Authorities captured a coyote they say was running through a park near a church in a popular Manhattan neighborhood Tuesday morning, police say.
The wily animal was spotted bounding around near the Church of the Holy Apostles on West 28th Street and Ninth Avenue at about 8:30 a.m., authorities say.
Officers were able to catch the canine, a healthy adult male, using tranquilizer darts. It was taken to Animal Care & Control for evaluation and was found to be in good health.
The approximately 2-year-old, 50-pound creature has been approved for release in the Bronx, authorities said. No injuries were reported prior to or during its capture.
The capture is the latest in a string of coyote sightings across the city in recent months.
Most recently, a coyote was spotted wandering atop a roof at a bar in Queens for several hours on March 31, though that one may have been related to a band's publicity stunt. In January, one coyote was captured on the Upper West Side, while another was rounded up in Stuyvesant Town.
Across the Hudson, there have also been recent coyote sightings. Earlier this month, a rabid coyote attacked a Saddle River man and mauled a neighbor's Labrador retriever.
In March, a Closter family said that two roaming coyotes took up residence in an old doghouse, howling at the moon and creating a nightly nuisance.
