Feb 8, 2010 7:39 pm US/Eastern
Coyotes Spotted On College Campus In NYC
Students Warned About Wild Animals Seen On Columbia University Campus
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Amateur photographer Veryl Witmer captured these photographs of a coyote roaming around in Central Park in early February 2010.
Veryl Witmer
Things are getting a little wild at Columbia University where coyotes
have been spotted on campus. School security sent students an e-mail
warning them the animals are still on the loose.
The trio of coyotes
was seen wandering outside Lewisohn Hall Sunday morning and had
students at the NYC school more curious than concerned.
"I want to see them, I don't think they'll attack us. We're bigger than they are," Columbia student Lily Saporta-Tagiuri told CBS station WCBS-TV in New York City.
"There's food everywhere in the city for them to eat, so why wouldn't they come in?" asked student Julia Feld.
Lawrence D'Addona, who walks his dog Gina on campus, said he's not worried, but those with smaller breeds should be on alert.
"They would love small animals, that's like an appetizer for them," he said.
Just last week, another coyote showed up in Central Park and was caught on film by an amateur photographer. Last month, a coyote was caught in Harlem and tranquilized.
Veterinarian Dr. Michael Farber said the animals are likely not pure coyote, but hybrids that have bred with wild dogs, and they normally avoid contact with humans.
"The biggest danger with them is that if someone were cornered threatening them, then they could fight back just like a wild dog would. They probably shouldn't be approached and they should be considered dangerous, only in that there's a lot of fear and they may act out of fear," he said.
But Farber said there's no reason to panic, it's simply best to steer clear of anything that resembles a wild dog.
"They're hungry. They're hungry animals looking for food, so a small debilitated dog out on its own might be considered easy prey. I suppose a small child, not likely, but if an animals threatened or hungry enough and see's something that could be prey, certainly I'd keep an eye out."
Wildlife experts, say the coyotes are likely coming from Westchester... making their way along Amtrak Railroad tracks. They also say we're at the peak of breeding season so quite a few coyote mothers may be giving birth to four to eight pups come April and May.
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