Santa Cruz County Animals Digest

Following news of the death of pet cats from eating bird flu infected raw food or raw milk, CapRadio has information about how to protect your feline friends.

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.

Learn about the coming annual return of thousands of elephant seals to Año Nuevo State Park, and the recent upgrades to park facilities.

Learn more about federal plans to extend protection to 289 acres across multiple sites in Santa Cruz for overwintering monarch butterflies.

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.

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.

Learn more about Central Coast District 17 State Senator John Laird's appointment to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission by Governor Gavin Newsom.

Officials announce an infestation of invasive shothole borer beetles has been confirmed along Zayante Creek south of Graham Hill Road in Felton.

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

The anchovies are back, and with them thousands of hungry seabirds.

Responding to a July 11 welfare check, Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Deputies discovered a cockfighting ring and over 200 mutilated roosters.

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

Monterey Bay's favorite otter is back and ready to steal more surfboards.

A short shelter in place was declared at Aptos High School on May 21 after sightings of a mountain lion on campus were reported to staff.

UCSC researchers, with teams from the University of Texas and Monterey Bay, studied local sea otter use of tools such as rocks and other items.

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.

California State Parks and partner Friends of California State Parks are working together on a project to rehabilitate a number of dunes at Rio Del Mar State Beach to reduce erosion, increase resilience and restore wildlife habitat.

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.

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

Elkhorn Slough’s resident otters were singled out when a team of scientists published a cover story in the prestigious journal Nature describing how they protect against erosion in coastal estuaries by eating burrowing crabs.

Whale experts are anxiously awaiting the annual 2024 count of gray whales migrating through Monterey Bay, following a sharp decline in last year’s gray whale survey.

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