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SHELTON, Washington — Why did the salmon cross the road? In the case of this video from the Northwest, it appears that they have spawning on the mind.
The 1-minute-long video, posted by Terrence Allison earlier this month, shows what happened when Allison encountered fish on a road that was partially covered by flooding from the Skokomish River.
“Watch salmon race across the road on their way to spawn,” Allison wrote in the video description.
According to a report from UPI.com, the flooding occurred in the city of Shelton, which is located near the Puget Sound. It’s not uncommon for the river to flood, but it’s certainly unusual to see salmon use the road as a crosswalk.
Although the water was only a couple inches deep in places, the determined salmon muscled their way across the road. Some would wait at the edge of the roadway, summoning the strength to make the strange crossing. Motorists come and go throughout the duration of the video, patiently waiting for each fish to finish its journey.
While saltwater salmon migrations like this don’t occur in Utah, there are still plenty of opportunities to see the spawning runs of landlocked kokanee salmon. The beautiful fish are found in Causey Reservoir, Strawberry Reservoir and Flaming Gorge Reservoir. You can get more information by clicking here.
