Researchers studying the phenomenon found in 2024 there were between 14 to 17 coyotes on Angel island
For nearly a decade, Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay has been home to what the state parks describes as a “budding population” of coyotes. Late last month park workers got a fascinating glimpse at the animal’s journey to the island.
Angel Island staffers traveling by boat saw a coyote swimming along Raccoon Strait, and filmed it paddling across the deep waterway between the island and mainland Marin county. The coyote was about a quarter mile from shore and safely returned to the island, the park posted online.
A breeding pair of the animal first arrived to the island in 2017 and over the years have “gradually [filled] a new mammalian predator niche”, according to the state park. But their presence was so unexpected that initial sightings of the animal were dismissed. Park staffers believe the animals doggy paddled a mile across a strong current from Tiburon to Angel Island.
Researchers with the California department of fish and wildlife (CDFW) have been studying the phenomenon and found in 2024 there were between 14 to 17 coyotes, about a third of which were female. The animals were all related and have one, now deceased, mother or grandmother, according to the state park.
