A second person was attacked by a coyote in Chicago just hours after a young boy was hospitalized after being bitten on the city's North Side, officials say.
The second incident took place in the evening hours on Wednesday in the 700 block of North Fairbanks Court in the city's Streeterville neighborhood, according to Chicago police.
Authorities said a 32-year-old man walked into Northwestern Memorial Hospital and said he had been walking on the sidewalk in the area when a coyote came from behind and bit him in the buttocks.
He was in good condition and was expected to be treated and released from the hospital, according to police.
The incident made him the second victim of a coyote attack in less than a day in the city, after a 5-year-old boy was bitten multiple times earlier that afternoon in Lincoln Park.
At around 4 p.m. Wednesday, the boy was in the 2400 block of North Cannon Drive when a coyote bit him multiple times in the head before running north, according to police.
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Witnesses at the scene, near the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, said the museum told patrons in an announcement that a coyote was "wandering around" the property and warned them to be vigilant.
The boy was taken to Lurie Children's Hospital where he was listed in stable condition, officials said.
Police said the two attacks on Wednesday were related. Video of the scene of the second incident showed a coyote walking through the Streeterville neighborhood with a distinctive limp, as well as Chicago police officers searching for the animal overnight.
The attacks were the latest in a string of incidents involving coyotes across the area in recent days. An NBC 5 photographer spotted a coyote running through the city's Loop on Tuesday, and just hours earlier another coyote was pulled from Lake Michigan near Montrose Harbor.
The animals have also been spotted in the Old Town and Lincoln Park neighborhoods in recent weeks.
Animal control officials say that the increased sightings have come as coyotes follow the Chicago River in search of food. Experts believe coyotes are coming closer to downtown and becoming more aggressive because they’re struggling to find food.
Experts from Chicago's Animal Care and Control have several suggestions for residents who encounter coyotes. Making loud noises, or using a whistle, is a good way to spook a coyote into leaving, they say, adding that waving hands and jumping up and down can also work.
Residents should also keep dogs on short leashes and allow pets to hide behind them if they encounter a coyote.
Homeowners are also encouraged not to leave garbage out in the open, as it could potentially encourage coyotes to seek out their yards as a food source.
