ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. — The hunt is on for an aggressive coyote in Atlantic Beach.
In the last 24 hours, a coyote bit one person and injured a dog. These attacks were confirmed to Action News Jax by the Atlantic Beach Police Department.
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But Facebook posts suggest there could have been additional attacks. All of these incidents appear to center around the Begonia Street area.
“Right now, because we had several incidents in a 24-hour period, it’s appropriate that you keep your animals inside the home and don’t let them run loose,” Atlantic Beach Mayor Curtis Ford said.
We spoke with Mayor Ford and Atlantic Beach Police Chief Victor Gualillo to get an update on the investigation.
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“We believe it’s one coyote,” Gualillo said. “The ones we’ve seen out there from reports from the citizens, we believe it is one coyote. We don’t believe it is rabid. Nothing about the behavior of the coyote suggests anything unusual.”
However, these incidents are leaving residents unsettled. Katie Pacetti is a mother of a 3-year-old and a dog owner. She saw the coyote firsthand Wednesday morning. She said she’s not taking any chances with her babies.
“I’m definitely probably not going to let either one of them in the yard by themselves at all until the coyote is taken care of,” Pacetti said.
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Gualillo said police only learned about the coyote through a social media post Wednesday morning. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is leading the investigation. They sent us this statement:
“The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is aware of recent reports of human-coyote incidents in the City of Atlantic Beach between April 29 and April 30, 2025. Staff are currently investigating the reported incidents and are in contact with the City.
“Unprovoked aggressive behavior from coyotes is unusual. If a coyote is approaching people closely, allowing people to approach closely, or acting in an aggressive manner, we ask that people contact the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (8922). More information about coyotes in Florida can be found at MyFWC.com/Coyote."
We also asked FWC if they believe the coyote is rabid and how they are going about trapping it. They said they could not comment on it at this time.
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