What to Know
- Video shot at the Emerald Island Resort on Saturday near Kissimmee showed the animal, who would later test positive for rabies, coming out.
Surveillance video at a Central Florida resort showed a man being confronted by a coyote this past weekend – and kicking the animal as it moved toward him.
Video shot at the Emerald Island Resort on Saturday near Kissimmee showed the animal, who would later test positive for rabies, coming out of a nearby forest area and growling at the man as he walked down the sidewalk according to NBC affiliate WESH-TV.
The man can be seen trying to scare the animal and waving his arms, but the coyote continued toward him and the man kicked the animal – which knocked it to the ground. Moments later, the animal awakens and moves toward a vehicle before leaving the area.
The coyote is believed to be the same one that bit two people in nearby homes, including a woman who was planting flowers in her yard.
"I kicked it, I punched it, she was punching it. It wouldn't get off. She was punching it too, so I ended up choking it and then it released her, so I threw it on the ground and I basically sat on it," the man’s wife, Tom O'Donnell, said.
O’Donnell and another man were able to tie the animal’s legs and snout and placed it in a dog cage until animal control arrived. The coyote died shortly after that.
Local
The Department of Health and Osceola County officials issued a rabies alert for the area and both bite victims are currently being treated for possible exposure to the disease.
