Coyote attacks in Ohio are rare, but recent attack on 3-year-old shows they sometimes occur

A coyote attack on a 3-year-old girl in south Columbus in early September raised questions about the crafty canines and their growing presence on the Ohio landscape. According to the Ohio DNR, coyotes were historically found in the prairie West. And they began moving eastward into Ohio in the 1930s. By 1988, they were found in all 88 counties. Katie Dennison, a biologist with the Ohio DNR Division of Wildlife, said the migration was the result of Ohio’s deforestation and abundance of open fields, as well as a lack of predators like wolves and cougars.