Coyote Hits Downtown Chicago Quizno's

April 4, 2007 — -- A coyote walked into a downtown Chicago Quizno's Subs on Tuesday, and although he wasn't aggressive, customers let him go straight to the front of the line.

At first, store employees thought the coyote was a dog. Then it hopped into the beverage cooler while customers headed for the door.

"It's very unusual for Chicago -- an animal on the loose," store manager Bina Patel said.

The curious crowd retreated to the front window, snapping pictures with their cell phones.

"Apparently it was scared. It was trying to shelter itself," said Ray Zabala, a Quizno's employee.

From coyotes in Central Park to 300-pound black bears wading in backyard swimming pools and wandering suburban neighborhoods, wild animals are on the loose and looking for food.

The dangers are obvious. In California, the number of mountain lion attacks has increased. Deer are also creating chaos; one made its way into a Pennsylvania bank.

"It looked like a baby deer, but apparently it was pretty strong the way it crashed through that window," Pittsburgh police Officer Cheryl Watson said.

These instances are much more than just curiosities. There were more than 1.5 million car accidents involving deer last year -- claiming hundreds of human lives.

In the case of the Quizno's' coyote, the scared and tired 1-year-old pup had an injured leg, which might explain why he headed for the comfort of the beverage cooler.

Animal control officers removed him from the restaurant and gave him a medical checkup before releasing him into the wild.

There is reportedly a pack of coyotes that lives just outside the downtown area of Chicago, so this may not be the last time people see something like this.