Man Vs. Coyote Showdown Caught on Camera in Hyde Park, NY

A dramatic video was caught of a Hyde Park man confronting a coyote on his front steps while leaving for work.

Coyotes in the Hudson Valley

Coyote sightings throughout the Hudson Valley are a pretty common occurrence. The coyote is a species of canine native to North America that is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf.

The coyote is larger and more predatory and was once referred to as the American jackal by a behavioral ecologist. Other historical names for the species include the prairie wolf and the brush wolf.

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Scrolling through Facebook, I recently stumbled upon my friend Steve Morano's Facebook page and saw a posting he had put up. The Hyde Park, NY resident had a recent run-in with a coyote that seems to be a regular occurrence.

As he was leaving for work one recent morning, he was confronted by the coyote. His Blink doorbell camera caught all the action on video.

Steve Morano recounted the Oct. 26 incident when we reached out to him.

"He ran away after I swung a flag pole stick at him. People around here toss out left overs for the squirrels , raccoons and skunks. He must’ve gotten a wiff. He comes around every night. Usually easy to scare. I guess he’s comfy now. He wasn’t scared that night. Tossed a couple rocks at him. He dodged them and still approached me. Once I waved the flag pole around he took off I thought he was after the stray cats that are in the neighborhood. Not sure now"

- Steve Morano

The coyote returned about a week later and he was once again caught on the doorbell camera.

The DEC in recent years has issued guidance to avoid conflict with coyotes and one should follow their advice. Be safe out there!