Brett Cohn was strolling through Central Park on Saturday morning, when he came upon an unexpected and different type of park-goer.
A coyote!
“A large coyote stopped me in my tracks this morning,” Cohn wrote on X.
A large coyote stopped me in my tracks this morning! @BirdCentralPark pic.twitter.com/7Mx4KyNRb6
— Brett Cohn (@iBTCOHN) April 20, 2024
Cohn spotted the coyote on the south slope of Cherry Hill, just north of the 72nd Street transverse.
“This large coyote, perhaps more heavily of wolf genetics than most, is known to be active in Central Park during the day,” wrote Manhattan Bird Alert, a popular social media account that tracks birds and nature within the borough.
While it is rare to see a coyote in Manhattan, it does not mean that they are not here.
Coyotes have been seen in the Ramble and North Woods within Central Park since the 1930s, and also get spotted in Upper Manhattan near Inwood Hill Park.
If you come across a coyote, here’s advice from the Central Park Conservancy.
“You may be surprised to learn that coyotes are shy animals; they’re very good at avoiding humans,” reads a blurb from the Conservancy. “However, if a coyote feels threatened it will try to defend itself. The best thing to do if you spot a coyote in the Park is to stay calm and stay at a distance.”
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Awesome!!
Really? And what happens if it grabs a child?
Then it would be a dingo, not a coyote
Ding, ding, ding….we have a winner for post of the day!
Spit out my coffee when I read this. Love a good Seinfeld quote. Too funny!
They’re food for the animal sad
Much more likely that it grabs a rat. Coyotes do not attack humans unless threatened.
That’s the circle of life, my dude.
Technically you’re in it’s habitat
It’ll eat well!
“Why are you videoing me? Stop looking at me. Nuthin’ to see here. I’ll just go behind these bushes now.”
They are amazing animals. Hope I get to see it sometime.
Better leash those dogs!
Doesn’t it seem unusually large? Has this been photoshopped?
Could be a coywolf, yes that’s a real thing. Hybrid of coyote, wolf, and domestic dog. So they wily as coyotes actually are, bigger and more aggressive than run-of-the mill coyote, and less fearful of human with the domesticated dog admixture.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coywolf
Or could simply be a coydog. Same problematic behavior – less fearful of humans means more dangerous to them and their pets because of lack of fear to approach.
Looks healthy
And well fed. Central Park must be good hunting grounds.
There have been coyotes in Manhattan for many decades. I have seen them a few times. Just leave them alone and they will do the same. Do not call 911 because you see a coyote, it is not illegal to be a coyote. So unless the animal is acting sick or overtly aggressive leave it alone.
Hey, there are wolves on Wall Street, no?
Some years ago, at night while walking my dog, I spotted one in Riverside park near 78th St. A bunch of cops with rifles were shadowing it from a distance. I asked one of the cops where the hell it had come from. He turned to me and deadpanned “72nd street” .
I think I remember that.
Welcome to our wild-ish neighbor. Contrary to popular fears, urban coyotes are not actively hunting your dog or your child. They eat mostly small rodents — rats, mice, squirrels, of which Central Park can provide plenty. My source: https://urbancoyoteresearch.com/faq/what-do-urban-coyotes-eat
If they eat the rats, I’m inclined to ignore them, especially if they avoid humans.
“Wolf genetics” were mentioned by Manhattan Bird alert. Could it be a coywolf? Here’s a channel 13 segment on a coywolf in New York City in 2014..
Most coyotes in the northeast have wolf admixture. Coyotes only arrived in the northeast within the last 100 years; along the way it is thought that they intermingled with remnant wolf populations. Wolves, however, were totally extirpated from the northeastern states by the 19th century.
There were tons of coyote sightings from 2018-21, often around this time of year. I reported several of them myself.
They are beautiful animals, but they are wild animals, and contrary to the non-sense from the Conservancy, they are as likely to be curious or aggressive as they are to be shy.
My dog and I were approached and followed more than once by adult coyotes. They MAY have been being playful, but they definitely were not shy.
They can certainly be dangerous (to small animals and small children), and they can carry rabies.
There really should be more of a concerted effort to remove and relocate them from the park, euthanizing if/when necessary.
They will go for à small dog left alone in a yard. Don”t let à small dog go off leash outside the dog runs duringvoff leash hours.- Small children should not be left unattended anyway.
I can’t recall a coyote attacking anyone or any pets , never a case of rabies or any incident. You want healthy animals euthanized because you don’t understand them and they make you uncomfortable. Please educate yourself on wildlife in NYC.
There is also a large deer that has apparently taken up residence in Fort Washington Park just south of the GW Bridge. He or she is often standing near the walking and cycling path, I’m guessing people have been feeding it.
If that’s the one that was in Ft. Tryon Park a few days ago, it was killed by a car on the highway yesterday.
Hope he doesn’t have rat poison in him. Or pigeon herpes!
Looking for the Road Runner??
How can you differentiate a coyote from a German Shepherd?
A German Shepherd is twice its size.
Aww coyotes 💜 I’ve hiked in the Ramble, sure glad they were feeling shy!
This appear to be a hybrid. A coywolf.
Can confirm! Twice in the past few months, I have spotted a coyote just like this one moving through the Ramble in Central Park in the morning. Perhaps it’s the same one…
This guy is bi-coastal. Saw him out here during pilot season but he wants to conquet Broadway & has been working on his howl. N.Y.-give him a break.