The coyote that turned up on Alcatraz is making new headlines after scientists discovered it swam nearly twice as far to reach the island housing the infamous prison.
According to the Associated Press, biologists have said that instead of swimming just one mile from San Francisco, it appears to have paddled roughly two miles from Angel Island. Because San Francisco is closer to the former prison island, experts initially assumed that it was the most likely point of origin.
Camilla Fox, founder and executive director of Project Coyote, told the publication that the animal likely left its home range in search of new territory or a mate.
"We have never, ever heard such a story of a coyote making such a long journey in a pretty challenging ocean current," she added.
But the new finding, announced by the National Park Service, was confirmed after biologists at the Mammalian and Ecology Unit at UC Davis' Veterinary Genetics Laboratory tested the animal's scat, which linked it to Angel Island. It provided another remarkable detail to an already unusual Bay Area wildlife sighting.
National Park Service employees shared their concerns about the animal's presence on the island. Joshua Winchell, a park ranger, told SFGate that NPS staff had been preparing to "humanely trap and remove" the coyote after the initial sighting.
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The reason for this is twofold: First, because Alcatraz is an important seabird nesting habitat, the coyote could imperil the chicks and eggs. Second, due to the rough conditions of the island, specifically a lack of water and cover, it may struggle to survive.
However, despite the discovery of its footprints and scat, the animal has not been seen again, has not shown up on recording devices, and has left no further signs that it is still on the island.
Biologists had installed both audio recording devices and trail cameras after the initial sighting to gain more information about the animal.
"If [the] coyote does reappear on Alcatraz, the timing of its arrival would drive much of our decision making about what to do next," Winchell said in an email response to SFGate. "If [it] returned to the island just before or during the seabird breeding season, we would likely need to quickly capture and relocate the animal off the island to protect birds, chicks, and eggs."
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