Javelinas (not those involved in reported attacks) are shown near Oracle and Magee roads in Oro Valley on March 20.

Javelina charged a dog and its owner while the person was placing trash in a bin Tuesday morning, authorities say.

The dog was bitten and its owner bruised in the incident near North Swan and East Fort Lowell roads, the Arizona Game & Fish Department said in a tweet.

“Garbage (is) a major javelina attractant; take to curb day of pickup,” the tweet said.

“Reverse course when dog walking if javelina are seen.”

No other information was given about the incident.

This was the second javelina attack on a dog walker reported by Game & Fish in Tucson in the last month.

A 58-year-old suffered a broken leg when a javelina charged on March 7, the department said. The “blind-side” attack occurred near Craycroft Road and 22nd Street.

“Javelina think dogs are coyotes” and defend themselves against the perceived predators, Game & Fish said. “Victims get hurt when defending their dogs. Go the other way ASAP when javelina are seen.”

In September 2022, two people were bitten by javelina in the Tucson area while walking their dogs in separate incidents, state wildlife officials reported then.

One, an 11-year-old girl who was walking with her mother, was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital after being bitten near Campbell Avenue and Skyline Drive.

That came two days after a woman and her dog were attacked from behind by a javelina on La Cholla Boulevard near Magee Road. The woman was left with a 2-inch gash on her thigh, and her dog with a leg wound, both of which required treatment but no hospitalization, according to Arizona Daily Star archives.

Game & Fish Department spokesman Mark Hart explained then that javelinas are not normally aggressive toward people but will react instinctively to perceived threats.

“They have a keen sense of smell, but they don’t see very well,” he said. “They can’t distinguish the difference between a dog and a coyote, and a coyote is a natural enemy.”

A Star reader shared this video of seven javelinas he saw while at a Tucson resort Saturday, March 25.


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