A coyote has been spotted in Central Park this week, according to several sources.  The coyote sightings have been coming into the media, the Central Park Conservancy, and the Parks Department (via 311).  Some have spotted the animal near 7th Avenue and Central Park South, whith another sighting on the ice of The Pool, located on the northwest corner of the park near 102nd Street and Central Park West, occurring Wednesday night.  Apparently when The Coyote was spotted on the pool, the Park Enforcement Police were allegedly chasing the coyote (it sounded unlikely that the coyote was caught).  This is the second coyote to appear in Central Park in recent years- Hal the coyote led park workers and police on a days-long chase back in March 2006 before being captured.  Sadly, Hal died in captivity just before being released to the wild from either stress or ingestion of rat poison.  If the newest Central Park coyote is captured, his future is uncertain… rumors are that it may be immediately euthanized as a result of the recent rabies outbreak among Central Park raccoons. [Source: Gothamist]

If you see the coyote, you should (of course) keep yourself safe by remaining at a distance and keeping your dogs on leash.  Also, call 311 to report a sighting (and we’d love to hear updates, too… send any info to “alerts [at] myupperwest.com”).