Shoppers at an Aldi in Chicago got a deal they didn’t bargain for Monday: a coyote hiding in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.
Video of the incident, which did not look pleasant for the coyote, went viral earlier this week. The footage shows Chicago police officers attempting to wrangle the dog with a mop, then dragging it by its tail before it runs back under a cold food display.
Eventually, city animal control officers arrived and arrested the coyote, CBS News reported. The coyote was then transferred to the care of Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation.
“The coyote is unharmed, but he is afraid,” the nonprofit organization wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday. “We will return him to the wild as soon as he is ready.”
Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation
The wildlife center theorized that the coyote entered the store trying to escape “human traffic” and then “hid in the refrigerated section in an attempt to hide from people inside.” interior of the store.
Speaking to Chicago radio station B96 on Thursday, Chicago Animal Care and Control spokesman Armando Tejeda said the coyote was “in great shape” despite the harrowing experience seen in the video.
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Tejeda noted that it’s mating season for coyotes and the animal was likely on an excursion to mark its territory, letting other males looking for love know that the area was “taken.”
Responding to a question (hopefully kidding) on Facebook about whether the coyote would be “up for adoption,” Chicago Animal Control, which as of Saturday counted 238 dogs in need of homes, responded: “No, but some of its very distant cousins are! »
