Customers gasped as officers made several attempts to yank the coyote out of the shelf, finally pulling the animal out by its tail.

A coyote that was pulled out of the refrigerated section of an Aldi in Chicago yesterday will be returned to the wild, officials said. The wild animal was “likely seeking refuge from the hustle and bustle of city life,” slipped into the store via an open door and then hid behind the cheeses and deli meats to avoid the people in the store.

Officials gave an update Tuesday on a coyote pulled from a refrigerator shelf at an Aldi in Chicago, a moment that was captured on now-viral video.

Wildlife rehabbers theorized the animal ducked into the supermarket, then hid among refrigerated items to "hide from people inside the store.”

An officer eventually grabbed what appeared to be a furry tail and furiously pulled before the wild animal shockingly emerged and landed on the market floor.

Shoppers and staff at a Chicago Aldi were surprised to find a coyote hiding in the refrigerated section, prompting a response from animal control.

Coyote sightings and interactions in Chicago are increasing as the breeding season, lasting from January to March, gets underway.

A video of authorities removing a coyote from an Aldi grocery store in Chicago has gone viral. Police, who worked with Chicago Animal Care and Control, said no people were injured in the incident, and the adult male coyote was uninjured,

It was not known how a coyote found its way to the Aldi at 800 N. Kedzie Ave., but police officers and the city's animal control department helped out, Chicago police said. The coyote will get a health assessment before it's released.

Because it’s coyote mating season, the critters are “more active and may be seen more frequently,” experts say.

It is mating season for coyotes, which "generally means increased activity in urban areas, including Chicago," according to Chicago Animal Care and Control.

Four teenage boys have been cited in connection with the death of a coyote on the Far South Side earlier this month, according to Chicago police and state wildlife officials. The suspects, ages 16 and 17,