Wielding brooms, two Chicago police officers can be seen in a video shared to social media trying to get a mysterious animal out from behind a refrigerated section in an Aldi grocery store Monday.
After some prodding and poking, one of the officers finally grabs ahold of a bushy tail and pulls. But what comes out is not a raccoon, a stray dog or a possum. It’s an adult male coyote, who immediately jumps back in to hide behind the lettuce and spinach.
Chicago police and Animal Care and Control confirmed they responded to the Humboldt Park grocery store at 800 N. Kedzie Ave. about 9:45 a.m. and safely removed the coyote. No injuries were reported.
As of Monday afternoon, the animal was at the Animal Care and Control facility waiting to be transferred to Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation in northwest suburban Barrington. The coyote appeared uninjured but will receive a full assessment at the rehabilitation center to confirm his health before being released back into the wild if that is deemed appropriate.
It is not the first time a coyote has been found inside a Chicago food establishment. In 2007, shortly after lunchtime on a Tuesday, a docile coyote wandered into a Quiznos submarine sandwich shop in the Loop through a door that had been left propped open.
On a Thursday morning in 1999, a coyote bolting through Michigan Avenue and Adams Street was clipped by a car. Frightened and injured, it dove under a yellow taxi in front of the Art Institute of Chicago and was later rescued. Back then, officials believed the coyote found its way downtown by following the Illinois Central railroad tracks that run beneath the museum.
Despite being adept at crossing roads, being struck by vehicles is still coyotes’ primary source of mortality, according to the Lincoln Park Zoo’s Urban Wildlife Institute.
“What happens is, they’re out during the night. Mostly, they do a real good job of avoiding us,” said Chris Anchor, a senior wildlife biologist with the Forest Preserves of Cook County and part of their Urban Coyote Research Project. “And occasionally, one will get caught out in the more human-accessible areas, and they get flushed from where they are. They hold up for the day, and they end up running down the sidewalk when somebody opens the door.”
Animal Care and Control reminded residents that the start of coyote mating season, which runs from January to March, means they will be searching for mates and establishing territories. This, in turn, leads to increased sightings and human encounters. If someone sees a coyote, they should make themselves big and loud, and back away slowly but never run.
Coyotes are generally not a threat to humans, with only one documented attack in Chicago in January 2020, considered an isolated incident.
Still, experts recommend avoiding interactions, keeping pets on a short leash, and securing food sources, garbage and birdseed which attract the animals. While they typically prefer to eat small mammals such as rabbits, mice, rats and squirrels, their adaptability and flexible behavior means coyotes easily broaden their diet to include other human-associated foods, according to the Urban Wildlife Institute.
“The vast majority of coyotes that live in Chicago, in the city of Chicago, are never encountered by the general public,” Anchor said. “If you live in the Chicagoland region, including downtown, you are within the territory of a family of coyotes. And we’re now in year 25 of the Urban Coyote Research Project. And I think, for me, that is the biggest takeaway. We had no idea when we started the project, that the coyotes were where they were — which is everywhere.”