A New York jogger was given the scare of a lifetime while out for his morning run in Central Park.
Brett Cohn was out for his morning exercise on Saturday when he encountered an enormous coyote.
On X.com, formerly Twitter, Cohn posted two videos from his brush with the wild animal.
In the first video, the coyote turns its head and placidly regards the jogger, apparently untroubled by his presence.
After scrutinizing the jogger, the animal turns around and marches across a sidewalk.
No other pedestrians can be heard tramping through the park, just birds can be heard trilling in the background.
In the next video, the coyote prances across the grass, its ears perked up, before stopping and gazing off into the distance.
Cohn later added that the ‘large coyote’ was ‘bigger than a German Shepherd.’
Viewers quickly took to the comment section to express their alarm and awe at the sight of the big animal.
I’ve seen a few around Chicago over the years but I’m pretty sure they were smaller.’
One user explained that coyotes were ‘pretty big in NY. Much larger than the ones out in So Cal.’
In his Tweet, Cohn tagged ‘Bird Central Park,’ an X.com account run by nature experts who are focused on documenting wildlife in Manhattan.
Manhattan Bird Alert, which almost has 92,000 followers, commented on the video, observing that the footage looked like it was recorded ‘on the south slope of Cherry Hill, just north of the 72nd Street transverse.’
The naturalists at Manhattan Bird Alert thanked Cohn for his ‘great footage,’ and then shed light on the coyote’s appearance, noting that the animal seemed to have some wolfish characteristics.
According to Central Park’s official website, ‘coyotes have been in and around New York City since the 1930s and have been spotted in areas like the Ramble and North Woods.’
The website stated that, contrary to widespread belief, ‘coyotes are shy animals,’ and ‘they’re very good at avoiding humans.’
But they warned that ‘if a coyote feels threatened, it will try to defend itself.’
Central Park officials counseled that ‘the best thing to do if you spot a coyote in the Park is to stay calm and stay at a distance.’
‘You can observe the animal while also respecting its space (stay back at least 150 feet, if possible). Do not approach the coyote.’
‘This is both for their safety and the safety of other Park visitors. Leashing is especially important when it comes to coyotes; make sure that your dog stays within your sight at all times.’
The website also observed that while coyotes have nocturnal tendencies, they have been known to roam during the day.
‘Coyotes are more active at night, however they aren’t strictly nocturnal so you may encounter one roaming during the day.’
Researchers estimate that there are around 20 coyotes in New York City, although that number is not fixed and fluctuates with the seasons.
