A rabid coyote bit a hiker in Gila National Forest near Silver City last week, according to the New Mexico Department of Health.

The hiker did not require hospitalization but is receiving routine treatment to prevent rabies infection, the department said in a news release issued Thursday. Agency spokesperson David Morgan wrote in an email that the infected coyote was euthanized, according to Morgan.

The coyote, which was diagnosed by the Health Department's Scientific Laboratory Division, is the fourth animal identified with rabies in southwest New Mexico this year, including a bobcat in Sierra County, a coyote in Catron County and a dog in Grant County.

While bats are the animal most susceptible to rabies, all mammals can get the disease.

“Rabies is preventable, but only if we take it

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