A Los Angeles school had an unexpected visitor on its first day of class, one that had not registered, much less paid its tuition bill.
Teachers and administrators at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish School, in the Northridge neighborhood, were waiting for students to arrive on Wednesday around 7:30 a.m., when they saw a coyote walk into an eighth-grade classroom.
The Rev. Filiberto Cortez captured footage of the coyote sitting in a corner of the classroom.
“I’ve dealt with other kind of animals here like wildlife,” Cortez told KABC Los Angeles. “This is the first time in a school setting where a coyote walks in.”
The coyote was safely removed by animal control.
The school had fun with the sighting, saying on Facebook, “we’re considering a new mascot.”
Wildlife expert Jennifer Brent told KABC coyotes leave their habitats as droughts in Southern California have resulted in them desperately looking for food and water. She said if people do come in contact with a coyote, it’s best to step away.
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“Don’t feed it, don’t try to pet it,” Brent said. “These are all things that are detrimental to the coyote and detrimental to you. You want the coyote to get away from you, get away from people.”
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