Coyote pulled out of shelves inside Humboldt Park Aldi store

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A coyote was removed from a Northwest Side grocery on Monday morning.

There were no reported injuries to the coyote, witnesses, police or Animal Care and Control officials. But it was obviously a big surprise to shoppers.

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Police and Animal Care and Control removed the coyote safely around 9:45 a.m. inside the Aldi store at 800 North Kedzie in Humboldt Park. The video has been viewed millions of times on social media.

A witness told ABC7 she saw the animal roaming the parking lot minutes earlier, and somehow, that coyote ended up inside the store's produce section. It had been hiding in a cooler beneath a selection of fine cheeses.

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"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," said Stan Gehrt with the Cook County Coyote Project. "Probably trying to find a new area to hide ended up inside the store, and this has happened in the past."

Officials say the coyote will be transferred to the wildlife group Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation. They are going to confirm that the animal is OK before perhaps releasing it back into the wild.

Officials say this time of year -- January through March -- is when coyotes are especially active, because this is mating season, so there is often an uptick in sightings.

"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 said.

Officials say coyotes are generally not a threat to humans, but it is a good idea not to leave any food outside on porches and patios.