An adult fox walks through Millennium Park’s Lurie Garden at dusk on May 21, 2023, in downtown Chicago. | Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune
By Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather | Chicago Tribune
Chicago loves a good animal story. Whether it’s the discovery of a massive snapping turtle nicknamed Chonkasaurus, or pondering the lifespan of an Australian lungfish named Granddad, who arrived at the Shedd Aquarium for the 1933 World’s Fair and was estimated to be 109 years old when it died in February 2017.
For older generations, animals were mostly viewed in cages at local zoos. But as animal care practices have evolved, we’ve been able to watch polar bears, gorillas, lions and even beluga whales roam — or sleep — in their habitats from just beyond a panel of glass.
Then there are those wild, recent creatures who have imprinted on our hearts — and even a city sidewalk — for making their homes near ours.
Here’s a look back at some of Chicago’s well-loved animals.
April 3, 2007: A coyote walks into a Quiznos
A coyote that wandered into a Chicago Quiznos is released in Barrington Hills by Dawn Keller of Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation on April 4, 2007. | Scott Strazzante/Chicago Tribune
Shortly after lunchtime, a docile coyote nonchalantly wandered through the propped-open door of a Quiznos submarine sandwich shop at 37 E. Adams St. in downtown Chicago and plopped down in front of the soda cooler.
Officials picked up the year-old male about an hour after it entered the restaurant. The animal ate nothing and no one was harmed.
The coyote was released later in Barrington Hills on 9 acres of private property, where rabbits and mice — not submarine sandwiches and chips — would be his daily fare.
Another coyote ventured onto ice on Lake Michigan in 2015, before it ran off into a nearby park. And in January, a coyote was discovered in a refrigerated section inside an Aldi grocery store at 800 N. Kedzie Ave. It was safely removed by Chicago police and Animal Care and Control.
More here.
