STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- He wasn't riding an Acme rocket or chasing a roadrunner, but as of today, Staten Island has a resident coyote, spotted at the former Fresh Kills landfill.

About 7:45 a.m., Nick Mirto was delivering a truckload of soil to the 1-9 section, to finish capping the last spot at the dump, when he saw "something" to the left out his truck's window.

"I just looked to the left, and there he was, about 30 feet from the road we just drove down," said Mirto, a New Jerseyan.

Mirto has seen "herds" of deer at the dump, and even two red foxes -- he spotted one just last month -- but this was his first coyote sighting, so he snapped a few photos with his iPhone.

"I sent the picture to a friend of mine who hunts and he said, 'That's a coyote.'"

The sighting, near Travis, was in a field where tall grass recently had been cut down, Mirto explained.

"He looks very healthy," Mirto said. "There's plenty of food in there for him to eat."

Dr. Paul D. Curtis, an associate professor who serves as the extension wildlife specialist in the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell University and is the co-principal investigator for the New York Suburban Coyote Study initiated by the Department of Environmental Conservation, also confirmed that the photo is a "typical Eastern coyote."

There have been reports of coyote sightings in Long Island, Queens and even Central Park for the last six years or so, Dr. Curtis said, with well-established populations in southern Westchester County, which he attributes as the source for city $?'yotes.

"It is just a matter of time before dispersing coyotes figure out how to cross the bridges at night and get onto [the Island]," Dr. Curtis explained. "Juvenile coyotes may disperse 50 miles or more from where they were born."

Coyotes are extremely territorial, so juveniles tend to leave in search of their own hunting grounds, and some coyotes tagged in Westchester have been shot by hunters as far away as Connecticut, Dr. Curtis said.

"Coyotes can be dangerous to people and pets, and they should be treated with respect," Dr. Curtis said. "Small dogs [15 pounds] are at greatest risk. Coyotes will kill dogs in territorial defense. Very aggressive coyotes have even tried to kill small dogs while the owner was at the other end of a leash."

Attacks on people or children are rare, but they do occur, he said. Two people in Rye, Westchester County, were bitten by a rabid coyote two years ago, and a toddler in a New Jersey yard was bitten about three years ago, Dr. Curtis added.

The DEC has no records of coyote sightings on the Island, said Thomas Panzone at the DEC.

The odd coyote spotted in the Bronx is a solitary animal looking for food or shelter, Panzone said.

Coyote sightings have increased in and around the city in recent years, and the DEC estimates there are between 20,000 and 30,000 coyotes living in the state.

The DEC's website offers some tips to avoid any conflicts with coyotes and to keep your small pets from becoming lunch.

Coyotes are usually fearful of people, but in a suburban setting they may lose that fear and begin to associate a human scent with food such as garbage, pet food or your actual pets, and should be considered dangerous if they are no longer "spooked" by people, according to the DEC.