Santa Cruz County Animals Digest

For the fifth consecutive year, California officials are delaying the Bay Area’s commercial Dungeness crab season to decrease the chances of migrating whales currently off the coast getting ensnarled by the crab-pot fishing lines.

An otter appearing to be 841 with its youngster was floating just off Lighthouse Point, periodically diving while the pup floated. When both were on the surface, the pup bobbed nearby.

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.

"What's most unusual about this animal is nearly all of the calfs and young gray whales that are stranded are almost always in our area killed by orca whales and this animal was not," said Robin Dunkin, director of the Long Marine Lab's stranding program.

A sticky and fluffy substance has been seen falling in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties—a natural phenomenon called ballooning, when spiders use their webs to fly through the air.

This year is Bird School Project’s second go at organizing the acclaimed festival (formerly the “Monterey Bay Birding Festival”), which invites bird nerds and newcomers alike to bask in the glory of our winged, bipedal brethren.

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

Daniel Laggner, founder of Santa Cruz-based Wildstag Provisions, is on a mission to protect American wildlife by selling free range game meat.

The SPCA Monterey County Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center responded to the unique hawk, found on the ground in San Benito County.

Many people kayak through Elkhorn Slough, but the El Cat is a very different watercraft: a 37-foot, ADA-compliant catamaran.

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.

A recently published study co-authored by UC Santa Cruz Professor Bruce Lyon about the golden-crowned sparrow, which winters at the UCSC Arboretum and Botanic Garden, shows that the diminutive birds have complex social relationships.

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.

In two incidents, women were injured by repeated otter bites while swimming.

In California, there are some 50 kinds of mosquitoes. About six carry harmful diseases such as West Nile virus, Zika, dengue and yellow fever viruses.

While the toxic algae bloom that sickened California marine mammals has dissipated, rescue centers prepare for more events as oceanographic conditions continue to present challenges.

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).

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.

A 5-year-old sea otter born in captivity and released into the wild has been aggressively approaching surfers and wildlife authorities are looking to return the animal to captivity.

Research by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s snake fungal disease project indicates that the pathogen is occurring in more locations and impacting more snakes in California than previously known.

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, likened to the “Serengeti of the Sea,” is world-renowned for its mammal, bird, and habitat diversity.

Workers and volunteers at the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter have been stretched thin in recent years, and voiced their concerns to the shelter’s board of directors.

In December, the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County spent $17 million to buy Rocks Ranch, a 2,600-acre property near San Juan Bautista that has been eyed by developers. The group is working to build a crossing so that wildlife can traverse Highway 101 without being killed.

Shark researchers have released “shocking” results from a 2-year drone study showing that apex predators came very close to people.

A documentary by a UC Santa Cruz alum about endangered coho salmon and their struggle to survive the CZU Lightning Complex fire will air on PBS this Friday.

A federal regulatory group voted to officially close king salmon fishing season along much of the West Coast after near-record low numbers of the fish returned to California rivers in 2022. The approved closure of the 2023 season is for all commercial and most recreational fishing.

Commercial fleets must pull up the last crab pots April 15.

At a March 1 meeting, state and federal fishery scientists presented the numbers of spawning salmon returning to California’s rivers late in 2022 and projected one of the lowest forecasts since 2008.

UCSC professor Chris Wilmers, who researches mountain lions living in the Santa Cruz Mountains, helped the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County develop the wildlife crossing. He shares his thoughts on how to protect mountain lions from encroaching development.

Federal wildlife officials announced a proposal to classify one of two dwindling populations in the state as endangered after a lawsuit by conservation groups required the government to reassess a Trump administration decision not to protect the birds.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife and many wildlife rehabilitation centers have received reports of sick and dead band-tailed pigeons from locations along California’s Central Coast, the San Francisco Bay Area and Sierra Nevada foothill communities.

Amber Rowland will bring 17 years of animal service work to the role.