(CNN) A strange spate of coyote sightings in Chicago -- and two attacks, one involving a 5-year-old -- have befuddled residents and officials.

Coyote sightings in the city aren't uncommon -- coyotes have lived among Chicago residents "for generations," Chicago Animal Care and Control executive director Kelly Gandurski said at a press conference. But the attacks -- the first recorded coyote-on-human attacks in three decades -- are concerning

The first came Wednesday afternoon, when a coyote bit a 5-year-old boy multiple times outside of a nature museum in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. He was taken to Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago in stable condition, Chicago Police Officer Ana Pacheco confirmed to CNN.

Gandurski said the boy's caretaker repeatedly kicked the coyote until it ran away. The coyote responsible for the attack has not been found.

Then, later Wednesday night, a 32-year-old man said a coyote bit his buttocks while he was walking near Northwestern Hospital. He walked into the hospital in good condition and will be treated and released, Pacheco said. The latter coyote attack occurred about 2.6 miles away from the Lincoln Park mauling, but it's not clear whether the same coyote is responsible.

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