Male coyote swam 2 miles to Alcatraz Island, twice as far as biologists had expected
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A lone coyote stunned biologists and others as it paddled into the distance Alcatraz Island Earlier this year, a former federal prison on San Francisco Bay was surrounded by fast, choppy waters notorious for blocking inmates’ escapes.
At the time, biologists estimated the coyote swam from San Francisco, about a mile from the fort. But it turned out that the male coyote actually made an even longer swim from Angel Island, 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) away.
“Our working hypothesis was that the coyote was able to swim from San Francisco because it was a much shorter distance. We couldn’t help but be impressed by its success in reaching Alcatraz,” National Park Service wildlife ecologist Bill Merkle said in a Monday news release titled “Alcatraz Coyote Wasn’t a City Kid After All.”
“Coyotes are known to be resilient and adaptable, and he certainly demonstrated those qualities,” he said.
The coyote likely left its home base to find a mate or a new territory to defend, said Camilla Fox, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Project Coyote. Coyotes can swim like wolves, he said, but it’s incredibly rare for people to notice them doing so.
“We’ve never heard of a coyote making such a long journey through a pretty rough ocean current,” he said.
Video from early January shows the coyote paddling across the frigid San Francisco Bay and then trying to reach the rocky island. This was followed by visitor observation and photography on January 24.
Biologists found fresh coyote tracks and droppings and sent them to the University of California at Davis for DNA analysis. Authorities were stunned to learn the swimmer was part of the coyote population on Angel Island.
The park service prepared to capture and relocate the coyote because of Alcatraz’s role as nesting habitat for seabirds. But he was never spotted or caught on recorders again, and there is no evidence the coyote is still on the island.
Alcatraz Island became a federal prison designed to house the worst criminals in the 1930s, but was closed in the 1960s because its remoteness made it too costly to operate.
Still, 36 men attempted 14 separate escapes from Alcatraz. Almost all of them were caught in the cold and swift current or did not survive. In 1973 the island was reopened as a park.
Angel Island is a state park that once served as a processing and detention center where Chinese and other unwanted immigrants were detained from a few days to months or even two years.
Project Coyote’s Fox said it wasn’t easy for coyotes to colonize Angel Island, but they persevered. Given that it’s pup season right now, he asks visitors to the island and other open areas to be careful not to disturb coyote families and dens.
