The Curious Case of the Alcatraz Coyote – RedState

Coyotes (Canis latrans) are great survivors. Cousins ​​of the northern gray wolf, coyotes are smaller, more agile, capable of eating almost anything, and quick, curious beasts. Every coyote is always looking for the main chance, and a singing dog from California appears to have found a coyote paradise of sorts, after braving a long, cold and dangerous swim to Alcatraz Island.

The adventurous coyote that has called Alcatraz home since traveling more than a mile across San Francisco Bay is getting “a lot bigger” thanks to the former prison island’s all-you-can-eat buffet of birds.

The dog, who has not yet been named, is doing “well and thriving” on the 22-acre island – and feasting on poultry, whose carcasses he apparently dumps on state-managed land.

“Not only did he survive, but he is doing well and thriving,” Janet Kessler, a “self-taught naturalist,” reported on her Instagram account documenting San Francisco’s urban coyote population.

Here’s the problem: he’s all alone. But he seems to be doing pretty well and is putting on a little weight.

One photo shows the beast basking in the sun on one corner of the island, appearing noticeably thicker than the bony, shivering coyote that crawled along the rocky shores of the former prison in a video that went viral earlier this month.

The new snap of the lone animal was apparently taken by a friend of Kessler’s on Jan. 24 and shows a massive turnaround in just two weeks following the animal’s daring 1.25-mile swim from the mainland.

The coyote’s health can largely be attributed to a feast of fowl found in the many birds’ nests near the historic island parade ground, where authorities say the animal primarily lived and left harvested carcasses in its wake.

You have to admire this kind of movement.

I like coyotes. I tried to trap and hunt them when they first spread into my old territory in Allamakee County, Iowa, without success; they were just too tricky for me, even though my trapping ground and .22 rifle yielded enough raccoon, beaver, muskrat, and fox pelts to keep me supplied with ammunition and pizza. But later, while living in Colorado, I spent many nights under canvas in the mountains listening to coyotes sing their late-night serenades. Some people find it jarring, but I rather like it.

And of course, I respect coyotes. They are, as our friend from Alcatraz proves, intelligent and adaptable. This is why they have spread across the continent, and this is also why they behave quite well around humans.

Learn more: Alcatraz: the walls have fallen.

An alternative to Alcatraz: a former FBI agent has a better idea

If there is anything that could, over time, attract this creature to the continent, it may be the search for a mate. After all, there is an instinct that runs even deeper than food. And being alone on an island surrounded by cold water and fast currents is not a good way to pass on your genes. So I’ll be a little surprised if, at some point, our friend Wile E. doesn’t attempt the return swim – and I hope he does.

Still, this is a good example of the adaptability and entrepreneurial spirit of coyotes. He found something that was a stroke of genius; unlimited game, no enemies, no people.

But the genius seems to belong to the coyote family.

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