There’s a Coyote in Central Park. Don’t Panic.

As a road and mountain biker I have been repeatedly hunted down and attacked by untold numbers of “domesticated” dogs. Conversely I have been alone on many trails especially in California and have encountered anywhere between single coyotes to large packs of coyotes in very close quarters. I have never had a coyote even approach me let alone attack me. As the article states, they’re either not interested in us or if they just don’t want to be around us. Now, small pets and, I would venture, small children would be at risk. They are quick opportunistic predators.

Living in New Mexico we do live with coyotes, bocats, and larger predators. Coyotes are commonplace in the village I live in. You may even see them during the day. They are predators not fighters. Their diet is primarily smaller animals. Folks out here know, no small animals left unprotected. My Golden Retrievers and I have encountered individual coyotes, small packs, etc. Even within 10 to 15 feet. They are really not interested in us, will generally saunter or run away. Always helpful for urban folks to read up on coyote literature. Some can be quite beautiful to look at...others rather gnarly. And they are indeed cleaver. Fighters no, predators yes.

With all due respect, I feel this language makes people irrationally fearful of these creatures. I grew up in Southern California where coyote encounters are commonplace, and large populations live in and near neighborhoods. In general they flee at the sight of humans. Small pets need to be watched and leashed in these areas. Otherwise, a relatively harmless creature...However, I agree the calling and howls can be disconcerting if you don't know better...

Well, I ain’t going to cross the park walking to see the ducks nor bounce down the hill after SHAKSPEARE IN THE PARK! I grew up in NAHARIYA israel up in the north by the Med Sea and on wintery nites we could hear the coyotes storming with the winds. It went along with the books I was reading in 8th grade and before terrorists launched themselves on the beach a couple of decades later... I doubt it’s the same breed of wildness but hey, if the city doesn’t take care of wildlife arriving in Central Park, I guarantee there will be more of an open zoo pretty soon...and then no one will wonder when and how the ecology changed...

She had no idea how she would find the person whose driver's license she found on the ground? Her address is on it. She could have put it in the mail.

“about how the animal got to Central Park. … “I assume just walking along the street,” she said. tune of "On the Sunny Side of the Street" Watch your pets, throw out your trash. And enjoy him from a distance.
 Don’t walk up to greet That coyote out on the street. If you see him, don’t act rash. Try a peaceful coexistence. Redirect your feet To the other side of the street ‘Cause if by chance he’s nearby Here is something to try. Raise your voice and hands high. Don’t get closer Oh, no sir! And the experts also warn Don’t befriend that wily fella. Once he’s gone, go and tweet “That coyote - saw it out on the street.”

If you come across one, just clap your hands and yell. It will take off.

Please explain why I am laughing so hard at this article... "“We can’t say definitely it’s living in Central Park,” Mr. Simon said. “It might be spending time” there and living nearby." How does it get there? I walks... I just can't

"Don Coyote and Sancho Panda" was already done - and by Hanna Barbera, who gave us The Flintstones and The Jetsons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Don_Coyote_and_Sancho_Panda Pandas are cute, doing kung fu our just sitting there being cute - but were coyotes ever considered cute? This could make kids think coyotes are approachable.

Every once in a while? the NYT's reporting is lame. The city is an island. The only way in is across a bridge or swimming a river. Both, I would think, would be daunting prospects.

Coyotes are cool. That is all.

The coyotes don't scare me. It's the criminals who killed Tessa Majors...who are, incidentally, still out and about...and other criminals like them that frighten me.

I’m more worried about someone hurting the coyote than they coyote hurting a person.

of course it doesn't live there it couldn't afford the rent

I’m curious why nobody from Gotham Coyote was quoted in the paper. Regardless, as long as people give the animal space and don’t feed it, it won’t harm anyone. It should be relocated though. If it’s a female maybe it can be release put on Suffolk so that that lonely male in the Hamptons can have a mate.

I live out west where coyotes are no big deal, but have been treated as pests at times. there was an effort at one point to exterminate them in a part of Montana that I'm familiar with and they did manage to get rid of a lot of them, with the unintended result that the rodent population exploded and ended up damaging pastures, which raises the risk of injuring cattle and horses. So the locals were very glad when the coyotes started repopulating the area. personally, I'm always glad to see them, and we often hear them at night howling. They're an important part of the ecosystem, probably even now in a place like Metropolitan New York City. maybe they can help reduce the rat population, who knows

On the how they got there question Katie Stennes said “I assume just walking along the street,” but Manhattan is an island. This came up when deer first arrived in Manhattan and it's pretty fascinating. At some point these animals are taking themselves on adventures across bridges. The Van Cortlandt Park deer had been documented using the abandoned railroad tracks to get to River Plaza Shopping Center almost as soon as it opened. Apparently the dumpsters behind Applebee's was a big hit. River Plaza is in the shadows of the Broadway Bridge. Assuming there coyotes followed in the footsteps of the deer and migrated from the wilds of Van Cortlandt Park, there must have been at least one evening when a coyote decided to walk across that bridge, you know go downtown to see what's up.

This is an outrageous, irresponsible and incompetent response from the NYPD, NYC Animal Control, the Parks Department, and the CP Park Conservancy. Within the past month, there have been documented and reported attacks on pets and humans from California to New Hampshire, including a child who was attacked by a coyote in Chicago, and a father who was forced to strangle a coyote with his bare hands after the animal attacked his child. Another coyote that accosted a women taking down holiday decorations in Massachusetts was determined to be rabid. The Central Park coyote is NOT keeping its distance either. There have been multiple reports of the coyote aggressively confronting dogs and their owners, in the same EXACT location. I was one of these persons who reported such an encounter. The coyote charged toward me and my leashed dog out of the darkness from a wooded part of the park (near 82nd St, on the West Dr) and would not back down or retreat, following my dog and me for a couple of minutes from a distance. Given the number of small children who frequent the park, not to mention the number of dogs and dog walkers, it is just a matter of time before such an encounter turns into an attack. I hope that the attorneys who advertise on the subway will line up to sue the city, and that the people in positions of responsibility will be held accountable for their inaction. They should pro-actively locate, trap and re-home this wild animal BEFORE such an attack occurs.

Since coyotes are nocturnal animals, it's pretty safe to assume they're probably not the most dangerous thing one could come across in the park at night.