Coyote Joins Northridge Classroom On First Day Of School

NORTHRIDGE, CA — The Rev. Filiberto Cortez was getting ready to greet parents and students on their first day of school at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish School when he saw what he thought was a dog run by.

That's not all that unusual, considering residents at the apartment building next door walk their dogs by the school all the time. But as the animal ran by the carpool line and into the school, Cortez realized it was actually a coyote.

The resulting chaos at school made for a great news story that drew the attention of community members to the school. Cortez said that the media reports sparked productive conversations between students and their teachers and parents. As a result, many students asked their life science teachers about climate change, coyote habits and local wildlife.

On that day, Cortez heard teachers yell as the coyote made its way into an eighth-grade classroom and settled on a bookshelf. A lover of wildlife, Cortez thought to himself, "This is going to be super great."

"It just made a beeline — a straight dash — across our entire yard without wavering, right into the open classroom," Principal Kris Brough said. He added: "Teachers were outside chatting, and all the doors were open to welcome the kids, and [it] just ran straight into the classroom. There was one or two screams, but it was never really close to anyone, never threatened or engaged [anyone]."

After trying to get the coyote out, Cortez and his co-workers decided to shut the door to the classroom and wait for the animal services department, which eventually came to remove the coyote. Cortez and Brough said the coyote initially looked afraid in the classroom.

All the chaos blew over quite quickly and without most students even knowing. That is, until recess the next day, when a middle school student found what must have been the coyote's breakfast: the remains of a cat.

For Cortez, who started working with Our Lady of Lourdes during the pandemic, the coyote gave him a perfect icebreaker for his first few days in the community in person. Community members and old friends connected with Cortez and shared their own wildlife stories. The whole thing became a lighthearted talking point for parents and teachers.

"It was an exciting start to the day. We teased ourselves that we're going to have a new mascot," Brough said. He added: "For us, aside form the inconvenience of one teacher, ... it was really a nonevent."

The animal services personnel who removed the coyote asked Cortez and his co-workers if they could take the story to the media. They assented, and the resulting story drew massive and unexpected attention to the school.

Both Brough and Cortez were surprised by the media reaction, especially considering there hasn't been much discussion of the coyote on campus.

"It definitely has brought up a conversation about wildlife and things that we do as humans, taking care of nature and stuff like that. It has definitely brought that conversation [into the classroom]."

Cortez and Brough were surprised that the ABC7 coverage focused so heavily on climate change. ABC7 spoke to a wildlife expert who explained the coyote's appearance is a result of extreme drought pushing wildlife out of their natural habitats in search of water and food.

Coyotes and other wildlife aren't uncommon at Our Lady of Lourdes. But Brough said that he agreed climate change may make incidents like this more common, which will mean the school has to reconsider its emergency practices. He and Cortez mentioned an incident from earlier this month when a bear entered a Ralphs grocery store in Porter Ranch.