Monterey County Animals Digest

The invasive South American housecat-sized semi-aquatic rodent is making the bay area a new home, and that's a problem. Read on to learn what wildlife officials are doing about it.

Keith Poulsen's jaw dropped when farmers showed him images on their cellphones at the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin in October. A livestock veterinarian at the University of Wisconsin, Poulsen had seen sick cows before, with their noses dripping and udders slack.

As the first serious case of bird flu in a human is reported and more dairy herds across the state are infected, California Governor Newsom declared a state of emergency. Read on to learn what that entails.

Meet Shannon Connor, the first ever executive director of the Monterey Audubon Society, and learn more about group and their plans for the future.

Learn how health officials and California dairies are responding, or not, to the explosive spread of bird flu through dairy herds across the state.

Most ships discharging ballast water into California waters are inspected, but state officials have tested the water of only 16 ships. Experts say invaders like mussels are inevitable under current rules and enforcement.

Bird flu has been spreading among dairy workers in California’s Central Valley, jumping from cows to people. A new suspected case in the Bay Area came from an unknown source.

An invasion of anchovies has prompted Monterey’s harbor master to activate more than a dozen air pumps to add oxygen to the water, to prevent their mass suffocation.Hundreds of sea lions and pelicans are crowding the city’s waterfront, drawn by the schools of migrating Northern anchovies, city officials said in a weekly email on Friday.

The invasive Aedes aegypti mosquitos have been detected in more areas of Santa Clara County, prompting officials to hold meetings to discuss their response to the threat posed by the species. 

Sixty years ago, I was a reporter for the Klamath Falls (Oregon) Herald and News and with my family lived in a small house on the Link River, which flows out of Upper Klamath Lake, draining a large portion of the Cascade mountain range.

Low counts of spawning salmon could mean another year without fishing. Experts say the outlook still has time to turn around.

A strain of bird flu that imperiled California poultry and cattle has jumped to people. In humans, the symptoms are mild and the virus has not been transmitted among people.

Growers support a federal and state proposal for operating California’s massive systems that send river water south. But it could harm more salmon and other endangered fish.

The Monterey Herald takes a look at the history and management of the Monterey Bay Aquarium as it approaches its 40th anniversary.

H5N1 bird flu has been reported in three California dairy herds.

Residents of Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties are warned against local recreational shellfish harvesting due to toxic local algae blooms and red tides.

Young Great White sharks are convening in the warm waters of Soquel Cove off Seacliff State Beach between Capitola and Rio Del Mar.

Rosa the sea otter, resident at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, passed away at the age of 24.

Researchers from the California Killer Whale Project and Vancouver-based Ocean Wise will be utilizing an innovative technique to study the local orca population.

Several bills making their way through the California Legislature seek to address overcrowded animal shelters and streamline how animals receive care.

California has released 500,000 salmon into the Klamath River. As dams are removed, the fish will be some of the first to return to a free-flowing river.

Obstacles are mounting for officials who are attempting to rescue a young gray whale that was discovered entangled in a gillnet off Laguna Beach was recently sighted off the coast of Thornton State Beach in Daly City .

Captains of fishing boats on the California coast are bracing for salmon fishing to be severely restricted — or possibly canceled for a second year.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials ordered an April 8 close to the commercial season to citing the risk of fishing gear entanglement by migrating humpback whales.

The goal is to eliminate habitat competition between "invasive" owls and native owls.

Monterey Bay residents Frans Lanting and Chris Eckstrom, renowned for their work documenting nature, have opened a new exhibit titled "Bay of Life: From Wind To Whales" at California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) .

There was a time not so long ago when trained observers were overwhelmed by the number of whales migrating through Monterey Bay.

The Wildlife Conservation Board voted to award $10.3 million to the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County to preserve the 27,000-acre Camatta Ranch in Santa Margarita.

Foragers at the beaches in Half Moon Bay might be damaging the area’s reef.

While temperatures aren’t warm enough for mosquitoes to run rampant, now’s the time to prevent breeding grounds.

Pigs running down the streets of Salinas? “It’s not too far-fetched,” says one trapper. After incessant rain, Monterey County is experiencing a big pig problem.

Ten conservation groups filed an intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for its failure to list western wolves under the Endangered Species Act.