Wile E. Coyote seen invading Manhattan

It seems three coyotes turned up on the Columbia University campus on Sunday morning, prompting an e-mail alert to students and faculty. Later, a coyote was spotted darting around bushes in Central Park. Urban coyote authorities claim the dogs will likely be seen more and more in big cities as they fight one another for living space. My bet is that there is good pickings for any coyote in the cities left overs. Columbia’s public-safety officials said the coyotes were spotted in front of a campus building near 119th Street and Broadway. Police were summoned by a 911 call and spotted one of the coyotes before it left the campus, apparently near 120th Street. Tonight the coyote was spotted in Chelsea checking out gallery openings.

The coyote (Canis latrans), also known as the American jackal or prairie wolf, is a species of canid found from North to Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, through the United States and Canada. The coyote occurs as far north as Alaska and all but the northernmost portions of Canada.There are currently 19 recognized subspecies with 16 in Canada, Mexico and the United States, and 3 in Central America. Unlike its cousin the Gray Wolf, which is Eurasian in origin, the coyote evolved in North America during the Pleistocene epoch 1.810 million years ago alongside the Dire Wolf Unlike the wolf, the coyote’s range has expanded in the wake of human civilization, and coyotes readily reproduce in metropolitan areas.

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