That's No Dog Spotted in NYC

A man on an early morning run in New York City couldn't believe his eyes when he ended up in an expected staring competition with a "giant" city-dwelling coyote. Brett Cohn was running in Central Park, along the 72nd Street Traverse toward the Ramble, after 7am Saturday when he spotted what he initially thought might be an off-leash dog. He soon realized it was in fact "a giant coyote staring right at me," Cohn tells the New York Post. And to add the obvious: "I was not expecting to see a coyote," says the 33-year-old Manhattan resident, who captured video footage of the encounter.

Though elusive, coyotes actually live in every NYC borough but Brooklyn, city officials told WPIX in October. Coyotes have been spotted in the city for generations and may have descended from one group in the Bronx, per WPIX. "We have no reason to believe this particular coyote is unhealthy or poses a threat to human safety," a rep for the NYC parks department tells the Post. "However, we advise everyone to keep their distance and avoid close contact." Cohn says the lone coyote he encountered wasn't aggressive and trotted off after staring him down. "It was just like looking at me and I was looking at it," he says. (More New York City stories.)