Sacramento County Animals Digest

A dark-sky movement to save birds from window strikes is sweeping the San Francisco Bay Area. Several cities have passed or are drafting laws restricting light pollution while making windows easier for birds to see.

Novelist Jonathan Franzen looks at how trap-neuter-release policies in feral cat colonies have troubling consequences for city residents, local wildlife and even the felines themselves.

Sarah Grimes investigates reports of dead marine mammals up and down the coast. So when she began finding the decapitated bodies of harbor seal pups just a few miles north of Fort Bragg in 2016, she was on the case. Grimes wasn’t able to pin down the culprit until last year, with the help of a UCSC student.

Salmon populations in the Scott and Shasta rivers have crashed, so state officials are about to restrict irrigation again. And the controversial rules may even become permanent.

Birds are affected by the mass use of fireworks on New Year’s Eve up to a distance of 10 km away, reports an international team of researchers.

A coyote recently was found at the $27 million Russian Hill home of AI mogul Sam Altman. This relates to a study, which found that coyote sightings were more frequent in higher-income areas of San Francisco.

Conservationists intend to shoot all of the deer on Santa Catalina Island by helicopter. Some people are opposed, either for not wanting to eliminate the deer or for missing out on future chances to hunt them.

Aptly named the PAWS Clinic (Pet Aid and Wellness Services), the first-of-its-kind mobile veterinary clinic focuses on caring for pets owned by homeless residents.

Livestock are responsible for half of all methane emissions in California. The White House is giving $21.4 million to California Dairies and $22.8 million to Dairy Farmers of America to help change this.

A 2021 fire has helped bring wolves back to Southern California for the first time since the 19th century. A rancher is worried about how to keep wolves, which are federally protected, from harming cattle.

The Office of Habitat Conservation’s Restoration Center has awarded $27.8 million to bring Central California Coast coho salmon back to California rivers, funding projects by Trout Unlimited, the San Mateo and Gold Ridge Resource Conservation Districts, and the Nature Conservancy.

Researchers tell LAist that half of California’s population of Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep, which are endangered, died last winter due to record weather. Causes of death include avalanches, starvation and getting eaten by mountain lions after moving to lower elevations for food.

A team of UC Davis researchers found that birds nesting near farmland were half as likely to have at least one fledgling successfully leave the nest when temperatures spiked. However, forests seemed to provide a protective buffer against high temperatures.

Written by Center for Biological Diversity scientist Tiffany Yap and illustrated by artist Meital Smith, “Tales of the Urban Wild: A Puma’s Journey” takes the reader through diverse habitats, across busy freeways and inside science labs to learn about one mountain lion’s survival story.

California biologists have long wondered: How many mountain lions live in the state? New research offers an answer.

J Gregory, a 28-year-old southern white rhino, weighs in at just over 4,500 pounds, making him the largest animal housed at the Sacramento Zoo.

There’s an official state bird, mineral, tree, fish, insect, lichen, fabric, sport, dance, soil and even dinosaur.

Last week, the San Joaquin County Mosquito and Vector Control District said high numbers of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have shown up in traps around South Stockton, Manteca, Escalon and Ripon.

If you’re at home right now, the Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito & Vector Control District wants you to do something really quick: Go outside and flip over that bucket. And while you’re at it, tip the water out of your neglected bird bath.

The first West Nile virus death of 2023 in Yolo County was announced Aug. 23 by the Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency's public health branch. This marks the first reported death in Yolo County since 2018.

An independent study of the city’s animal shelter recommended a five-year phasing plan for adding 10 new positions. The shelter was opened nearly four years ago for housing 56 cats and 66 dogs, and other small animals.

In a new study published Aug. 17 in the journal Science, fossil records at La Brea Tar Pits indicate that the disappearance of California’s sabertooth cats, dire wolves and other large mammals nearly 13,000 years ago was linked to rising temperatures and fire activity spurred by people.

Sacramento County has confirmed six cases this season, and is investigating eight other probable cases, according to a county public information officer.

California’s only native sunfish, the Sacramento perch, was once abundant before invasive species decimated it. As the planet heats up and threatens cold-water game fish, the Sacramento perch may be on the cusp of a comeback, thanks to its ability to tolerate warm water.

Founded in 2005 in West Sacramento, Wag Hotels caters to a clientele that includes wealthy pet owners from Silicon Valley to Hollywood. But more than a dozen Wag clients told the San Francisco Chronicle that in their experience, Wag Hotels has neglected dogs and put them in danger.

As the planet heats up and threatens many cold-water game fish species like trout, the Sacramento perch may be on the cusp of a comeback, thanks in part to its ability to tolerate warm water and extreme conditions.

The new pack consists of at least five individuals not previously detected in California, including one adult female, who is a direct descendant of California’s first documented wolf in the state in recent history, (OR7), and four offspring (two females, two males).

A Trump administration plan for delivering more water to Central Valley farmers—bottled up in court by opponents for almost four years—could be returned from legal limbo this summer by House Republicans.

There’s a possible rise of four invasive animals in California—another consequence from downpours last winter and spring. The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services warned about a potential population surge due to storm-related flooding.

Luis Yauri Oyola hopes one day to buy a tractor to start a business in Peru; he estimates that he is six years away from that goal, for which he will have spent more than a decade of his life living thousands of miles away from his family. He is on call 24/7 and doesn’t leave the job site except for necessities.

As oppressive heat continues to blanket much of the U.S., it’s especially crucial to take precautions to protect yourself and your loved ones—furry friends included.

A rodent posing a serious threat to levees and native marshlands has found its way to Sacramento County. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife first sounded the alarm on nutria in 2017, when the large South American rodents were detected in the San Joaquin Valley.