NYPD ended a massive, four-hour hunt for the Upper West Side coyote that was spotted on Wednesday morning, reports the Daily News. An Upper West Side resident dialed 911 after spotting a coyote at around 5:15 a.m. near Riverside Drive and W. 87th Street. NYPD Emergency Service Unit officers brought tranquilizer guns and animal grasper poles to try and nab the creature. After the sighting, the coyote migrated toward W. 73rd Street, and then changed directions, moving to W. 91st Street. The coyote was spotted lying on a large rock around 6 a.m.
“It’s run the range and the gamut of the whole area,” an NYPD spokesman told the News. NYPD officers roped off sections of the park to make sure visitors were safe from the animal.
NYPD even dispatched a helicopter with a thermal imaging camera to watch the animal, though they canceled several search teams around 7:20 a.m., according to the News. The helicopter team found the coyote loitering around W. 122nd Street near Grant’s Tomb. Finally, cops called off the search around 9 a.m. as the coyote was difficult to find in the brush. Coyotes are nocturnal creatures, so police said they didn’t foresee problems during the day, though they dispatched officers to keep watch in the park throughout the day. The 24th Precinct tweeted: “The coyote is deeply nestled in the brush. @NYPDnews operations have concluded. Thank you. #24PCT#UWS #community“ One officer told the News that this coyote is a whopper: “It’s real big. It’s a pretty good sized coyote.”
NYPD calls off coyote hunt
Twitter / NYPD 24th Precinct
