Coyotes living near the Coquitlam River gave one Surrey teacher a surprise last week.
One of the brazen creatures decided to take a stroll through downtown Port Coquitlam in broad daylight on Sept. 30, stopping for traffic and using the crosswalk to get across Shaughnessy Street safely.
"I was super surprised to see it! I think it's sad that we're encroaching upon wildlife homes so much," said Tzara Emanuelli, who teaches at Enver Creek Secondary.
The coyote didn't seem to be too worried as it crossed the street, but Emanuelli's video caused a stir on the Port Coquitlam Community Facebook page when she posted it.
The creature was heading toward PoCo city hall, and it's not known if it was planning to check out the new Take Five Café that just opened.
Coyotes have mostly kept to themselves in the Tri-Cities; however, some have been biting people in Stanley Park, and were eventually trapped and euthanized, and two people were charged for feeding the animals.
The Tri-City News has reached out to conservation officers to see if there has been a rise in coyote sightings in recent weeks but hasn't heard back.