A viral video is causing a sensation on Staten Island.

Shot in Travis, a neighborhood on the borough's western edge, it shows an animal dragging a deer carcass across the street. But what is the animal? A dog? A wolf? A fox? Or a coyote?

"A deer I could take. But coyotes? Don't come near me!" one man said.

"I would be surprised, but just like the deer, would come here from Jersey, I guess other animals could, too," said one woman.

Although it's part of New York City, Staten Island has a surprising diversity of wildlife.

NY1's cameras have captured harbor seals along the shore, a bald eagle, turkeys, and deer. 

The city Parks Department tells NY1 it cannot positively identify the animal in the video, but that it is studying whether coyotes now call Staten Island home.

"It's kind of interesting, how did it get here? Or did someone have it and let it go?" said another resident.

The department says motion-sensitive cameras installed in the old Freshkills landfill last year took more than 100,000 photos over sixteen weeks, but that a coyote did not turn up in any of them.

Now it's scouting new locations for the cameras.

Similar equipment in the Bronx a few years ago confirmed the presence of coyotes there.

The Parks Department also is collecting animal waste from Brookfield and Freshkills parks. The samples analyzed so far were found to come from a fox and a raccoon, but not a coyote.

"On Staten Island, I would think like - a coyote? On Staten Island? That's pretty scary!" said one resident.

Coyotes are growing in number in the city, thanks to less pollution and ample food supplies.

They've been spotted on a Queens rooftop, at LaGuardia Airport, and even along the west side of Manhattan in addition to the Bronx.

Not everyone we spoke with is afraid of a potential coyote living on Staten Island. Some point to the island's significant deer population and say a coyote could be put to good use.

"The deer are a problem, for motorists especially. And if we have a couple; few coyotes, and they want to chomp down on some deer, fine. It's like Thanksgiving," one resident said.