Why are coyote sightings on the rise?

A trip to the park ended at the hospital for Trevor Sweta who turned four years old on Thursday.

“He’s not even thinking about that. He’s still in a state of shock when he goes out of the house,” said Trevor’s dad Thomas Sweta.

Trevor was bitten by a coyote at Parkway Central Park on Monday.

Thomas Sweta says he fought off the animal that had pinned his son to the ground.

“Of course, I'm still feeling the pain on my arm because I fell down,” said Thomas Sweta.

Trevor, he says, received his second round of rabies shots Thursday.

Thomas Sweta says he's relieved the coyote suspected of attacking three children has been caught.

“I feel good because if it was still out there, that means it was bound to attack another child,” said Thomas Sweta.

Arlington Animal Services and Arlington police captured a coyote after they say it approached them near the park Thursday morning.

“The less-than-lethal round struck the coyote, completely stunned him. He laid back down. We moved in and was able to get the coyote under control,” said Arlington Police Officer Eric Belisle.

From Plano to Fort Worth, coyote sightings are on the rise.

“Right now is mating season so they're a little more active. Their hormones are raging,” said Karin Saucedo, a coyote expert with North Texas Wildlife Rescue.

Saucedo says she's receiving more calls about coyotes this year compared to last.

“We have this rapid growth of dense human populations living right up against wild spaces,” explained Saucedo.

“That's creating an increased risk of human interaction with coyotes.”

She says coyotes coming in contact with humans is extremely unusual, a rarity with which the Sweta family is now all too familiar.

“He’s hanging in there,” said Thomas Sweta.

When encountering a coyote, Saucedo says humans should act like the bigger predator that they are.

She suggests opening an umbrella or a plastic bag to scare the animal away.

Arlington Animal Services says there’s no way to be 100% sure the coyote captured is the one that attacked the children.

The USDA is now investigating.

Parkway Central Park remains closed.

The coyote was to be euthanized Thursday and tested for rabies. The results are expected Friday.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU ENCOUNTER A COYOTE?

If you're out on a walk or playing in the park and encounter a coyote, there are a few things you can do to stay safe as we coexist.

• Do NOT turn and run. Instead, look the animal in the eye and back up slowly.
• Make loud noises by yelling or talking loudly. Try to appear bigger than you are by holding out your arms or by holding them in the air. This act of "hazing" can be intimidating and may make the animal afraid to come any closer.
• Create some distance between you and the animal by slowly backing up or by carrying a stick you can use to keep the animal at bay.
• If there is a rock or stone nearby, hold it and/or use it to throw it at the animal to convince it not to follow you.
• When going out for a walk, carry a whistle, air horn, or a can of rocks -- anything that makes a lot of noise could intimidate the animal.
• Animals like coyotes are generally not aggressive toward humans and they try to avoid contact with people. A coyote that has become habituated to humans, or used to being around them, will be less inclined to run away and may be more aggressive toward people. To prevent coyotes from becoming habituated, it's recommended people avoid leaving food or trash around as easy food sources and that people repeatedly haze a coyote to discourage future encounters.
• Texas Parks and Wildlife offers the following resources for coexisting with urban coyotes.