On a recent morning with wind chills below zero at a Cook County, Ill., forest preserve, a coyote paced back and forth inside a cage, peering out through the wires. With sharp teeth and quick movements, the animal looked ready to hunt. But animal experts agree that it probably can’t survive in the wild.
The coyote was found in Tennessee by people who took him for an abandoned dog. He was socialized and trained to be adopted like a pet. Since 2018, he’s been kept in a metal enclosure at the River Trail Nature Center in Northbrook, where the Cook County Forest Preserve District says he gets expert care.
CHICAGO – Two gators in the Chicago River. One strolling down a Massachusetts street. Another in bustling New York City. And that’s just in the past few weeks.
CHICAGO – Two gators in the Chicago River. One strolling down a Massachusetts street. Another in bustling New York City. And that’s just in the past few weeks.
From North Dakota to Indiana, alligators are showing up far from their traditional southern habitats including a 3-footer captured Tuesday in the Chicago River.
But experts say it’s not the latest sign of global warming. Instead the creatures almost certainly were pets that escaped or were dumped by their owners.