Viral Video Of Salmon Crossing A Highway Has People Baffled

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Viral Video Of Salmon Crossing A Highway Has People Baffled

YouTube/Terrence J Allison

"Why did the chicken cross the road" is something we have all been asked at a certain point in time, but we don't often hear people asking "why did the salmon cross the road?"

Now, that is a question that millions of social media users are asking after a video showing dozens of salmon hastily crossing a highway in Skokomish River Valley, Washington surfaced online.

Seattle news station KIRO 7 recently posted the clip, which was recorded by fish hatchery specialist Alexis Leonard, on Facebook, and it has gotten more than 10 million views since.

Leonard, who didn't expect to attract this much attention told CNN that she and her father were on their way to Eells Springs Trout Hatchery when she took the video for her sister, who had never witnessed such phenomenon.

Salmon crossing

Where's the "salmon crossing" sign? Diana Kannenberg sent us this video of salmon crossing a flooded road north of Olympia on Sunday. That's not something you see every day.

Posted by KHQ Local News on Monday, November 5, 2018

While this isn't a normal occurrence in other parts of the country, in Washington it isn't all that rare.

According to Leonard, it is mating season. The salmon from the Skokomish River swim upstream in search of "spawning grounds." They often end up dwelling in creeks to find a mate, reproduce, and sadly, die.

But whenever heavy rainfall occurs, the creeks flood and push the fish out, sending them onto the roads.

"If they're lucky, it'll meet up with the creek on the other side of the road, if they're not, they're stranded," Leonard explained.

It looks like the salmon are willing to risk it all to find a mate, which honestly, sounds like someone we all know.

If you're intrigued by this phenomenon, you can watch more of it in the video below:

Have you ever seen salmon cross a road?

Blair isn't a bestselling author, but she has a knack for beautiful prose. When she isn't writing for Shared, she enjoys listening to podcasts.