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A Chester Township police officer and New Jersey Conservation Officers were dispatched to the area to search for the animal but came up empty. The park was then closed between Pleasant Hill Road in Chester Township and Main Street in the Ironia Section of Randolph.

Just before 1 p.m. on Sunday, police were again dispatched, but this time to the rear of the Archery Range at the Black River Wildlife Management Area on North Road for a report of a hunter who was bitten by an aggressive coyote, Williver said.

The hunter was able to kill the coyote before officials arrived on scene, Williver said. New Jersey Fish & Game Conservation Officers retrieved the body of the animal and sent it for rabies testing. Those tests came back positive on Monday, Williver said.

It’s only the fifth confirmed rabid coyote in New Jersey since 1989, Williver said.

Anyone who came in contact with the coyote is urged to contact the Chester Township Police Department at 908-879-5514.

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