A Coyote in Manhattan... What WILL they think of next?

[Outlander00]

Kind of an amusing report from WNBC Channel 4 in NYC:

NEW YORK -- He's one tourist city officials hope WON'T be coming back. A wily young coyote made the most of his visit to the Big Apple, at one point leaping over an 8-foot fence as he led dozens of police officers on foot and in a helicopter on a merry chase in Central Park before being captured Wednesday. "For a coyote to get to midtown, he has to be a very adventurous coyote," said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe. Officials said the tawny-colored animal, nicknamed Hal by park workers, was about a year old and weighed about 35 pounds. Hal proved to be quite adept at avoiding capture, jumping into the water, ducking under a bridge, and scampering through the grounds of an ice skating rink after authorities thought they had him cornered Wednesday morning.

Hal was caught near Belvedere Castle, close to 79th Street and Central Park West, around 10 a.m. All the while, news helicopters hovering overhead tracked every turn in the chase, and it was broadcast around the country. Benepe said a NYPD officer shot the animal with a tranquilizer gun at close range. The hunt began Tuesday afternoon when Benepe, among others, spotted the animal in the southeast corner of Central Park, near glitzy Fifth Avenue, before he leaped over a fence and disappeared. Authorities said he had been hit by a tranquilizer dart, apparently to no effect. It's unclear when Hal first arrived in the big city, but the first sightings of the animal came early Sunday. Hal is only the second coyote ever to be spotted in Central Park, Benepe said, the last being seven years ago.

It's not the simplest of journeys, either, Benepe said. "You either have to swim or cross a railroad trestle used by Metro-North and Amtrak that runs along the Hudson under the George Washington Bridge and then goes through a very wooded area."Interestingly, Benepe said both coyotes strayed into the same area, the Hallett Wildlife Sanctuary. "It's an area closed to people and dogs, so it's a good place for a coyote to hunt for birds," he said. While coyotes don't usually present a threat to people, Benepe had warned that park visitors should keep their dogs leashed to protect the pets. The coyote may have wandered into the city from Westchester County, or perhaps come across the Hudson River from New Jersey, Benepe said. Asked to speculate why a coyote would venture into Central Park, Benepe said, "It's an immature young coyote ... at that age they're frisky and curious to explore the turf." Hal was recovering from his capture, Benepe said, who paid him a visit. He said the animal would be taken to an upstate wildlife facility "as soon as he is ready to be transferred." Coyote sightings in urban areas are nothing new, but the creatures don't usually venture into the concrete jungle of New York City. The coyote that found its way to Central Park in 1999 is now kept in the Queens Zoo. "It's very unusual to have them in Manhattan," Benepe said. But he said it probably wouldn't be the last time, as wild animals of all kinds are increasingly seen in developed areas. He said the department would think about working with the city Department of Health to develop a protocol. In suburban Westchester County, coyote sightings have increased rapidly since the 1970s. In 1997, 15 sightings were noted, but many encounters are no longer even reported -- unless they involve the loss of a pet. The animals generally shy away from people and no attacks on humans have been recorded, but several pet dogs have been snatched from back yards by the predators. Officials fear that as the coyotes settle into a suburban existence they may lose some fear of people. The state and Cornell University are planning a five-year study that will include attempts to trap and tranquilize coyotes in four Westchester towns. "We used to say, `No, you don't have to be worried.' We're not saying that anymore," said Gordon Batcheller, a biologist with the sate Department of Environmental Conservation.

[solarflere]

Well out Central Park was visited by an aligator, several endangered Eagles and Owls, why not a Cayote. The question is whats next.

[Tay the Cat]

If they want a good place to send the coyote to, they could always send it out this way. We've got plenty.

[tucsoncoyote]

See this is what hapopens when you don't have a map, and you don't ask for proper directions..

Cousin Wild E.:

Darn that Bugs Bunny! I knew I should have taken that Left at Alberquerque!!! Now I'll have to tell my cousin Tucson, that I'll be late for my wedding to his sister!

But at least the duck in New York City's Central Park is good..

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

More descriptions and photos of Hal the coyote in today's New York Times, although given the latest bit of egg on their face, it's possible that their photos of Hal were really of a stray dog trying to score free tranquilizers. Visit bugmenot.com if you need a login.

Click here for Hal looking remarkably relaxed after he woke up in his cage.

-- Ed/Ace

[Outlander00]

Click here for Hal looking remarkably relaxed after he woke up in his cage.

No matter how you slice it, Hal is cuddly

[The Guitar Slayer]

Awwwwww. Whether it's the bat that the nuns had to rescue from my senior theology classroom or Hal here, I just want to take wild, unvaccinated animals home with me to feed. Excessively cute.

[Scorpio_G]

Well out Central Park was visited by an aligator, several endangered Eagles and Owls, why not a Cayote. The question is whats next.

A big snake and a Tiger...oh wait that did happen. Not in central park but somewhere else in NYC.

[solarflere]

A big snake and a Tiger...oh wait that did happen. Not in central park but somewhere else in NYC.

If you mean that apartment, then you can laso add chickens pigs and a rooster there as well.

[sun]

Three or four years ago, a coyote made it to downtown Chicago, and got wedged underneath a Taxi..The picture of Wiley was in all the papers. They theorized that he followed the rairoad tracks that go directecly into the downtown area near the Art Institute. He had probably followed those tracks, and lived in the brush near the tracks, living off of rodents and such, and just went South into the city from the Southern suburbs--covering several miles a day. They caught him and released him into a forest preserve out some where..
..Contrary to what many people think ., Coyotes are exceptionally smart and adaptable, and are found in many unlikely places. Many sad pet owners living in outlying suburbs have found, that after having kept left their small dogs out all night, that they unfortunately became dinner for some roaming coyote..
.... Their major diet is rodents and other small mammals. They will not attack humans..They keep down the rabbit, rat and mice population....
.. This may seem quite unusual, but then Manhattan is quite unusual. I am not surprised that one got in. Owls too adapt well to city and urban life, but they are not noticed much because of their nocturnal habits. They too help to take care of the rat population, and are really an asset to have..

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

Sad ending to this story: Hal the Central Park Coyote has died:

ALBANY, N.Y. Mar 31, 2006 (AP)— Hal, the coyote who paid a visit to New York City and was captured as he loped around Central Park, died as he was being tagged for release in the wild, a state official said Friday.

The coyote stopped breathing Thursday night during the routine tagging procedure and biologists could not revive him, said Gabrielle DeMarco, spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Pathologists were trying to determine whether the stress of his capture or captivity or something else contributed to the death of the year-old, 35-pound coyote.

And he was almost free, too.

-- Ed/Ace

[Outlander00]

Yeah its sad... only a year old too