Police in Mississauga were put through an extended game of cat and mouse on Thursday, as they tried in vain to snare a wandering coyote.

Officers and animal experts armed with trapping equipment spent hours scouring Mississauga Valley Park in an effort to capture the wily animal. But their efforts turned out to be fruitless.

One resident said she saw the coyote on a nearby road eating road kill. Another said he encountered it while walking his dog.

Luciana Viera spotted the animal while she was jogging.

"I thought, ‘It's a big dog.' And after I looked online at the pictures, and I see it's a coyote," she said.

While animal control says the animal is harmless, it has been roaming around a nearby elementary school, raising concerns among some parents.