Coyote charges people, pets at popular Henderson Park

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A morning walking turned into a scary encounter at a popular Henderson park. A coyote charged two women and their dogs.

“I screamed, “Help! Help!,” recounted Tamara Edmiston. Edmiston was on a walk with her 3-year-old Pitbull Sweet Pea around the Cadence Central Park Pond around 5:30 Monday morning.

“I have been running into coyotes all summer long,” Edmiston explained. Edmiston has been carrying an airhorn just in case she had a problematic encounter.

“Somebody had a little chihuahua and it started walking around her and her dog. She yelled ‘get away’ and the freaking coyote did not get away,” Edmiston reported.

Edmiston blasted the horn but it didn’t scare the animal so she started screaming.

“Guys came to the rescue. They had little black dogs, had a pole and rocks ready to help us,” Edmiston shared.

Edmiston and the other woman got away safely and so did the dogs but is now scared to take Sweet Pea on a walk.

In the last 12 months, FOX5 has reported on people being bitten by coyotes at Lake Las Vegas and Pittman Wash. NDOW says bites are extremely rare and not to panic just seeing a coyote.

The Nevada Division of Wildlife says people don’t need to be afraid, they need to be aware.

“What we really encourage people to do is to haze coyotes and what we mean by that is make yourself look larger. If you are out walking, wouldn’t be a bad idea to carry a walking stick… You can’t say ‘oh shoo’. You have to act like you are yelling at the referee at your kids football game, you have to let them know that they are not welcome,” contended Doug Nielsen, Conservation Education Supervisor for the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

NDOW posted a notice on social media of more coyote activity in the Cadence area. They say if it is a true emergency and the animal is aggressive, like if it is growling or standing it’s ground, you should call them.

NDOW also says there are a number of licensed coyote trappers, privately run pest control businesses in the Las Vegas area. We reached out to one today. They said they can only set up traps on private property. They cannot do so in community areas or streets.

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