San Benito County Local News: Animals

01/04/2024
Research shows that a mountain chickadee facing deep snow is like a canary in a coal mine—its survivability tells us about the challenges ahead.

12/28/2023
Dec. 28 marks the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, signed into law by President Richard Nixon. Its purpose: “to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend.”

12/27/2023
Visitors can see the critically endangered Lord How Island stick insect, on display for the first time in North America, in a special habitat at the zoo’s Wildlife Explorers Basecamp.

12/26/2023
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.

12/25/2023
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.

12/22/2023
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.

12/17/2023
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.

12/17/2023
A small band of researchers have hatched an ambitious amphibian comeback, using foothill yellow-legged frog eggs from a creek near King City to reestablish populations within the frog’s historic range.

12/15/2023
Seasonal counts are showing there are, as expected, fewer butterflies overwintering in Pacific Grove than last year, but not the record lows of 2018-20.

12/11/2023
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.

12/08/2023
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.

12/08/2023
The California Rangeland Trust announced the 9,400-acre Silacci Ranch's conservation was finalized, preserving the family's 140-year ranching legacy on land in Monterey and San Benito counties.

12/07/2023
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.

11/24/2023
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.

11/23/2023
Local veterinarian clinics are short-staffed, and since COVID-19 residents have struggled to get appointments for their pets. Increased pet ownership since the pandemic has added to ongoing issues.

11/13/2023
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.

11/06/2023
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.

11/06/2023
The Wildlife Conservation Board is scheduled to consider providing $5.6 million for a wildlife crossing near the San Benito-Monterey county line to address “one of the most significant and least permeable wildlife connectivity bottlenecks in California.”

10/31/2023
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.

10/20/2023
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.