Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Strange Day in Chicago

I thought the snow was the strangest thing to happen today, but I just checked the Trib, and it turns out there was a coyote in the Loop. Apparently he just wandered into a Quiznos (of all places) and plopped down in a beverage cooler (it's cold outside, so he choose a cold spot inside?) Normally stories like that make me unbelievably sad - animals getting forced out of their natural habitats by urban sprawl - but at least this has a happy ending - the animal was safely captured and transported to the Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation refuge. I'm trying to look on the bright side, about how this coyote maneuvered the Loop, hung out with some people in a shop without anyone freaking out (apparently a few people were in there eating lunch and they just kept on eating) and then found a home again. Coyotes are really remarkable creatures. I learned a lot about them in some fiction book I read once. I think it was That Old Ace in the Hole by Annie Proulx, but maybe I'm remembering incorrectly (anyone?)

6 comments:

kbmulder said...

I'm amazed that everyone stayed calm with the coyote in the Quiznos. That is really neat. Wonder where he/she came from? All I know about coyotes I learned from Little House and I'm guessing that is false.

It snowed here a little today. Yesterday it was nearly 80. Crazy Indiana weather. Is Chicago the same way?

Special K said...

Yeah, it was so warm a few days ago. Then it rained so hard it nearly blew our gutters off. Now it's snowing and really cold. Everyone's complaining, but I'm like, "Collective Dudes, we just survived a Chicago winter. I think we can handle April."

Indiana Fan said...

I too am amazed at the calm people displayed when a FREAKING COYOTE wanders into the middle of the city and plops the frick down in a Quiznos.

It is certainly the right thing to do, and it's great that the Coyote got a happy home. It's sort of interesting to realize how blurred the lines of urbanization and the wilderness are, and how quickly the animals will take back over when the electric grid goes down.

Special K said...

Ha - D., at first I thought that was my dad writing - sometimes he's "Hoosier Basketball Fan" or something, and I was like, "When did Big Daddy start saying 'frick'?"

You know, when I first heard about the coyote, I thought he must have come from Millennium Park - I've seen lots of rabbits over there, it's actually quite large. Yes, the pure tenacity of the animal is amazing, and it will be nice for them when they take over again.

KHM said...

Two days ago it was 90 here in DC. Today, 43. STOP THE MADNESS!!

Hey--I've never heard of that Anne Proulx book and I like what I have read of hers. What can you tell me about it?

Special K said...

Ace in the Hole is good environmental fiction, but not necessarily good fiction - I enjoyed it because I like that sort of thing (similar to Ruth Ozeki's work). If you read it, you'll learn a lot about pig farming and other environmental issues in a very palatable way! (: