Woman Attacked, Bitten By Coyote In Southington: DEEP: UPDATE

SOUTHINGTON, CT —State environmental officials are monitoring a popular hiking area in Southington after a woman earlier this week reported being attacked by a coyote.

State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection officials said DEEP was notified that a woman hiking on the Metacomet Trail in Southington on Tuesday, Sept. 24, reported being attacked and bitten by a coyote.

"Coyotes rarely display aggression towards humans, which makes this a highly unusual occurrence," wrote DEEP spokesman Will Healey in a statement Friday morning.

Healey said DEEP is in contact with local municipalities as well as the Connecticut Forest and Park Association (which manages the Metacomet Trail) and it "continues to monitor the situation."

Meanwhile, state authorities are warning folks to be wary of any coyote activity in that area and to contact officials if they see one behaving erratically.

Anyone who observes a coyote exhibiting unusual or aggressive behavior along the Metacomet trail in Southington should call DEEP’s emergency dispatch line at 860-424-3333.

For more information about coyotes in Connecticut, click on this link.