A Big Apple jogger stared down a “giant” coyote that surprised him while running in Central Park over the weekend – with part of his hair-raising wildlife encounter caught on tape.
The furry four-legged creature appeared to be wandering alone on Saturday morning, according to Brett Cohn, who posted footage of the meeting on social media.
The runner told The Post he was jogging along the 72nd Street Traverse toward The Ramble after 7 a.m. — he did a double-take when he spotted the animal that didn’t quite look like a dog.
“I got to where the horses usually congregate during the day and all of sudden I looked up and there’s like a giant coyote staring right at me,” Cohn said.
“I was not expecting to see a coyote,” the 33-year-old added. “At first, I thought it was a dog off the leash. But then when I saw its face that looks more like a wolf or a coyote.”
“I looked at it and was like are my eyes deceiving me,” Cohn, who works in the energy industry, also said.
A New York City Department of Parks spokesperson said in an email coyotes have been spotted in multiple boroughs and in Central Park over the last few years.
“We have no reason to believe this particular coyote is unhealthy or poses a threat to human safety,” the spokesperson told The Post. “However, we advise everyone to keep their distance and avoid close contact.”
Coyotes have expanded their turf in NYC in recent years because there is food and more space to roam, officials told PIX 11 last October. The animals have been spotted in every borough but Brooklyn, officials said at the time.
Big Apple residents and visitors should not feed the wild animals and properly dispose of garbage so the coyotes can’t feast on food scraps, according to the department.
Dogs should also be leashed outside because coyotes could see small pups as prey and larger dogs as competition that could lead to a confrontation.
If a person is approached by a coyote, they should make themselves look bigger with their arms in the air while making loud noises.
Cohn, who lives in Manhattan, said the coyote wasn’t aggressive during the brief encounter.
“It was just like looking at me and I was looking at it,” the 12-year-old city local said.
