For nearly a decade, Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay has been home to what the state parks describes as a “budding population” of coyotes. Late last month park workers got a fascinating glimpse at the animal’s journey to the island.
Angel Island staffers traveling by boat saw a coyote swimming along Raccoon Strait, and filmed it paddling across the deep waterway between the island and mainland Marin county. The coyote was about a quarter mile from shore and safely returned to the island, the park posted online.
A breeding pair of the animal first arrived to the island in 2017 and over the years have “gradually [filled] a new mammalian predator niche”, according to the state park. But their presence was so unexpected that initial sightings of the animal were dismissed. Park staffers believe the animals doggy paddled a mile across a strong current from Tiburon to Angel Island.
Researchers with the California department of fish and wildlife (CDFW) have been studying the phenomenon and found in 2024 there were between 14 to 17 coyotes, about a third of which were female. The animals were all related and have one, now deceased, mother or grandmother, according to the state park.
The growing population on the island comes as coyotes are expanding their presence across the Bay area.
“We do know coyotes have been expanding south into Marin county and to San Francisco. They’re already taking exploratory things like going across the Golden Gate Bridge,” Brett Furnas, an ecologist with CDFW, told Bay Nature last year. “So it’s not a stretch that they would, maybe by accident, get swept across to Angel Island, or intentionally do that.”
Ferry workers and park staff have seen coyotes swimming in the channel before, but the sightings are rare, a park interpreter told SFGate, which first reported on the development.
The park shared video of last month’s sighting online, sparking curiosity and concern from people unfamiliar with the animal’s swimming habits.
“Coyotes are strong swimmers,” the park wrote. “Park staff work daily to protect coyote, mainly by teaching the public what to do and what not to do if they encounter a coyote.”