UPDATE: Negative Rabies Tests in Two Coyote Attacks

This story last updated Tuesday at 5:10pm

Both coyotes involved in separate attacks against two Sun City Palm Desert women have tested negative for rabies, Riverside County Animal Services officals have told Patch.

The latest coyote attack occured early Sunday morning.

Riverside County Animal Services officers responded by setting a trap Sunday morning. Shortly afterward, a California Fish & Game warden shot and killed a coyote within the area where the victim had been bitten. The bite had occurred at about 4:30 a.m.

The coyote was shot inside the Del Webb Sun City community in an unincorporated pocket of Riverside County northeast of Palm Desert. The victim, a 69-year-old woman who lives within the Sun City community, was doing a morning walk. She was treated at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage and has been released from the hospital.

Ten days earlier, on June 14, a separate bite occurred. A woman, also 69, was bitten by a coyote while she was gardening. The bite happened at about 7 p.m. Federal trappers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture trapped the coyote, which was later humanely destroyed and transported to a lab for rabies testing. 

Fish & Game and Riverside County Animal Services officials say it is unusual for coyotes to bite a human. Coyotes tend to try and avoid contact with people. However, residents near wilderness areas do often cross paths with so-called urban coyotes that seek easy food and water sources, such as what pet owners leave out for their dogs and cats. Also, small animals are often targeted by urban coyotes. 

Last week, Palm Desert Patch and Animal Samaritans told you as coyotes venture into human habitats.

Riverside County Animal Services has tips on how to prepare your home against wildlife .

The lack of winter rains may also see a rise in such sightings, state Fish & Game and Riverside County experts say.