River Legends: The Irrawaddy River Dolphin
Legends tell of a goddess who lived in the Yangtze River in China. The goddess in these tales is really the Baiji (Lipotes vexillifer), a freshwater dolphin Read More…
mammals
Tule Elk: Part Tu
Conservation efforts helped bring California’s tule elk back from the brink of extinction, as we described in a previous blog post. There are now an estimated 5,700 Read More…
Tale of the Tule Elk
We might not have reindeer in California, but we do have our share of large grazing ungulates. Historically, the Central Valley was home to massive groups of Read More…
Coyotes: Cunning, Coy, and Coming to a city near you
The coyote (Canis latrans) has been regarded by both early American pioneers and current-day ranchers as a nuisance because it was thought to be the main predator Read More…
Return of the River Otters
River otters really seem to know how to have fun. These sleek mammals are often in motion, whether slipping and sliding down a river bank, deftly gliding Read More…
Photo Friday: Oh Deer
It's not uncommon to see deer in the field, but spotting eight at once is a bit of a treat. Our crew recently witnessed this herd of Read More…
River Rat Revival: Return of the Nutria?
What’s smaller than a beaver, but larger than a muskrat, and looks like a mix between the two? The answer is the nutria (Myocastor coypus), a water-loving Read More…
An Opossum Problem
When staff at our office in Oakdale arrived one morning to find a dead chicken in our coop, we wondered who the culprit could be. The mystery Read More…
A Safe Harbor
The Point Lobos State Natural Reserve along California’s central coast may have a rather threatening, “wolfish” name, but the area has become a prime safe haven for Read More…
Strange sightings
Recently, some local visitors stopped by our Oakdale office to let us know they had seen a deer near Yosemite National Park that did not look like Read More…