OAKLAND, N.J.(PIX11)—
There are surprises. And then there are SURPRISES! And Ken Dunwall got the latter Sunday morning when he walked into his TV room in the basement to find... a pregnant coyote chillin' on the floor.Dunwall says he figured out he wasn't alone, when he nearly stepped on the 40 to 50-pound mom-to-be as he opened the basement door. The family didn't figure out she was expecting right away. That came later.
Dunwall thinks she crashed through the window, when the family was asleep. He says she didn't appear to be hurt. Like any normal family, the Dunwalls were freaking out, while the coyote was almost zen, she was so calm, Dunwall describing her as "almost shy."
Meanwhile, daughter Erica, jumped into action, snapping a picture -- despite being a bit freaked out and creeped out.
Finally, police arrived on the scene and got the family out of the house. Bergen County Animal Control officers showed up afterwards, and determined the coyote had a bun in the oven. They reportedly began to make a commotion, rattling on pans and pushing on the basement door. The Dunwalls say they opened the garage door, and she bolted back into the wild.
How the coyote wound up in the Dunwalls' basement is still something of a mystery. Dunwall says animal control thinks the expectant mom may've been startled by a car on Seminole Avenue and darted across the lawn, before crashing through the window in a panic.
Police told the Dunwalls coyote sightings in the area are extremely rare, adding -- in fact -- this is the first one they could remember.
(Picture Courtesy The Dunwall Family)
