Coyote sightings and interactions in Chicago are increasing as the breeding season, lasting from January to March, gets underway.

Customers gasped as officers made several attempts to yank the coyote out of the shelf, finally pulling the animal out by its tail.

Animal appeared uninjured and will be assessed before being released back into the wild if that is deemed appropriate.

A coyote that was pulled out of the refrigerated section of an Aldi in Chicago yesterday will be returned to the wild, officials said. The wild animal was “likely seeking refuge from the hustle and bustle of city life,” slipped into the store via an open door and then hid behind the cheeses and deli meats to avoid the people in the store.

Imagine shopping for groceries and stumbling upon a wild coyote in the frozen food aisle. That's exactly what happened in a Chicago Aldi store today.

Aldi shoppers got more than they bargained for when a cop yanked a coyote from a fridge by the tail. The strange scene played out in the supermarket chain’s Kedzie Avenue store in Chicago, Illinois, Monday morning and comes amid mating season.

Well, think again because a coyote was recently discovered inside a shelf at an Aldi supermarket in Chicago, Illinois. Even though the coyote was safely rescued and taken to a shelter, internet users have been losing their minds ever since the video was released,

Onlookers watched the slightly surreal incident at an Aldi in Chicago's West side play out with cops trying to dislodge the terrified coyote who had run into the supermarket

It was not known how a coyote found its way to the Aldi at 800 N. Kedzie Ave., but police officers and the city's animal control department helped out, Chicago police said. The coyote will get a health assessment before it's released.

An officer eventually grabbed what appeared to be a furry tail and furiously pulled before the wild animal shockingly emerged and landed on the market floor.

The grocer’s CEO declared last month that it was in “strong financial condition,” but layoffs announced this week suggest a bumpy road ahead.

Thousands of coyotes call Chicago home year-round, but coyote mating season means it's the time of year you're most likely to see one. While coyotes mostly avoid humans, Chicagoans should avoid feeding them,