July Calendar of Events
This month, snorkel with sharks, go birdwatching, take an evening hike, celebrate the oceans and more.
Gray Whales Eatin’ Right
Here’s another good reason to eat a variety of foods – the varied diet of the California gray whale has helped the large mammal survive the 40 previous major cycles of global warming, and cooling, says U.C. Berkeley scientists.
Badgering House Details…
Not just a Midwestern football team, badgers are complicated creatures that have special housing quirks and behaviors. No, it’s not about the color of their amoires, either.
Seeing Double: Desert Tortoises Are Really Two
Just like Lindsay Lohan, the desert tortoise can’t seem to stay out of the news these days. Proving that the only thing better than one desert tortoise is two desert tortoises, the Zoology journal ZooKeys has announced the recent discovery that the charming tortoise found roaming the Mojave and Sonoran deserts is not one but […]
Judge Orders Better Care for California’s Endangered Species
Forty California endangered plants and animals must better cared says a federal judge who wants efforts stepped up in four SoCal national forests.
Last week, Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ordered three federal agencies – the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Forest Service – to develop new protective programs within six months. “Take all necessary measures,” she said, to reduce activities that threaten the survival of these on-the-edge species, such as California condors, California gnatcatchers, Stellar’s sea lion and more.
By the Skin of Our Squirrels
While folks in the lowlands can complain about the ruthless hunger and tenacity of squirrels to get into bird feeders, up in the San Bernardino Mountains, a different story is unfolding. This year, residents have been surprised by the lack of western gray squirrels, even reporting sick and dying animals to Fish and Game authorities. […]
Preferential Pigeons
Sure, they have a bird-brain, but pigeons may have a little more upstairs than most people would like to think. A recent study by French researchers indicates that urban pigeons can quickly identify the differences between kindly folk who regularly bring out the seed bags and those who stomp, chase, shoo them away.
Hawk Rescue in Banning
Thanks to the combined efforts of law enforcement, animal services, wildlife rehabbers, and a long line of patient motorists, an injured red-tailed hawk has been given a new lease on life.
SoCal’s Watery Africa
Comparing the eastern Pacific Ocean with the wildlands of the African Serengeti, a team of researchers have discovered some eye-opening facts about life in the world’s largest ocean – information that could very well direct public policy, recreation-seekers and conservationists – and may provide fodder for some upcoming spooky big-budget James Cameron flick about the deep sea.
The Emptying of America’s Bat Caves
For several years we’ve been hearing about the collapse of honey bee colonies in the environment. Less publicized but equally as dangerous is a new pathogen that is killing bats by the thousands — and if steps aren’t taken soon, SoCal bats will be next on the Soon-to-Be-Infected List.
Bigger Cemetery, Fewer Griffith Park Critters?
The final resting place for nearly 200,000 humans is being weighed against the quality of life for urban critters in Griffith Park, probably the most urban “wild” park in the United States.
Because the dead keep coming, Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills announced a new plan to create 200,000 new interment spaces at the nearly overflowing cemetery that butts up against the 4210-acre Griffith Park. More burial plots – above and below ground – would mean the removal of 835 oak, sycamore and walnut trees and some rare plants across 18 acres of land. Environmental groups are not happy
Doing Right for the Blackbird
Audubon California, the California Department of Fish and Game, and three farmers have all gotten together to give 50,000 tricolored blackbirds a break in Riverside County and Central California,