By Scott R. Axelrod
Staten Island Advance, N.Y.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — One city-based coyote seemed to be having a pretty “ruff” day before members of the NYPD swooped in to intervene.
According to tweet posted to Manhattan’s 19th Precinct twitter page, officers responding to a call of a distressed “dog” battling river currents on Monday ended up pulling a coyote from the river.
In a video, the waterlogged, shivering pup can be seen being pulled up onto an NYPD harbor boat with the use of a dog noose.
“Coyotes are common in NYC, but one swimming in the East River is not,” the post said. “Thanks to NYPD Harbor for coming to the rescue — he’s now in the care of veterinarians.”
https://twitter.com/NYPD19Pct/status/1645552760031412225
Around this time last year, the Advance/SILive.com reported that sightings confirmed at least one coyote was living on Staten Island, according to wildlife experts with the city Department of Parks and Recreation, who stressed that the wild animal was not a threat to people.
From coast to coast, coyotes have become a fact of life in American cities, according to the National Wildlife Federation, and the total number of city coyotes in the United States could be anywhere from 1 million to 10 million.
“Over the last several decades, coyotes have been expanding their natural range in response to ample food and open habitat,” said Anessa Hodgson, a Parks Department spokesperson, noting that coyotes also reside in the Bronx, Queens and Manhattan.
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