Jan. 21 (UPI) — A coyote caught on camera swimming to San Francisco’s Alcatraz Island is believed to be the first of its species to visit the former prison, which is now a tourist attraction.
Aidan Moore, a guest relations employee for Alcatraz City Cruises, said he was helping visitors disembark at the dock when a tourist showed him a video she captured of a coyote swimming to shore and climbing up onto the rocks.
Moore, who posted the video to Facebook, said he contacted rangers on the island, but they were unable to locate the animal.
Moore said he suspects the coyote may have gone back into the water, but it could also be hiding out somewhere on the island.
Janet Kessler, an amateur naturalist who has been studying coyote behavior in San Francisco for two decades, said the canine would be able to survive on the island for at least a short time. She said there are ample sources of food and puddles of fresh water to sustain the coyote.
The coyote may have come from San Francisco or Angel Island, where coyotes were previously observed. Either way, the animal would have had to swim over a mile to Alcatraz.
Kessler said the best thing to do for the coyote if it is still on the island is to give it distance.
“Leave the coyote alone because this is it doing what it does best,” Kessler told KPIX-TV.
Julian Espinoza, a spokesperson for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which oversees Alcatraz, confirmed the coyote was the first of its species to be documented visiting the island.
“Coyotes can be commonly seen throughout our San Francisco and Marin parklands but never before on Alcatraz,” Espinoza wrote in an email to SFGate. “This was the first time our park biologists observed anything like this.”