Coyotes pioneering in New York City

My totem animal, the Eastern Coyote(Coywolf) is pushing the envelope and seeking to pioneer our most dense metropolis. Over the past 5 years, there has been at least 5 sightings of Canis lycaon(x)latrans in Manhattan, with the most recent being Wednesday night March 3 on the West Side Highway(the others in January in Central Park and on the campus--getting educated, they were--of Columbia University. Pushing down from Westchester County and the Bronx, these young male Coywolves are seeking their own territories after dispersing from their natal families. Given the chance, they would set up shop in the city parks and along the shoulders of the East and Hudson Rivers....perhaps choosing a Revolutionary War cemetary or two in lower Manhattan adjacent to some of NYC's historic Churches. Dining would not be a problem with the 6 million rats(equal to the human population of the City), alley cats and squirrels providing a smorgasboard of necessary protein, fat and carbs.  Virtually every City in America has a coyote population at this point...they finding abandoned building sites and factory buildings as other suitable housing sites to raise their families. Biologists Jon Way in Boston and Stan Gehrt in Chicago (amongst a score of other noted researchers)will be heard from on "all-things coyote as we travel week to week through "wild America" on this blog. I root for the coyote as I rooted for the American Indian as a kid...Both represent an America comfortable with its natural surroundings....An America that can celebrate its "wildness"...............the wildness that Europeans found both terrifying and intriguing................the wildness that forged our pioneer "anything can be accomplished" spirit........the wildness that we feature on our State flags(Grizzly in California), nickname our ballclubs (Minnesota Timberwolves) and designate our automobiles(Mercury's Cougar) is the wildness that we need to celebrate as we continue to employ all types of technology in the quest for wealth and success. The coywolf/coyote represents sustainability for both now and the long term--necessary qualities for us to hold onto and cherish as go about forging our path into the 21st Century and beyond.

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