Local officials scheduled an education seminar due to multiple reports of a rare and potentially dangerous animal which continues to be spotted in the Hudson Valley.

As we previously reported, on Facebook, the Clarkstown Police Department confirmed that a coyote-wolf hybrid, also called a coywolf, was spotted near the border of Rockland and Orange counties.

To address concerns, The Town of Clarkstown will host a Coyote Education Seminar. The seminar is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m., at Clarkstown Town Hall, 10 Maple Avenue in New City. All are welcome to attend.

Frank Vincenti of the Wild Dog Foundation, one of the most active coyote education groups in North America, will present at the seminar. According to the Town of Clarkstown, the presentation will include the following topics:

  • What is a coywolf and the truth regarding the name?
  • The genetics of New York coyotes
  • What do coyotes eat?
  • How to prevent conflicts
  • The important role coyotes play in New York's ecosystem

The eastern coyote, which is also known as a coywolf, live in the northeast, from New Jersey to Maine, according to Clarkstown police.

The coywolf is larger than western coyotes and may pose a threat to pets or humans, CBS reports.

In a video posted to Facebook (below), Sean McCormack said he spotted the rare hybrid in Nyack.

McCormack told CBS that he believes a coywolf was stalking a woman.

Marko Kos of Chaos Wildlife Solutions confirmed that the animal is, in fact, a coywolf. He told CBS that all eastern coyotes have some wolf DNA due to crossbreeding in the wild.

The coywolf was also spotted by a number of Hudson Valley residents.

Inside the comment section of the Clarkstown Police Department’s warning, Melissa Audige-Perkins and Eileen Thiesing both said they noticed the animal on the Palisades Parkway.

Dolores Paterno wrote she spotted the animal on Old Haverstraw Road. Jonathan Lettre said he saw one on Prowling North Grant Avenue. Helen-Hayes Perkins reported seeing one at Congers Lake and the cemetery at Rockland Lake. Steven Kunis spotted two at the Paramount Country Club in New City, Sunday morning and Cheryl Leach stated one was on Tena Drive in Valley Cottage.

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