Police rescued an unlucky coyote that managed to get itself stuck in the wall of the Burlington canal lift bridge.

Const. Ben Rushton with Hamilton Police's marine unit says officers were out doing their routine patrol around 1 p.m. Sunday when a citizen alerted them to the animal, which was stuck in one of the ladders leading down to the water in the Burlington ship canal off Eastport Drive.

The officers called animal control services, and teams from both Hamilton and Burlington responded. It's unclear how long the coyote was stuck, but Rushton says some of its fur was frozen against the concrete wall from the spraying water of the canal.

"It's anybody's guess how it got there," Rushton said, though he noted it's not uncommon to see coyotes down in the area, which is near both the industrial sector as well as the beach strip.