Coyote spotted on elementary school playground

A coyote made an appearance on the playground at Franklin Elementary School in Vancouver during lunchtime Wednesday.

Recess monitors spotted the coyote stuck inside the perimeter of the chain-link fence at the school, 5206 N.W. Franklin St., shortly after noon.

“We had kids out there, so we pulled all the kids off the playground and into the building,” said Principal Laura Dilley. “In the meantime, the coyote got itself loose. I don’t know what the poor thing was trying to do.”

Clark County Animal Control officers searched around the school but couldn’t find the animal, Officer Trisha Kraff said. Coyote sightings in the area are common, she said, adding that the school is near Vancouver Lake, the Shillapoo Wildlife Recreation Area and Burnt Bridge Creek.

“There’s quite a few down there in the greenbelt,” she said.

Coyotes, curious but timid animals, are a fairly harmless part of urban wildlife. Animal Control doesn’t recommend calling 911 about coyotes unless they’re causing trouble (or show up on the school playground). Rather, Kraff said, people should just leave them alone.

Pet food left outside can attract coyotes, so Kraff recommends keeping food inside. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife advises people to never feed coyotes and to securely store trash.

Columbian staff writer Susan Parrish contributed to this story.