“Why did the salmon cross the road?” might sound like the beginning of a joke, but it’s actually a real question. Salmon crossing a street due to heavy rainfall may sound like strange and unusual behavior, but they have their reasons for doing so. This video by Terrence J Allison shows salmon literally crossing a street due to heavy water flow. Read on to learn why the salmon chose this unusual path!
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Salmon Crossing the Road
Salmon crossing the road isn’t a common phenomenon, but it does happen. In the video, salmon are using the water that has flooded the road to cross the street. The reason is most likely due to spawning migration. Salmon are anadromous, which means they are born in freshwater streams, spend their adult lives in the ocean, and return to freshwater to spawn. Because of this, salmon instinctively follow the water to the ocean or back to freshwater. In this case, flooding of nearby rivers or streams caused water to flow onto the street, giving the salmon an alternative route, which they took advantage of. Salmon normally need about a foot of water to swim, but in shallow conditions like those shown in the video, they can still move forward by wriggling aggressively. While following their instincts onto the road may be dangerous, it is nonetheless interesting to see.
How Common Is This?
This sort of behavior is uncommon, but it does happen. Since salmon migrations are seasonal, it is not something you can expect to see year-round. If there is heavy rainfall during their migration season, you might witness this phenomenon. Videos like these are often shared from the Pacific Northwest of the United States and western Canada, where salmon populations and river systems are abundant. If you are in these regions during migration season, you may be lucky enough to witness this fascinating phenomenon.
