Coyote Tests Unfinished 101 Wildlife Bridge

A coyote traversed the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing over the Ventura Freeway on Thursday.

The animal moved northbound across the structure at 1:35 a.m., according to the Save L.A. Cougars campaign. Two remote cameras captured the event, confirming the first known use of the bridge by a wild animal. The crossing remains under construction and has not yet opened to the public.

Jeff Sikich, a National Park Service biologist, reported the sighting to campaign leader Beth Pratt early Thursday morning. Sikich noted that the camera footage showed the coyote moving across the deck. "Winner winner chicken dinner. Coyote it is, on the 101 deck, heading north, picked it up on two cameras," Sikich said.

Pratt and Sikich had previously made individual predictions regarding the species that would first utilize the full span. Pratt selected a mule deer for the honor, while Sikich bet on a coyote. An online poll conducted by the campaign asked followers to guess the first user, with the coyote receiving 34% of the total votes.

The structure is scheduled to officially open to wildlife on Dec. 2. NPS biologists installed the remote cameras as part of a long-term monitoring program. These devices track which species approach the bridge, the timing of their movements, and how animals react to the new connection between the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills.

Seth Riley, wildlife branch lead at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, emphasized the scientific goals of the project. "This is more than just about whether animals use the crossing," Riley said in a statement. "We want to understand how effective it is in reconnecting an ecosystem that has been divided by the freeway for decades. That is a much bigger scientific question and answering it will take years."

The bridge aims to reconnect habitat fragmented by the freeway, facilitating movement for mountain lions and other species between the two mountain ranges.