Yes, it WAS a coyote! In New York City! Since the 1990s, coyotes have been living, breeding and getting a solid toe-hold in all the boroughs. The Park Service has been studying them to get a count, find out how they're related and what they're eating. Trail cameras help, but the best answers about the population come from studying their poop, known officially as "scat." What have they learned? (I'll skip the poop processing steps...)
The population is surprisingly diverse genetically, showing that outsiders are finding the local groups. They're shown to eat mostly small mammals, birds and fruit, rather than the expected garbage.
And they're here to stay. They are incredibly adaptable, and surprisingly good neighbors, as they keep the rodent population down. If you see one? Keep a little distance, don't feed them, and enjoy that rare special opportunity. And you might want to keep that Chihuahua on a leash!
Return To Home