Odd long-snouted creature attacks hiker, rips off windshield wiper, Arizona cops say
A man was returning from a hike in southern Arizona when he saw an odd long-snouted animal on the hood of his car, deputies said.
It ripped off his windshield wiper, then lunged at him, the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
The attack happened Sunday, March 23, in Ash Canyon, which is south of Sierra Vista, deputies said.
When the hiker realized a white-nosed coatimundi was on his car, he yelled and waved his arms to get the animal to move, deputies said.
The animal tore off his wiper, jumped off the car, and bit and scratched him, deputies said.
He ran into his car and had to get medical treatment, including a rabies vaccine, for his injuries.
Then he went back to Tucson, deputies said.
A wildlife specialist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture went to the area after the attack to find the animal but had no luck, deputies said.
The worker will search the area again. If the animal is found, it will get tested for rabies, deputies said.
In the meantime, deputies said visitors should be aware of their surroundings and avoid engaging with wild animals.
Ash Canyon is near the U.S.-Mexico border.
What’s a coatimundi?
A white-nosed coatimundi (coati) is an animal in the raccoon family found from Arizona to South America, according to the National Park Service.
The wild animal is about the size of a small dog, and it uses its “long snout with a flexible nose” to find food like snakes, lizards, nuts, berries or bird eggs in trees, the agency said.
Coatis found in the Sonoran Desert often live in rocky canyons filled with oak and sycamore trees or riparian areas in the winter.
They are generally not aggressive toward people unless “they feel threatened or cornered,” Arizona State Parks & Trails said.
People should always keep a distance from coatis and never feed them, the state agency said.
“If you do see a coatimundi, it’s best to admire it from afar and give it plenty of space. Besides … if you get too close you run the risk of spooking them from the area and then no one gets to enjoy their antics,” officials said.
This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 11:13 AM with the headline "Odd long-snouted creature attacks hiker, rips off windshield wiper, Arizona cops say."
