Coyotes are thriving in Chicago, and as mating season peaks, you just might catch sight of one

A coyote wanders through Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood on Feb. 9, 2026. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

A coyote wanders through Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood near East Huron Street on Feb. 9, 2026. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

A male coyote found in an Aldi grocery store in Humboldt Park on Jan. 13, 2025, rests inside a crate after being rescued by Chicago Animal Care and Control as he awaits transfer to Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation for a full health assessment. (Armando Tejeda/Chicago Animal Care and Control)

A coyote roams Big Marsh Park during rain in the South Deering neighborhood of Chicago on Dec. 29, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)

A coyote roams Big Marsh Park during rain in the South Deering neighborhood of Chicago on Dec. 29, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)

A young coyote stands under a passing CTA train at a North Side cemetery on Sept. 27, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Mike Neri, a wildlife biologist for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, returns a litter of eight coyote puppies to their den in 2013 in a west suburban forest preserve after the eight were examined. (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune)