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Coyote Riverside Park: Coyote Loose In NYC, Manhattan’s Upper West Side Is Home To Intriguing Animal

By Heather Tooley
Published on: 06:15 PST, Apr 22, 2015

A coyote in Riverside Park — located in New York City — is loose, and authorities are trying to capture the wild animal. Police say the coyote was seen at about 5 a.m. Wednesday morning near the Hudson River between 96th and 79th streets at the park, CBS News reports.

Police were combing the area with snares to catch the animal. Other searchers involved emergency service units.

NYC Scanner posted a tweet about the coyote in Riverside Park drama that unraveled Wednesday morning.

“Manhattan: West 84 St & Riverside Drive NYPD Calling a Level 1 mobilization for a Coyote spotted in the park @NYPDSpecialops requested.”

NY Daily News further reports that NYPD Emergency Service Unit workers had tranquilizer guns in their search for the coyote at Riverside Park. A 911 call earlier alerted police to a coyote sighting near Riverside Drive and 83rd Street, where the unit was concentrated in the search. Police had blocked joggers and dog walkers from paths in the area as a protective measure. Prior to residents being alarmed by the loose coyote, the animal had been spotted by helicopter at Grant’s Tomb. Despite tracking the animal down, the search had been called off around 9 a.m. The coyote was burrowed in some brush and in deep enough that no one could get close enough to snare or tranquilize it. Since coyotes are nocturnal, it’s not likely to surface and bother anyone. Police are remaining at the park as a safety precaution, however. A police officer involved in the search said the Riverside Park coyote is larger than they expected.

“It’s real big. It’s a pretty good sized coyote.”

Daily News spoke with several residents and park visitors about the coyote. Many welcomed the animal — with one saying it made the area feel “less urban” and another said “we don’t do enough to preserve them.” Overall, a lot of people are intrigued by the coyote and not afraid of it.

CBS News reports that last week a coyote was loose in NYC. It was captured by police in a church courtyard in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. A dart gun was used to shoot a tranquilizer into the animal. Animal Care and Control Facility of East Harlem picked up the animal for evaluation, then later released it.

According to the report, there are also multiple dens of coyotes in the suburban areas of New Jersey.

The coyote in Riverside Park apparently finds it a good place to settle for now.

[Photo Credit: NYPD 24th Precinct / Twitter]

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