A Monday night walk near Oakley Boulevard turned into a three-minute scramble for Odalys Flores and her Chihuahua mix, Coco. Flores said two coyotes followed them in Wicker Park, closed the distance, and left her on an elevated railing with the dog in her arms.
The Nov. 9 encounter is the kind of sidewalk meeting Chicago's wildlife specialists have been explaining for years: common animals, a small dog, and a person who had to decide quickly what to do. FOX 32 Chicago reported Flores's account.
What Happened Near Oakley
Flores said she was walking Coco near Oakley Boulevard when she noticed a couple of coyotes following them. When the animals started getting closer, she panicked, grabbed Coco and ran.
She eventually climbed onto an elevated railing to get away. The entire encounter lasted about three minutes.
Three minutes is a long negotiation on a city sidewalk. FOX 32's account stops at the railing. It does not identify the coyotes or say where they went afterward.
Passing Through, A Biologist Says
Chris Anchor, a senior wildlife biologist with the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, told FOX 32 the animals appeared to be passing through and may have been curious about the dog. He also said seeing coyotes in the city is quite common.
That reading separates a follow from an attack, and it is Anchor's assessment of this account, not a finding from a captured animal. In comments reported by Block Club Chicago, he put the usual risk to people more bluntly: "Unless you corner an animal or an animal is sick or injured, it doesn't present a threat to people."
A Chihuahua mix is a different calculation than an adult walker. Curiosity about a small dog is exactly the behavior wildlife officials keep warning about, even when the animals are not treating the person as prey.
How Many Coyotes, And When
The population figures in circulation are estimates, and they do not describe the same map. The Urban Coyote Research Project, as cited by Block Club, estimates that at least 2,000 coyotes live in the Chicago area year-round. In February, the Chicago Tribune reported a separate expert estimate of 2,000 to 4,000 coyotes in Cook County.
Illinois Extension describes the Urban Coyote Research Project as an ongoing 25-year study of coyotes in the Chicagoland area. Anchor is the biologist the project and the Forest Preserve District keep putting in front of these questions.
Complaint totals show more calls, not a census. Block Club reported that Chicago Animal Care and Control received 1,358 coyote complaints in 2024, a 26.6 percent increase from 1,073 in 2023. By Jan. 15, 2025, the agency had logged 115 coyote interaction complaints for that year.
Those January calls fit a seasonal pattern Animal Care and Control has described for years: more coyotes during mating season from January through March, and again during pup season in August and September. Monday's Wicker Park encounter fell outside both windows. That seasonal pattern reflects increased coyote visibility during breeding season.
What The Research Says About Dogs
The most specific pet numbers available are older, and they should stay dated. A review by the Urban Coyote Research Project found reported pet attacks in the Chicago metropolitan area rose from 0 to 2 a year to 6 to 14 a year between 1990 and 2004. The same review found records of 70 attacks on dogs and 10 on cats, and it found smaller breeds attacked more often than medium and large dogs.
That is a research tally from a closed period, not a current attack count and not a description of what happened to Coco. It does put a Chihuahua mix at the end of the size range the researchers flagged.
Other neighborhoods have described close meetings of their own. CBS News Chicago reported North Center residents who said coyotes had become more aggressive than usual, including a dog walker who said one stood no more than six feet away and neighbors on Ravenswood Avenue off Irving Park Road who reported coyotes approaching people with dogs. Those accounts are a separate report. They are not dated to this week, and nothing in them ties those animals to the pair Flores described.
What Officials Tell Walkers
Wildlife officials, as reported by FOX 32, recommend keeping pets close, giving coyotes plenty of space, and not feeding them. Feeding is the habit that turns a passing animal into a regular on the block.
Chicago Animal Care and Control's advice, reported by Block Club, is more specific on the leash and the response. The agency says to always keep pets on a leash and supervise them. If a coyote is already there, it advises people to make themselves big and loud by waving their arms and shouting.
Flores's account is the other version of that moment: grab the small dog, move, and get off the ground the animals are using. For the next person walking a small breed after dark in Wicker Park, the practical instruction from the agencies is still the short one. Leash the dog, do not feed the coyotes, and give them the sidewalk.
