Coyote caught on camera carrying roadrunner in Los Angeles (57)

A coyote was photographed carrying a greater roadrunner in its mouth at a Los Angeles nature preserve over the weekend, in a scene one bird watcher compared to the classic cartoon. The encounter happened the same weekend that the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner spinoff “Coyote vs. Acme” opened in theaters.

Alexander deBarros was conducting a bird survey with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power at the Chatsworth Nature Preserve when he spotted the coyote with the bird.

“I took just a couple of quick pictures just to confirm, ‘Is that actually a roadrunner in its mouth?'” deBarros told Nexstar’s KTLA. “And upon review, the answer was yes! We all freaked out as the coyote just ran over the hill and disappeared.”

DeBarros leads monthly bird walks with the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society and has studied birds since he was 10 years old.

His father, Brian Mainolfi, is an animator whose first Hollywood job was working with Chuck Jones, creator of the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner characters.

“It is kismet,” Mainolfi told KTLA. “He texted me the photo as soon as he took it. I laughed, telling him this was the weekend ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ opened. He didn’t realize it was that same weekend.”

Mainolfi said he searched online after seeing the photo and was unable to find a verified photograph showing a real coyote consuming a greater roadrunner. Whether the image is the first such photograph has not been independently verified by KTLA.

“Nature is all around us even in places we don’t expect, like L.A.,” deBarros said. “Whenever you see something, it may be something that’s never been seen before.”

DeBarros offers private birding tours in Los Angeles and elsewhere in Southern California and shares his birding adventures on Instagram under the handle @Hollywood_birder.