A coyote became the first known animal to use the still-unfinished Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing over the Ventura (101) Freeway in the Agoura Hills area Thursday.
The animal was captured by two cameras heading north across the 101 Freeway structure at 1:35 a.m. Thursday, according to the Save L.A. Cougars campaign.
“Apparently, wildlife has its own opening date!” the campaign wrote in an Instagram post. “A coyote was captured on two cameras heading north on the 101 Freeway structure of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing. We knew wildlife would use it, but seeing this BEFORE the ribbon-cutting has us pretty emotional!”
The Instagram account, @p22mountainlion, said National Park Service biologist Jeff Sikich notified campaign leader Beth Pratt about the sighting early Thursday.
“Winner winner chicken dinner. Coyote it is, on the 101 deck–heading north–picked it up on two cameras,” Sikich said.
Sikich and Pratt had each predicted which animal would be the first to fully use the crossing. Pratt selected a mule deer, while Sikich picked a coyote.
A coyote received 34% of the votes in an online poll asking which animal would first use the crossing, according to the campaign.
The crossing is scheduled to officially open to wildlife Dec. 2.
National Park Service biologists have begun installing remote wildlife cameras at the crossing as part of a long-term scientific monitoring program. The cameras are intended to document which species approach and use the landscaped bridge, when they use it and how wildlife respond to the new connection between the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills.
“This is more than just about whether animals use the crossing,” Seth Riley, the wildlife branch lead at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, 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 crossing is intended to reconnect wildlife habitat fragmented by the freeway, allowing mountain lions and other animals to move between the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills.