The calls started coming in before sunrise on Saturday: Coyote spotted in Battery Park City.

Already on alert after several days of coyote sightings, police officers from the First Precinct, backed by specially trained members of the Police Department’s Emergency Services Unit, converged on a spot along the Hudson River near 1 World Trade Center just as the sun was rising, officials said.

For the last week, dogs had been held on shortened leashes and small children kept closer at hand as a coyote, or perhaps several, roamed the west side of Manhattan. Just days earlier, officers carrying tranquilizer guns, aided by a helicopter, had chased one through Riverside Park for three hours, only to have the animal elude capture.

On Saturday, officers followed a coyote through the North Cove Marina, eventually cornering it in the outdoor seating area of a cafe, officials said. There, Officer Sean DeQuatro of the Emergency Services Unit took aim with a CO2-powered rifle and shot the animal with a Ketaset-filled dart.