A Nova Scotia Power employee shows coyote teeth marks in his jacket after an aggressive animal attacked him in Spryfield. (Courtesy of NSP)An aggressive coyote attacked a meter reader with Nova Scotia Power Friday morning in the Spryfield area of Halifax.

The man walked around a building at a farm museum in an urban area on Rockingstone Road in Spryfield to find one adult coyote and two younger animals, the Department of Natural Resources said in a release.

The adult coyote leaped up and bit the man on the arm. He was wearing a bulky winter jacket, so the bite did not go through to his arm.

NSP spokesman Steve Pothier said a man walking his German shepherd dog saw the attack. The passerby unleashed his dog, which chased the coyote and her pups away.

"The key for us is that our employee was uninjured," he said.

Pothier said the meter reader was back on the job by the afternoon.

"He was uninjured and willing and able to go back to work," he said.

The incident took place just a block away from an elementary and junior high school, and children walk by the area every day on their way to and from school.

Mike Boudreau, human-wildlife conflict biologist with the department, said a trapper will be sent to the property.

Since the province's coyote trapping program started, he said, DNR officers have been called to more than a dozen cases of coyotes coming into conflict with humans.

He said people should be aware that the animals are likely just looking for food. Boudreau said compost bins should be kept covered. He also said coyotes can be attracted to an area by the presence of outdoor pets and fruit that is on the ground, even if it's covered by snow.

Earlier this week, a coyote was spotted near an elementary school in Halifax's Clayton Park area, but there was no direct contact with humans.