A coyote that made a surprising appearance on Alcatraz Island earlier this year completed a far more grueling journey than researchers initially believed, swimming roughly 2 miles across the choppy waters of San Francisco Bay instead of the shorter route experts had assumed.
When the male coyote first arrived at the iconic former federal prison in early January, biologists reasoned it must have paddled from San Francisco, which sits just over 1 mile away. DNA analysis of tracks and scat collected on the island told a different story. The animal had actually departed from Angel Island, a state park 2 miles distant, making the crossing through notoriously swift and dangerous currents.
Bill Merkle, a wildlife ecologist with the National Park Service, acknowledged the miscalculation in a statement released Monday. "Our working assumption was that the coyote made the swim from San Francisco because it is a significantly shorter distance," Merkle said. "We couldn't help being impressed by his accomplishment in making it to Alcatraz."
Camilla Fox, founder of Project Coyote, said the animal likely undertook the hazardous crossing in search of a mate or new territory. While coyotes are capable swimmers like their wolf relatives, such ocean voyages are extraordinarily uncommon. "We have never, ever heard such a story of a coyote making such a long journey in a pretty challenging ocean current," Fox told reporters.
Video footage from early January captured the coyote paddling through the frigid bay and struggling to scramble onto Alcatraz's rocky shore. Visitor Rebecca Husson photographed the animal on January 24 during a family tour of the island. She described the coyote as bedraggled when it first arrived but remarkably healthy weeks later.
"He looked like a drowned rat when he ended up on the island, and when we saw him he looked healthy and so beautiful," Husson said. "He looked like he had been eating well."
Park officials had prepared to trap and relocate the coyote, concerned about its potential threat to Alcatraz's significant seabird nesting population. The animal vanished before capture became necessary, leaving no trace on surveillance equipment since its initial arrival.
Alcatraz served as a maximum-security federal penitentiary starting in the 1930s but closed in the 1960s due to operational costs. The prison became infamous for its near-impenetrable security, though 36 inmates attempted 14 separate escapes. Most were recaptured or perished in the cold, turbulent water. Today the island operates as a national park.
The coyote's arrival raised questions about how the species has adapted to island life. Angel Island, the apparent origin point, historically served as an immigration detention center but is now a state park where coyotes have gradually established a population despite ecological challenges. Fox urged visitors to remain respectful of coyote families during breeding season, noting the species' remarkable ability to persevere in difficult environments.
Author James Rodriguez: "A 2-mile swim through San Francisco Bay's brutal currents puts most human swimmers to shame, yet a wild coyote did it seeking opportunity, proving these animals are far more capable than we give them credit for."
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