Girl seriously injured in coyote attack on California beach

A girl was seriously injured in a coyote attack on a beach in Southern California on Thursday night, police said. The attack occurred just north of Huntington Beach Pier, on the beach itself, at about 9:45 p.m., according to Huntington Beach police.

The girl was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, but is expected to survive.

“There was, like, a coyote right around here, we saw it, and then all of the sudden it went in by this, like, family,” witness Garie Joncon told CBS Los Angeles. “And there was, like, a kid on the ground. And then, like five minutes later, we walked back, whole crowd around a baby. Baby evidently got, like, bit, and there was just blood all over its face.”

Cameras captured footage of the coyote running along the beach, CBS Los Angeles reported. Officers chased it down the beach but were unable to capture it. The coyote remains at large as of Friday morning.

Police are working with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to track it. Once it is caught, it will be euthanized, police said.

Police said that coyote trapping efforts have ramped up in recent weeks citywide.

Last year, CBS Los Angeles reported that a pack of 12 coyotes attacked a woman and her dog in Woodland Hills, California.