Rescuers scare coyote off rocks and into ship channel — to save him, Texas shelter says

When a young coyote fell into a Texas ship channel, he took refuge on a rock above the water, photos show.

He managed to catch the attention of people in the area, who reported the “coyote in distress” to the City of Port Aransas Animal Shelter. The coyote was unable to get himself out of the water, officials say.

To help him out, rescuers first had to scare him off the rocks — and back into the Corpus Christi Ship Channel water in what was “not the average coyote rescue,” according to a Jan. 18 Facebook post from the shelter.

Once they got the coyote in the water, rescuers followed him as he swam along the wall until they could get a rope around him. With that rope, the shelter says rescuers pulled the coyote out of the channel and up to freedom.

As for how they managed to get the rope off the coyote once he was to safety? Someone asked the shelter that question, and officials responded “carefully” with a grinning emoji.

“The Corpus Christi Ship Channel extends from the Gulf of Mexico, through the jetties in Port Aransas, Texas and across the Corpus Christi Bay,” according to its website. “The channel serves Port Corpus Christi, Harbor Island, Ingleside and extends into the La Quinta Channel.”

This story was originally published January 18, 2022 at 4:09 PM with the headline "Rescuers scare coyote off rocks and into ship channel — to save him, Texas shelter says."