Wily coyote eludes police in Central Park

Hilarious Clinton · March 22, 2006

NEW YORK -- A police helicopter and sharpshooters armed with tranquilizer guns were no match for a wily coyote that remained on the loose in Central Park Wednesday.

At one point, authorities tried to corner the animal in the southeast corner of the park, by Wolman Rink. The clever creature jumped into the water, ducked under a bridge, then scampered through the rink grounds and ran off.

The hunt has continued since Tuesday when Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, among others, spotted the animal in the southeast corner of the park, not far from the tony Upper East Side.

"It didn't look the least bit worried," he said. "He leaped over the fence and disappeared in the park."

While coyotes don't usually present a threat to people, Benepe warned that park visitors should keep their dogs leashed to protect the pets.

Officers did locate and shoot at the tawny animal as they hunted for hours Tuesday, but police said it escaped into a wooded area. Benepe said the creature would be taken to an upstate wildlife facility once it's caught.

The coyote, nicknamed Hal by Parks Department staffers, may have wandered into the city from Westchester County, perhaps swimming across a river, Benepe said. Another coyote found its way to Central Park in 1999 and is now kept in the Queens Zoo.

"It's very unusual to have them in Manhattan," he said. "They have to be particularly adventurous."

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