In a milestone for Manhattan, a pair of coyotes has made Central Park their home

Perceived Risk to Humans and Children

• Some argue breeding coyotes near playgrounds will inevitably lead to defensive attacks, especially around dens, and advocate preemptive removal from cities.
• Others counter that attacks on humans are statistically very rare and mostly involve small children, unusual circumstances (e.g., rabid or desperate animals), and can often be prevented with supervision.
• There is debate over whether urban coyotes “learn” to avoid attacking humans due to lethal consequences vs. potential for desensitization as they acclimate to cities.

Threat to Pets and Livestock

• Many anecdotes of cats and small dogs being killed by coyotes, even close to homes and in urban/suburban neighborhoods; some describe coyotes coordinating to lure or surround pets.
• Several posters say high urban coyote densities noticeably reduce outdoor cats, raccoons, rabbits, and other small mammals.
• Rural commenters mention coyotes (and wolves) as serious hazards to goats, chickens, and other livestock, leading some farmers to shoot them on sight.

Ecological Role and Rat Control

• Supporters highlight coyotes as native predators (or successors to extirpated wolves) that help control rats, rabbits, geese, and raccoons; some see them as healthier for ecosystems than human hunters or rodenticides.
• Skeptics doubt a small Central Park population will meaningfully affect citywide rat problems and note that urban predators often prefer garbage and easy prey. Others share observations and studies showing significant rodent and rabbit consumption.
• Eastern coyotes/coywolves are described as larger, with mixed wolf/dog ancestry, and potentially less fearful of humans.

Management, Safety, and “Luxury Beliefs”

• Proposals range from coexistence and minor hazing, to relocation, to targeted culling when populations become “unnaturally” dense.
• Comparisons are made to off‑leash dogs: some question tolerating wild predators when even domestic dogs are tightly regulated; others note dogs kill far more people than coyotes.
• One line of argument labels celebrating apex predators in dense cities as an elite “luxury belief” whose risks fall on others, while opponents see this as overstated given the low attack rates.

Cats, Wildlife, and Ethics

• Long subthread on outdoor cats: some urge keeping them indoors due to massive predation on birds and small mammals and shorter cat lifespans.
• Others argue outdoor cats are effectively part of the urban ecosystem, often replacing displaced native predators by culling weak or sick prey, and question whether indoor-only life is ethically better.
• Ethical tensions surface around valuing pets vs. native wildlife, lethal vs. nonlethal control (culling vs. sterilization/relocation), and whether humans themselves are the primary “invasive species.”

Urban vs Rural and Cultural Attitudes

• Rural commenters find urban fascination with coyotes naïve, viewing them as routine vermin; urban dwellers emphasize the novelty and symbolism of sizable wildlife in city cores.
• European and North American posters debate reintroduction of wolves and coyotes as either ecological restoration or urban/academic imposition on rural communities.

Behavior and Adaptation in Cities

• Multiple reports of coyotes calmly using sidewalks, golf courses, rail corridors, and backyards, often shy of adults but bold around pets, and occasionally very habituated.
• Some speculate that increasing human–coyote contact may represent early stages of a new domestication trajectory, akin to how dogs evolved, though others note reduced culling as a simpler explanation.