Overview
- The animal reached Alcatraz on January 11 after swimming roughly a mile across San Francisco Bay, a moment captured by a visitor on video.
- A January 24 photo showed the coyote noticeably heavier, with officials and observers reporting carcasses of birds on the island.
- National Park Service staff say they are actively monitoring the coyote to assess survival and impacts on the island’s breeding bird colony.
- Officials indicate the coyote could be moved to the mainland if it interferes with nesting birds during the breeding season.
- This is the first documented coyote living on Alcatraz since the site’s transfer to the National Park Service in 1972, as animal advocates urge nonintervention.