Coyote swims to Alcatraz Island

[T_R_Oglodyte]

It was a late Sunday afternoon like any other on San Francisco’s Alcatraz Island. The day was winding down, and Aidan Moore, a guest relations employee for Alcatraz City Cruises, was at the dock of the tourist attraction helping visitors disembark. Suddenly, one of the tourists approached him, wide-eyed: They had just seen a coyote swimming to shore, something that has never been recorded before.

“I didn’t believe them to start with,” Moore, who has been working on the island for the past two and a half years, told SFGATE over the phone. But the guest insisted they had the video to prove it. They held up their iPhone to show him the screen, and sure enough, there it was: a coyote paddling through the water and eventually reaching the craggy coast on the southern edge of the island near the Agave Trail, panting and shivering.

https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/san-francisco-coyote-alcatraz-21302218.php

 

[DeniseM]

Coyotes are amazing! In 2017, the first coyote was spotted swimming to Angel Island, (also in SF Bay) and now there is a pack of 14-17 coyotes there. They primarily eat rats & mice, which can over run islands with no natural predators.

Rare sight of coyote swimming to Angel Island caught on video

An unusual sighting was caught on video – a coyote swimming in the San Francisco Bay on its way to Angel Island.

www.ktvu.com

 

[davidvel]

Coyotes are amazing! In 2017, the first coyote was spotted swimming to Angel Island, (also in SF Bay) and now there is a pack of 14-17 coyotes there. They primarily eat rats & mice, which can over run islands with no natural predators.

Rare sight of coyote swimming to Angel Island caught on video

An unusual sighting was caught on video – a coyote swimming in the San Francisco Bay on its way to Angel Island.

www.ktvu.com

And cats and small dogs, depending on their habitat.

 

[Passepartout]

THAT'S a serious piece of dog-paddling!

 

[beejaybee]

If only all SF coyotes would migrate to Alcatraz!
On our long walk on the Embarcadero in May '24 we encountered a mangy, skinny city coyote. Luckily it was alone or we might have been breakfast.

 

[Brett]

I've been to Alcatraz Island
(on a tour boat)

 

[Talent312]

Foolish coyote.
Should'a just stowed away on a tour boat.

 

[artringwald]

In a semi related story.

Canadian woman found dead surrounded by dingoes on Australian beach

Local police have yet to determine whether the 19-year-old tourist died from drowning after going for a swim or was attacked by the animals.

www.bbc.com

 

[easyrider]

I'm a bit wary of coyotes but they are definitly more wary of us .

Bill

 

[Talent312]

Has anyone noticed that squirrels are getting uppity.
Used to be that they'd run away if I walked past them.
Now they look at me like, "You're invading my space."
"Do you want a piece of me?"
.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I'm a bit wary of coyotes but they are definitly more wary of us .

Bill

I suspect that might be changing.

A few years ago, at our previous house in Bellevue, WA, which was close to green belts, I went out one morning to pick up the newspaper delivery on the driveway. As I came out the door, a coyote was standing in the street in front of the driveway. After seeing me, the coyote trotted into the the driveway of the house next door, simply watching me without any visible degree of wariness. The coyote than watched me, motionless, even though, by heading to my driveway, I was closing the distance between us.

A few days later, I was driving back to my house in the mid-afternoon, and I saw a coyote standing in the middle of the street ahead of me. I don't know if was the same coyote or a different one. As I headed toward the coyote in my car, the coyote didn't run, rather remaining in the street as I approached in my car. As I neared the coyote, the coyote moved to the side to let me pass, but did not get out the road. As I drove past the coyote remained in the road, and looked at me through the window as I drove by, about three feet from the side of the car.

In both those encounters, clearly the coyote did not have any fear or wariness of encounters with humans.

 

[artringwald]

I use my leaf blower to chase away the squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, and deer. They all like to eat the bird food we put out. We have coyotes in the area that my neighbors have seen, but I haven't seen them yet.

 

[easyrider]

I suspect that might be changing.

A few years ago, at our previous house in Bellevue, WA, which was close to green belts, I went out one morning to pick up the newspaper delivery on the driveway. As I came out the door, a coyote was standing in the street in front of the driveway. After seeing me, the coyote trotted into the the driveway of the house next door, simply watching me without any visible degree of wariness. The coyote than watched me, motionless, even though by heading to my driveway I was closing the distance between us.

A few days later, I was driving back to my house in the mid-afternoon, and I saw a coyote standing in the middle of the street ahead of me. I don't know if was the same coyote or a different one. As I headed toward the coyote in my car, the coyote didn't run, rather remaining in the street as I approached in my car. As I neared the coyote, the coyote moved to the side to let me pass, but did not get out the road. As I drove past the coyote remained in the road, and looked at me through as I drove by, about three feet from the side of the car.

In both those encounters, clearly the coyote did not have any fear or wariness of encounters with humans.

We are allowed to kill coyotes in our area year round. There is no limit. They are hunted for sport by some.

My motion detector turns on the lights when they show up and they run back into the darkness.

Im guessing no one kills coyotes around Bellvue is why coyotes aernt afraid of humans.

Bill

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

We are allowed to kill coyotes in our area year round. There is no limit. They are hunted for sport by some.

The Cascade Mountains divide more than watersheds!

 

[Patri]

The coyotes are getting food easily somewhere.

 

[bizaro86]

I've seen a lot less coyotes around here since the bobcats arrived. I don't think they eat the coyotes, but I do think they out-compete them for food sources

 

[DeniseM]

At our home in Reno, we are at the top of a hill, and the hillside below is designated to remain a nature habitat. At the bottom of the hill there is a creek and park. There is tons of food available for birds, squirrels & rabbits so the coyote eat very well and are healthy looking. We see them trotting across the hillside below, and a few times a year, they trot through our yard. Surprisingly, there are a number of outside cats in our neighborhood, so I'm guessing they don't go down on the hillside. The coyotes are just doing what coyotes do, and they were here first, so our philosophy is live and let live. However, pet owners have to be smart.

In addition, we now have wolf packs in the Sierras that have been seen as close as 10 miles from Reno. They have gradually migrated down from the north - they were not moved here by anyone. It's going to be interesting to see what happens with them. I know that they can create a problem for ranchers, and they compete with coyotes, but I hope they can co-exist. They are very closely watched by the Dept. of Fish and Wild Life, and within the last year, California had to kill some wolves that would not leave the cattle alone. This was after months of concerted efforts to redirect them, but it wasn't successful. Wolves were nearly eliminated in Nevada 100 years ago, so their management is new to everyone. But we know it can be done, because they are doing it in Yellowstone, where wolves were reintroduced in 1995.

 

[sponger76]

Has anyone noticed that squirrels are getting uppity.
Used to be that they'd run away if I walked past them.
Now they look at me like, "You're invading my space."
"Do you want a piece of me?"
.

A couple of years ago we were hiking in the mountains above Vail. While we were on a trail going through the woods we heard some squeaking and little noises of something hitting the trees. It turned out the squirrels were trying to throw nuts at us. My guess is they had little babies and felt we were too close.