By Katherine Tinsley
11:34am PST, Jan 14, 2025
Aldi shoppers in Chicago, Ill., were shocked when police officers pulled a wild coyote out of an aisle.
In a now-viral Instagram reel, a cop is seen pulling a furry tail out of a row of refrigerated goods.
In a now-viral Instagram reel, a cop is seen pulling a furry tail out of a row of refrigerated goods.
Barstool Sports producer Edward Farrer posted a reel of the coyote on his account.
"I expected him to pull out a raccoon or opossum NOT a d— coyote," Farrer shared.
"Pulling a coyote out WITH YOUR HANDS BY ITS TAIL is absolutely diabolical behavior," one follower commented.
"This coyote stuff getting out of control," another added.
"I expected him to pull out a raccoon or opossum NOT a d— coyote," Farrer shared.
"Pulling a coyote out WITH YOUR HANDS BY ITS TAIL is absolutely diabolical behavior," one follower commented.
"This coyote stuff getting out of control," another added.
Coyote sightings aren't uncommon in urban areas, but the animal hiding in the Humboldt Park grocery store surprised many social media users.
"It picked an odd location. They do this sometimes. They make a mistake. They're trying to avoid us. They're trying to hide from us," Stan Gehrt with the Cook County Coyote Project told ABC 7 Chicago.
"Probably trying to find a new area to hide ended up inside the store, and this has happened in the past," he added.
_
From January until March, coyotes are significantly more active because it's their mating season.
"Some of these animals, the ones especially that make a mistake, and they find themselves into a building, often are what we call transient animals, so these are animals that actually don't have a mate yet," Gehrt explained.
The coyote is currently being monitored by Chicago's Animal Control and Care Department.
"The animal is currently at our facility awaiting transfer to our wildlife rehabilitation partner, Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation," Chicago Animal Control and Care told NBC Chicago.
"The coyote appears uninjured, but Flint Creek will conduct an assessment to confirm its health before releasing it back into the wild if deemed appropriate," they added.