A toddler screamed for his mother when a coyote chased him outside their home in Pasadena, California, on Monday.
Surveillance footage shows the moment three-year-old Salvo Bessemer encountered the animal and screamed in terror, ABC 7 reported Tuesday.
The child’s parents were shocked at what happened, and his mother, Aida Svelto, recalled “Sal went out the gate like he always does before me. Then I heard a scream, and Sal came running back. He grabbed onto my legs, then I screamed because I saw a big, giant coyote.”
In the video clip, the coyote did not hesitate to follow Salvo closer to his house, but when another scream was heard the animal trotted back into the camera’s view then out of sight, per Inside Edition.
The boy’s mother said she was afraid if she had not been there her child would have been bitten:
Svelto told ABC 7 it was not uncommon to see coyotes in their neighborhood but they had never been so close to one.
“We have seen them, but they typically just stay on the street. I really didn’t feel nervous. Now I’m nervous. This one was bigger and scarier, and I just really didn’t think that he would go after a kid. It’s one thing to see them go after a chihuahua or rabbit or whatever, but he’s pretty big, so it was scary,” she explained.
According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, coyotes are native to the state and live in diverse habitats.
“They are highly intelligent, social, and adaptive. They generally live in family groups and establish home range territories to hunt and raise their pups. Most wild animals, including coyotes, naturally avoid or fear humans,” the site reads. “Coyotes are at increased risk of becoming food conditioned or habituated due to increased access to non-natural food sources. Some people do not realize the harm in feeding wild animals or preventing access to attractants.”
Meanwhile, Kevin McManus with Pasadena Humane told ABC 7 it is mating season, so the coyotes are more active.
In November, two children were reportedly injured after a coyote attack in San Diego, with one of the victims, a three-year-old girl, being bitten on her hip and arm, according to People.
