Urban Coyotes Spur Walks on the Wild Side

In 2006, a coyote named Hal sent New York authorities on a two-day chase through Manhattan.

Hal was captured and mysteriously died moments before his release into the wild. The incident inspired one local, Dillon de Give, to try to explain how a coyote could make it to Central Park.

Each year, beginning in 2009, de Give mapped out a new guess — a roughly 60-mile route from Central Park to the wild — and walked it over three days. In 2017, he made the trek with a group of 16.

For many of the coyote searchers, Hal — and dozens of subsequent wild canine arrivals — underscore how much nature is still a part of New York City.