Coyote Riverside Park, A cunning coyote played a game of hide and seek with cops Wednesday morning on the Upper West Side after it was seen in Riverside Park, officials said.
NYPD Emergency Service Unit officers armed with tranquilizer guns and animal grasper poles were called in to stalk the critter, a distant cousin of the gray wolf, after a 911 caller reported a sighting on Riverside Drive near W. 87th St. at about 5:15 a.m.
After about four hours, the cur won its contest against cops: the NYPD called off its search, but vowed to keep a presence in the park in case the beast returned.
Once it was spottd, the coyote headed south toward W. 73rd St. before scampering north to W. 91st St., where it was spotted sunning itself on a large rock by 6 a.m., according to officials.
“It’s run the range and the gamut of the whole area,” an NYPD spokesman said.
Cops cordoned off parts of the park to keep morning joggers and dog-walkers out of harm's way as their search continued.
Up to five police cruisers were seen driving through the park looking for the animal, but the clever cur managed to elude them, officials said.
The NYPD canceled a number of search teams by 7:20 a.m., but dispatched a helicopter equipped with a thermal imaging camera to keep tabs on the animal, officials said.
After about four hours, the cur won its contest against cops: the NYPD called off its search, but vowed to keep a presence in the park in case the beast returned.
Once it was spottd, the coyote headed south toward W. 73rd St. before scampering north to W. 91st St., where it was spotted sunning itself on a large rock by 6 a.m., according to officials.
“It’s run the range and the gamut of the whole area,” an NYPD spokesman said.
Cops cordoned off parts of the park to keep morning joggers and dog-walkers out of harm's way as their search continued.
Up to five police cruisers were seen driving through the park looking for the animal, but the clever cur managed to elude them, officials said.
The NYPD canceled a number of search teams by 7:20 a.m., but dispatched a helicopter equipped with a thermal imaging camera to keep tabs on the animal, officials said.
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