Rehabbed Wile E. Coyote released on Nassau/Queens border, nature center announces on Instagram
After almost two months of care at the Sweetbriar Nature Center, Wile E. Coyote was released a few weeks ago to an undisclosed spot on the Nassau/Queens border. Credit: Sweetbriar Nature Center
Wile E. Coyote has hit the road, or maybe the Cross Island Parkway.
After nearly two months of rehabilitation in Smithtown, the coyote found wandering the streets in Queens has been returned to the Queens/Nassau border, the Sweetbriar Nature Center announced on its Instagram page Thursday.
The canine, who gained the moniker of Chuck Jones' famous cartoon character. was released to an undisclosed location “a few weeks ago,” Sweetbriar said on Instagram.
“Let’s hope Wile E. finds a territory and sets up shop somewhere here on Long Island,” the nature center said on Instagram. “After all, coyotes play an important role in maintaining healthy ecosystems and species diversity.”
A short video on the center’s Instagram page shows the coyote’s journey from veterinary care to recovery in an enclosed outdoor space to regain strength and his final release into the wild.
NYPD officers picked up the coyote in Queens Village, a neighborhood due west of UBS Arena, on March 8.
The 2-year-old coyote had suffered a fractured hip and pelvis after being hit by a car, Janine Bendicksen, director of wildlife rehabilitation at the Sweetbriar Nature Center, said in an interview Thursday.
"Wildlife rehabilitators that live on Long island don't get a lot of coyotes coming through the front door," Bendicksen said. They needed to make sure the coyote stayed wild so he could be released after he healed.
"We didn't treat him like a dog," she said. He was fed birds without seeing humans providing them and stayed fearful of humans and "mean all the way till the end," she said.
During his rehabilitation he “enjoyed basking in the sun and … playing with all his toys that everybody donated to him,” Bendicksen says in the Instagram video.
“The day came when we found a release location,” Bendicksen says in the video. “This boy was ready to go.”
In the video, Wile E. Coyote enters a large cage that is then covered with a white sheet and taken to the release spot.
“He probably was wondering what was going on but it was a glorious day,” Bendicksen said.
Coyotes rarely interact with people, though dogs and cats attract coyotes, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation website.
“Coyotes approaching pets pose an immediate risk to the safety of pets and can jeopardize human safety, too,” according to the DEC.
The DEC warns people not to feed coyotes.
