California dad saves young daughter from coyote attack outside their home

People have been encroaching on the homes of wild animals for decades and, naturally, this leads to close run-ins with the animals that inhabit the areas. We've heard of bears in cars, opossums in garages and even bats in people's attics. One family recently had a really scary close call with a coyote.

In a video posted to TikTok, a dad in Woodland Hills, California, Ariel Eliyahuo looks to be unpacking the car and his 2-year-old daughter is out of sight on the other side of the dark-colored SUV. You can see what looks to be a medium-sized dog walk behind the car before you hear the little girl scream. When the dad rounds the back of the car to see if his daughter fell, the coyote starts trying to run off with the child.

The whole encounter happened in merely a few seconds. In an instant, the dad has his daughter under his arm like a football, running her to safety. As he's running with the toddler, the coyote keeps coming toward them so he throws a rock at the animal while he and his wife yell, trying to scare it away.

As people continue to encroach upon local wildlife, predator species such as coyotes become more comfortable around humans. Experts say that people feeding coyotes is increasing coyote attacks. Sure, they look like dogs, but it's important to remember these aren't the kind of animals you can just pick up from your local Humane Society. Coyotes are wild animals and feeding them, especially in residential areas, likely makes them associate humans with food and keeps them coming back, increasing the risk of attacks.