Coyote Captured In Lincoln Park After Being Spotted Roaming For Weeks
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A coyote has been captured in Lincoln Park, and it was all caught on camera.
As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported Friday night, for weeks, people in Lincoln Park kept spotting the coyote just roaming.
"It was a lot of hubbub going around with that coyote," said Beth Heller.
The snow didn't prevent the wild animal from hanging out near Clark Street and North Avenue – behind the Chicago History Museum.
"My Friday afternoon walk in the park was cut short, because we were watching the coyote for a long time," Heller said.
Heller pulled out her cellphone and recorded video of Chicago Animal Care and Control removing the coyote from the park on Friday afternoon. There was a crowd of people around at the time.
A coyote has been on the loose in Lincoln Park lately. Beth Heller took this video while picking up her kids from the school they attend – where students have not been able to go out for recess. The coyote has now been captured. Jermont Terry has all the details: https://cbsloc.al/3Lnn87D
Posted by CBS Chicago on Friday, February 11, 2022
"There were maybe 15 people standing around, and when she picked up the animal, I was really impressed with her - because she picked up the animal and carried it to the van," Heller said.
We reached out to Chicago Animal Care and Control to figure out if the coyote they captured was the only one roaming – because a few weeks earlier, someone captured a coyote on the sidewalk several miles to the northwest in the Irving Park neighborhood.
There are no reports of the animal attacking anyone or anything.
The Lincoln Park coyote was roaming right across the street from the Latin School of Chicago, located on the opposite side of North Avenue from the Chicago History Museum and the park.
"There's lots of coyotes in the city, and the coyotes help with the rat problem in the city, I know," Heller said, "and I don't think anyone is surprised to see the coyote, but I think you get a little nervous where the coyote's in the middle where a bunch of kids are."
And while we know Animal Care and Control officers captured the coyote, it is not clear where the animal was placed once out of the park. But there is a sense of relief for those who walk in the community.
"My concern is just the safety of animals and pets and young children that our out there playing and having fun," Heller said.
We reached out to Animal Care and Control, but they did not get back to us about where the coyote was taken.