Cops collared a wayward coyote that had led them on a wild, two-hour chase Saturday morning in lower Manhattan, authorities and witnesses said.

Police began tailing the evasive female after a pedestrian spotted her strolling through Battery Park City at around 6 a.m., authorities said. The frightened animal darted through traffic trying to evade capture — with officers, on foot and in cruisers, hot on her trail.

The pursuit continued near the North Cove Marina as police scrambled to corner the creature. “The poor thing didn’t know what was going on except that a bunch of cops were after it,” one witness said.

“[She] was much more afraid than we were,” said Battery Park maintenance worker Persaud Lloyd, 67.


The coyote’s odyssey ended at Merchants River House restaurant on South End Avenue, where she tried to lose cops by hiding under the cafe’s outdoor tables and chairs.Cops subdued the animal without incident, placed her in a cage and carted her off to an Animal Care & Control of NYC facility on East 110th Street, where a veterinarian gave her a clean bill of health.

The animal was scheduled to be taken to a facility in Brooklyn before being turned over to state wildlife officials, who will determine where to relocate her.