A coyote in California stumbles upon quite the hiding spot!

Riverside, California - A wild coyote somehow wandered into a California middle school and hid inside a bathroom!

A coyote was rescued and released back into the wild after it got lost in a California middle school and hid in a bathroom stall.
A coyote was rescued and released back into the wild after it got lost in a California middle school and hid in a bathroom stall.  © Collage: Screenshot / YouTube / RivCOanimalsPIO

Staff at the school called the Riverside County Animal Services (RCAS) shortly before classes were set to begin.

"The coyote scurried into the open bathroom after staff discovered it on the campus and frightened it into its unusual hiding place at Jurupa Unified’s Mission Middle School," the RCAS said in a press release.

Officer Will Luna arrived on the scene to rescue the animal. In a short clip shared on YouTube, he is seen gently opening the stall door in the bathroom, revealing the terrified male coyote curled up in a corner next to a toilet.

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He successfully lassos the nine-month-old animal and escorts him out of the school and into his truck to return the coyote to the wild.

Staff told Luna that the little critter had been spotted near the school several times over the last few weeks, so much so that they hilariously nicknamed him Will E. in honor of the Looney Tunes cartoon character.

Fortunately no one, including the coyote, was harmed. But the RCAS said the incident should remind "residents that Riverside County has a lot of natural open areas and interactions with wildlife are going to occur."

Officer Luna released the coyote back into the wild in a rural area far enough away from the middle school that he believes he will not return.

Cover photo: Collage: Screenshot / YouTube / RivCOanimalsPIO

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