An injured coyote captured in a heavily documented pursuit in Chicago will be taken to a local rehabilitation center for evaluation, Chicago Animal Care and Control said Friday.
The animal, which was captured in the 1700 block of North Dayton St. Thursday night, was "safely darted" with a tranquilizer before being taken away by authorities.
Animal control said the coyote will undergo DNA testing to confirm if it is the same animal involved in an attack in the Lincoln Park area earlier this week. That testing could take weeks to complete, officials said.
Meanwhile, authorities plan to "aggressively patrol the area in response to any potential sightings."
The coyote was chased by police and animal control officials through several city blocks, but was finally captured near the intersection of North Fremont Street and West Willow Street just after 10 p.m. Thursday.
Video showed the animal being loaded into an Animal Care and Control van after it was shot with a tranquilizer.
It is unclear if the animal is the one wanted in a pair of recent attacks in the city. In one incident Wednesday, a coyote attacked a 6-year-old boy in Lincoln Park, leaving the boy hospitalized with wounds to his face.
Hours later, another attack was reported, as a coyote bit a man in Streeterville. It is unclear if the coyote was the same animal involved in the Lincoln Park attack.
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Experts say coyote attacks against humans are exceedingly rare, with approximately one per year recorded in the United States. Coyotes can become aggressive if humans provide ready sources of food, or if the animal is sick, according to experts.
There are approximately 2,000 coyotes in the Chicago area, according to researchers.
Chicago police had been going after another coyote near the intersection of Oak and Hudson on Thursday night, but it appears that the coyote was able to escape.
