This iconic L.A. mammal is the first to venture onto the wildlife crossing over the 101 freeway

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Set us as preferred On a brisk October morning, a coyote ventured onto a mound of dirt in Agoura Hills and inadvertently became a pioneer.The canid became the first large mammal known to ascend the gargantuan wildlife crossing nearing completion over the bustling 101 Freeway.“Oh my God, it’s already working,” said Beth Pratt, president of the Wildlife Crossing Fund.The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing is intended to provide safe passage for wildlife locked in the Santa Monica Mountains by freeways and development.In particular, it could provide a lifeline for mountain lions suffering from the effects of inbreeding.After a news conference on Oct.

8, Pratt said she urged National Park Service wildlife biologist Jeff Sikich to install a camera trained on a path leading up to the south side of the crossing.She said she playfully pestered him with daily texts asking if it was up.On Oct.

14, Sikich put in a camera that monitors part of the slope near Agoura Road.Then, last Wednesday, the coyote made its move.

A black-and-white image snapped just after 6 a.m.shows the animal heading up the hill.

It nearly blends in.Only its eye shines bright white.

The National Park Service publicly shared the news Wednesday.The coyote couldn’t cross the entire length of the structure, which consists of two overpasses — one above the freeway and one above an adjacent road — connected by a graded slope.

The soil wasn’t built up high enough to connect them.(Pratt noted that smaller animals, like the Western fence lizard, have already been spotted on the crossing.) Since then, crews have been rapidly building up the soil to create a seamless connection across the structures.

Now larger animals — including mountain lions, bobcats or coyotes — could potentially make a full crossing.That’s why Sikich said he rushed out on Tuesda...