A man from the Bronx in New York City has captured the moment he came across a coyote in the middle of the night.
TikTok user @bronxwildlifeking shared the encounter in a now-viral video, which has received 282,000 views since it was first posted on November 24. In the footage, the coyote can be seen wandering in a dark street as the TikTok creator was out walking his dog.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he says in the video. "A coyote right here in front of me." He later told Newsweek: "I see these coyotes every day."
The animal is seen standing in the middle of the road, grey in appearance, as the creator's dog's eyes are fixed on it. "Probably nice as hell. Look at him chilling," the creator says calmly. The dog then starts barking frantically and the coyote starts to slowly walk away.
Local news outlet Pix 11 has reported that coyotes seem to be on the rise in the Bronx, near the 38-acre Claremont Park specifically.
Coyotes aren't uncommon in the state of New York, even in urban areas. According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, eastern coyotes likely ended up in New York due to changes in the land following European settlement in North America.
Before that, the species would have lived mainly in central North America. Coyotes reached New York and the Northeast in the early 1930s and 1940s, evidence suggests.
Wildlife NYC describes these animals as "naturally curious and adaptable," revealing that they can explore around 10 miles of open space in just a day.
If you comes a cross a coyote, the advice is to give them plenty of space and to "respect them the same way you would any other New Yorker." Coyotes are currently known to live within Queens, the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, NYC officials say.
Over 1,000 comments were left on the video of the coyote in The Bronx, with people sharing their thoughts and reactions to the sighting.
Shadie said: "My sister been seeing them really late at night or early morning walking her pit in Claremont."
"I saw one on Washington Heights at like 3 in the morning," said @Guccimaneric.
"I would be scared!" said @CMylife21, while Tony commented: "Too close bro."
Replying to another comment, the original poster of the video said: "I was surprised at first but think about it, animals been here first."
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