Wily Coyote Captured in Central Park

A wily coyote paid a visit to New York, leading dozens of police officers on foot and in a helicopter on a loping chase through Central Park before being captured this morning, according to Yahoo! News. Officials said the animal may have wandered into the city from suburban Westchester County, or perhaps crossed the Hudson River from New Jersey via a bridge, a railroad trestle or a passing truck, according to The Mankato Free Press. Officials said the tawny-colored animal, nicknamed Hal by park workers, was about a year old and weighed around 35 pounds. Hal proved quite adept at avoiding capture, jumping into the water, leaping over an 8-foot fence, ducking under a bridge and scampering through the grounds of a skating rink. In 1997, 15 sightings were noted, but many encounters are no longer even reported -- unless they involve the loss of a pet, according to Newsday.com. 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.

I found this story very entertaining and light-hearted. It reminds me of the Roadrunner cartoons that I watched when I was a kid. It must of been a hilarious sight to see the NYPD running around Central Park, chasing a wily coyote. Looking through various stories on this topic, I could not find out what officials are going to do with the coyote. I hope it is returned back into the wild. It did nothing wrong! :) Coyotes kick ass!!!!!!!!