Mum fights off vicious coyote with a flip-flop after it attacks four-year-old daughter then bites her face

A BRAVE mother has battled a savage coyote with just a flip-flop after the animal attacked her four-year-old daughter. Brittany Cardinal, 36, has been left with serious injuries after the crazed canine clamped its jaws on her face as she was out flying a kite with her young child. Brittany Cardinal, 36, fought off a coyote after the animal attacked her daughter Credit: WLBT She suffered severe lacerations and puncture wounds to her face Credit: WLBT The nightmare unfolded in Surprise, Arizona, on September 6 when Brittany suddenly heard her child’s piercing scream. She instantly spun around and – to her horror – saw a coyote attacking her defenceless child. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Acting fast, she swiped the flip-flop from her foot and began swinging it at the beast, while screaming at the top of her lungs. She told WWNY-TV: “There was no hesitation at all. A coyote is a small, wild canine native to North and Central America Credit: Getty Arizona officials have seized several coyotes from the area and are testing them for rabies Credit: Getty “I don’t even think I thought about anything. “I think you, like a mom, try to protect your kid.” Amidst the chaos the brave mother fell to the ground and while she was finally able to free her child, the coyote then turned its fury to her. The savage animal sank its jaws into the felled mothers face but even though she was wounded her commitment to battling the beast continued. Most read in The Sun She continued: “I always hear people say, ‘You don’t feel the pain when trauma like that happens,’ and I mean, I really didn’t feel any pain. “I just felt like the pressure of it.” In a moment of reprieve, Brittany and her daughter were finally able to make a run for their home and help. The mother suffered severe lacerations and puncture wounds to her face but thanks to her heroism her daughter came from the ordeal unharmed. Arizona Game and Fish officials told the outlet the bizarre attack was the first recorded coyote attack on a person in the Phoenix area since December 2023, and they don’t know what triggered it. Wildlife officials have since removed several coyotes from the area and are testing them for rabies. Alex Flickinger, public affairs community liaison for Arizona Game and Fish said the mother took exemplary action. He said: “You fight back, you yell at the animal, be loud with it, throw rocks, whatever you have to do to get that animal to just run off.” The mother said she will now carry pepper spray with her at all times. It comes following another terrifying incident where a three-year-old boy was pounced on by a coyote in Los Angeles, California. Shocking footage shows a dangerous predator ambushing an unsuspecting toddler and violently biting him outside his home before his family managed to chase the animal away. He was rushed to hospital with non-life threatening puncture wounds to his leg and torso. Comment now