A New York jogger was caught off guard when he locked eyes with a startled, giant coyote while running through Central Park over the weekend.

Brett Cohn managed to capture the encounter on video and told the New York Post that while jogging along the 72nd Street Traverse toward The Ramble after 7 a.m., he had to do a double-take when he spotted the animal that didn't quite look like a dog.

"I got to where the horses usually congregate during the day, and all of a sudden I looked up, and there's like a giant coyote staring right at me," Cohn said. 

"I looked at it and was like, Are my eyes deceiving me?" he added.

A spokesperson for the New York City Department of Parks told the Post that coyotes have been spotted in multiple boroughs and in Central Park over the last few years. 

"We have no reason to believe this particular coyote is unhealthy or poses a threat to human safety," the spokesperson said. 

"However, we advise everyone to keep their distance and avoid close contact." 

Coyotes have expanded their territory in the last few years due to food and more space to roam.

The department of parks emphasizes to residents and visitors not to feed the wild animals and to properly dispose of garbage so coyotes don't follow the scraps of food.

It's also advised that if a person is approached by a coyote, they should make themselves look bigger with their arms in the air while making loud noises.

The animals have been spotted in every borough except Brooklyn.

Watch footage of Cohn's run-in with a coyote in Central Park below:

A large coyote stopped me in my tracks this morning! @BirdCentralPark pic.twitter.com/7Mx4KyNRb6

— Brett Cohn (@iBTCOHN) April 20, 2024