November Calendar of Events
Take in a Shark Sunday, participate in a bird survey and check out local sea turtles. Fall in Southern California means outdoors!
Bats, bats, bats!
Don’t think of them as mere flying rats, bats, as an aerial mammal, have some of the more interesting attributes to ever grace a critter that’s at home in air and land. Test your knowledge of Mexican long-tounged bats here…
Humpies Have Higher Numbers
There’s a little more traffic in Humpback Whale Land, according to scientists who recently published a report in the journal Marine Mammal Science. Back in 2008, scientists estimated about less than 20,000 humpback whales in the North Pacific; now, a new report indicates that the leviathan population to be more than 21,000 – or […]
Calabasas Says “Nope” to Coyote Trapping
Breaking with the Los Angeles County contract that allows the trapping and killing of coyotes, the City of Calabasas recently permanently banned coyote trapping and killing, opting instead for a plan for coexistence. Representatives from Project Coyote and the Animal Welfare Institute are expected to work with city officials to hammer out the details for a […]
Big Reward Money for Mountain Lion Poacher
It’s bad enough that urban mountain lions have freeways dissecting their territory, poisoned varmints for prey and an ever-shrinking space to roam – now this: poaching by humans. The small population of mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains got a little smaller last month with the discovery of a badly mutilated lion in […]
Riding the Thermal High
It’s hard to figure out which is more impressive to watch – the magnificent California condors effortlessly gliding overhead or the enraptured faces of bird lovers gathered here to spend some quality time with the largest terrestrial bird in North America.
Ducks Dying in Lake Forest; Bread to Blame
An important reminder: wildlife doesn’t need your non-wild food.
Dozens of dead and dying ducks have been discovered at ponds and lakes around Lake Forest, apparently the victims of botulism poisoning which causes infected birds to lose muscle control and often drown.
Welcome Back, Otter
The feds last month decided to put an end to a 24-year-old “no-otter zone” in Southern California as well as an experimental program to establish a southern sea otter colony on a remote island off Santa Barbara. Long thought of as a “big mistake” by environmentalists, the translocation program failed to entice otters to put […]
All it Wants is to Sing!
Once again, genetics is showing its might – this time with the small 4-inch gnatcatchers. The black and blue songbirds that live up and down the California coast – and which have been on the Federally Threatened List since 1993 — shouldn’t be federally protected says a new lawsuit. Attorneys at the Pacific Legal […]
Wildlife Trivia of the Week
Young rattlers…should you fear or coo? Test you knowledge of young Mojave rattlesnakes.
The Blues are Back in Town
Energizing environmentalists more than the Energizer Bunny is a recent discovery of the rare and highly endangered El Segundo Blue Butterfly in the Ballona Wetlands. We’re not talking just one or two of the flutterers; about 30 of the small delicate butterflies were seen in the dune restoration area, a location that volunteers have […]
Migrating Vaux’s Swifts are Winging it, LA-Style
Only in the asphalt jungles of downtown Los Angeles can one witness the powerful and mouth-dropping mysteries of nature from atop a simple parking structure.