Coyotes have been spotted swimming across San Francisco waters, according to SFGate.
What's happening?
Rangers at Angel Island State Park recently spotted a coyote swimming toward Tiburon in the northwest. After about a half mile of traveling, the coyote returned to Angel Island.
While the behavior is unusual, it's not the first time coyotes have been seen swimming in San Francisco Bay. They first arrived at Angel Island in 2017 by swimming. The first that arrived called out to Tiburon until another came to join it.
Staff had found the first litter on the island in 2019 and are currently tracking a population of 14.
"Swimming here seems like a bit of a fluke," said park interpreter Casey Dexter-Lee on their original introduction to the area, per SFGate. "If a visitor had told us about it, we definitely would not have believed them."
Why are swimming coyotes important?
The problem is that prior to 2017, the ecosystem of Angel Island didn't have to deal with a predator as aggressive as coyotes. Staff now report that raccoons are hard to find, and younger deer aren't making it to adulthood.
As natural habitats become degraded, and human activity introduces new food sources, wild animals are prone to traveling further afield for feeding. This can push humans into dangerous interactions with animals and shift migratory patterns, which upend existing systems.
These dynamics have been seen at play as diminishing krill populations are slowing humpback whale travel and birth rates. Weather shifts have also reduced bird migrations in northern India. This can create critical timing gaps in prey availability, threatening adjacent species.
What's being done about animal migration?
California State Parks and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are conducting a multi-year study on Angel Island to determine the coyotes' ecological impact. This has involved examining coyote scat and trail cameras to determine genetics, diets, and movements.
"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," said CDFW ecologist Brett Furnas, per Bay Nature. "There's only so much food and space to support coyotes on an island."
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