A coyote climbed the unfinished Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing about five weeks before the structure is scheduled to open. A remote camera recorded the animal at about 6 a.m. PDT on Oct. 28, 2026.
The roughly $114 million crossing spans 10 lanes of U.S. 101 in Agoura Hills, California. The freeway carries more than 300,000 vehicles a day. Officials plan to open the crossing on Dec. 2, 2026.
Early use of the structure
The coyote is the first large mammal recorded on the crossing. The National Park Service (NPS) released the black-and-white image on Wednesday, Nov. 4. The image shows the animal on the crossing’s southern slope.
Smaller animals arrived first. Officials said a western fence lizard was technically the first animal on the crossing. Butterflies and birds are also using the new habitat.
Smaller animals were first, but wildlife fans can watch far more species on the move in Inside Africa: Earth’s Wild Home Wildlife Moments, which captures world-first animal behavior across 33 countries.
A second coyote has since been recorded on the structure. A mountain lion and her two cubs have been seen walking beside it, along with a mule deer and bobcats. Gray foxes and coyotes have also regularly used a trail next to the future overpass during construction.
The crossing is a 210-foot-long vegetated bridge. The project includes two bridges crossing the 10-lane Ventura Freeway. Construction is still ongoing.
Beth Pratt, president of the Wildlife Crossing Fund, reacted to the first photo. “Oh my God, it’s already working,” she said.
How the crossing will be studied
Cameras set up on and near the crossing will record wildlife activity. NPS biologists will install additional remote wildlife cameras at the crossing in early November. Remote cameras will record activity at the crossing, and the public will get to see many of the photos.
Images and video will be shared with the public, but not in real time. The NPS cites security reasons for keeping live feeds off the site.
Researchers will use GPS radio tracking on mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, deer and gray foxes. The tracking shows where the animals move. Biologists are also implanting biologgers, small devices that record body data, into deer and will soon place them in mountain lions.
The biologgers will record body temperature, heart rate and fat reserves. Researchers will be able to assess whether animals show physiological stress, such as a heart rate spike while crossing the freeway. The data will not show stress on its own, and the study will take years to answer that question.
Over time, research has shown how urban development and highways restrict wildlife movement and gene flow. That year, the first radio collars went on bobcats and coyotes in Liberty Canyon, where the crossing is located. Research on mountain lions began in 2002. SFGate reports that the National Wildlife Federation and the Santa Monica Mountains Fund began raising money for the project in 2014.
Why the mountain lions matter most
The Los Angeles Times reports that mountain lions in the range have critically low genetic diversity because close relatives mate. The cats have already shown signs of inbreeding.
The crossing is meant to link the Santa Monica Mountains with the Simi Hills to the north. The crossing could provide a lifeline for mountain lions suffering from the effects of inbreeding.
Seth Riley, wildlife branch lead at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, said in a statement that the question is larger than whether animals use the structure. “We want to understand how effective it is in reconnecting an ecosystem that has been divided by the freeway for decades,” he said. “That is a much bigger scientific question and answering it will take years.”
Restoring a damaged landscape is a slow process everywhere, as shown by Sycamore Gap Tree’s Resilient Comeback on Hadrian’s Wall, a story about nature healing after a dramatic loss.
A public welcome
The crossing’s official Facebook page marked the milestone with a post. “We’re not officially open yet, but that didn’t stop our first wildlife visitor from showing up early!” the page wrote. It added, “To everyone who wondered how wildlife would know where to go without signs … apparently, they’ve figured it out.”
Construction continues, and the crossing is not yet complete. Its first real test is whether animals keep using it after the ribbon is cut, and whether the cats on one side of the 101 can reach the other.
H/T petapixel.com
Frequently asked questions
When is the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing scheduled to open?
Officials plan to open the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing on December 2, 2026. The structure was still unfinished and under construction when a coyote was first recorded climbing it in late October 2026.
How much does the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing cost to build?
The crossing costs roughly $114 million. It spans 10 lanes of U.S. 101 in Agoura Hills, California, a freeway that carries more than 300,000 vehicles a day.
What wildlife has been seen using the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing?
A coyote was the first large mammal recorded on the crossing, and a second coyote has since been recorded there. A mountain lion and her two cubs have been seen walking beside it, along with a mule deer and bobcats, while butterflies and birds also use the new habitat.
How will researchers track animals using the wildlife crossing?
Researchers will use remote cameras and GPS radio tracking on mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, deer, and gray foxes to show where the animals move. Biologists are also implanting small biologgers into deer and will soon place them in mountain lions to record body temperature, heart rate, and fat reserves.
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