Coyote Found on Bar Roof in the Middle of New York City
OutdoorHub Reporters 04.01.15
No, this is not an April Fool’s joke. It appears that even New York City seems to have a problem with coyotes, as one of the wily predators somehow made its way to the top of a bar in Queens on Monday. According to the New York Daily News, the coyote drew a crowd as it bounced back and forth on the roof of L.I.C. Bar on 46th Avenue, within sight of Manhattan. How the canine got so far into the city is anybody’s guess, but witnesses said the coyote did not seem to be starving.
“I’ll tell you one thing, he was well-fed,” bar owner Brian Porter told the Daily News. “He wasn’t one of the scrawny coyotes I’ve seen in my time.”
Porter speculated that the coyote reached the roof by jumping through a window in the old paint factory behind the bar. Witnesses at first thought the animal was a stray dog, but an employee from a nearby veterinarian’s office climbed up to take a look and quickly confirmed that the canine was indeed a coyote.
But why was it there?
“He didn’t pay his bar tab,” Porter joked.
Police arrived and attempted to wrangle the animal with catch poles, but the coyote deftly escaped through another open window. Coyotes are rarely seen in New York City, but not nonexistent. Earlier this year the New York Police Department captured two coyotes in separate city parks and released them into wilderness areas in the Bronx.
“I think it’s a first for most of us. There’s not too many coyotes here in New York, but anything’s possible,” bystander Laura Supper told CBS New York.
Interestingly enough, jazz musician Coyote Anderson was scheduled to play at the bar later that night. While Anderson claims that he had nothing to do with the animal’s appearance, he admitted that it is a strange coincidence.
“We couldn’t be blessed with a better omen,” Anderson said.
You can see video of the coyote below:
