I’d Walk 10 Miles for a Skunk

I’d Walk 10 Miles for a Skunk

Skunks

Since 1999, I’ve rehabilitated native wild mammals including hundreds of skunks. When I received a call about a rescued baby skunk in early August of this year, I thought this was just a typical call. Although California is home to both the Striped Skunk and the...
From Necessity to Love: A Raccoon Story

From Necessity to Love: A Raccoon Story

Raccoons

In the late spring of 2009, a raccoon had her litter under a riser in our garage. This wasn’t the first time, and it’s always cool to hear the babes’ little noises and to know that life is renewing right under our noses. This time though, when the kits were...
Pelicans Make a Comeback

Pelicans Make a Comeback

Articles, Pelicans, Santa Cruz Sentinel

SANTA CRUZ — The bird lady of 17th Avenue ducks under Tibetan prayer flags and into a makeshift lab that was partly built, she says, by a Caltrans worker sentenced to community service for illegally washing away seven swallow nests. Inside are dozens of birds being...

The Elusive Mountain Lion

Mountain Lions

Mountain lions (Felis concolor) are the largest native North American cat except for the slightly larger Jaguar. The mountain lion is called by more names than any other mammal – cougar, puma panther, catamount or simply – lion. Adult mountain lions are...

Living in Harmony with Bats

Bats

Bats are mammals, just like humans, which mean that all bats are warm-blooded, have fur, bear live young, and feed their babies milk. There are over 1,100 different species of bats in the world making up almost a quarter of all mammal species. They live on every...
Living with California Coyotes

Living with California Coyotes

Coyotes

The coyote is a member of the dog family and is native to California. They are one of the three different types of wild canids (dogs) found in North America. The coyote resembles a small German shepherd dog with the exception of the long snout and bushy, black-tipped...