{"id":394949,"date":"2026-01-28T12:13:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T12:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/394949\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T12:13:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T12:13:11","slug":"coyote-gains-weight-after-making-daring-swim-to-alcatraz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/394949\/","title":{"rendered":"Coyote gains weight after making daring swim to Alcatraz"},"content":{"rendered":"

The adventurous coyote that has been living on Alcatraz since paddling more than a mile<\/a> across the San Francisco Bay is growing \u201cmuch fatter\u201d thanks to the former prison island\u2019s all-you-can-eat bird buffet.<\/p>\n

The yet-to-be-named canine is \u201cwell and thriving\u201d on the 22-acre island \u2014 and has been feasting on fowl, whose carcasses he is apparently littering across the state-run grounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe not only survived, but he is well and thriving,\u201d Janet Kessler, a \u201cself-taught naturalist,\u201d reported on her Instagram account<\/a> that documents San Francisco\u2019s urban coyote population.<\/p>\n

\"A Aidan Moore<\/p>\n

A picture showed the beast basking in the sun on a corner of the island, appearing noticeably thicker than the bony, shivering coyote that dragged itself onto the former prison\u2019s rocky shores in a video that went viral earlier this month. <\/p>\n

The new snapshot of the lonesome animal was apparently taken by a friend of Kessler on Jan. 24 and shows a massive turnaround within just two weeks of the animal\u2019s daring 1.25-mile swim from the mainland.<\/p>\n

The coyote\u2019s health can mostly be attributed to a feast of fowl found in the many bird nests near the historic island\u2019s parade grounds, where officials say the animal has mostly been living and leaving harvested carcasses in his wake.<\/p>\n

\"Coyote Aidan Moore<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s certainly much fatter than when he arrived,\u201d Aidan Moore, who works for Alcatraz City Cruises, told The San Francisco Standard. <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know how long he\u2019s going to be a resident here, because if he interferes with the nesting birds he might get relocated to the mainland.\u201d<\/p>\n

The coyote is the first and only to live at Alcatraz since the island was transferred to the National Parks Service in 1972.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPark biologists and staff are actively monitoring the coyote to better understand how it is surviving on the island and to assess any potential impacts to the seabird breeding colony,\u201d a rep for the service said.<\/p>\n

Activists like Kessler, however, are urging rangers to let the coyote enjoy its new life on the island after surviving the incredible feat.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe expended a huge amount of effort to reach the island. If he can survive there, we should allow him to, allowed to live the life he has chosen. We all know that relocation is detrimental to coyotes and many don\u2019t survive. This coyote poses absolutely no danger to people \u2014 he will stay away from them,\u201d Kessler wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cLets stand back, watch, learn, and be awed by our wildlife and their amazing survival skills. We don\u2019t need to always control and interfere.\u201d<\/p>\n

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