Coyote spotted swimming to Alcatraz Island

By Amanda Hari

A shocking video of a coyote swimming to Alcatraz has been circulating on social media.

The video shows a lone coyote swimming in the Bay, its head bobbing above the water as it makes its way to Alcatraz Island.

“Astonished, of course,” said Janet Kessler after seeing the video, sent to her by a friend. 

Kessler is a self-taught naturalist who has been documenting coyote behavior in San Francisco for about 20 years. In the video, the coyote crawls out of the water and struggles to get his footing once on the rocks.

“He can barely make it,” said Kessler. “He’s depleted. He is shivering. He is cold.”

Coyotes can be found on nearby Angel Island, but this is the first time one has been documented on Alcatraz. The coyote likely swam over a mile to get there.

Kessler believes the animal may have felt interspecies population pressure in the city, and it needed to find a new territory.

“This one was probably pushed around by other territorial owners and decided that he could make this trip,” said Kessler. “So, he attempted it, and he made it.”

It’s still unknown if he survived the first night on the island, but she thinks he had the resources to do so.

“There are banana slugs,” said Kessler about what is on Alcatraz, “There are rats. There are mice. There are birds. There is plenty for him to eat. Although there is no running water, there has been rain so there are big puddles lying around. So, in that sense, he would be able to make it.”

A man who works on Alcatraz shared the video on Facebook, saying it was given to him by a tourist. Kessler believes they did the right thing by keeping their distance.

“Leave the coyote alone because this is it doing what it does best,” said Kessler. 

After two decades studying the species, Kessler has learned they can adapt to many environments, some have lived in San Francisco for generations, and this one could potentially adapt to Alcatraz.

“They are survivalists,” said Kessler. “And ready to push their envelopes, and that’s why they continue to expand.”