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

Aldi shoppers got more than they bargained for when a cop yanked a coyote from a fridge by the tail. The strange scene played out in the supermarket chain’s Kedzie Avenue store in Chicago, Illinois, Monday morning and comes amid mating season.

According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, coyotes can experience increased aggression and boldness from mid-January to early March, putting pets at greater risk. Coyotes often target smaller animals like cats and dogs, luring them away or attacking them outright.

It’s a sad reality that sometimes our small pets are not safe on their own outside. Predators, including coyotes, pose a threat.

Coyote mating season typically lasts from January to March, according to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.