Category: Wildlife

The Latest News about Coyote 09M

Coyote 09M

Coyote 09M, like others of his species, is extremely smart. He’s beaten the odds and is thriving in a dangerous and competitive environment. 09M’s one of the lucky ones; in fact he’s now the only confirmed living member of his natal family. Despite being highly intelligent and quick learners, only 50% of coyote pups live […]

November Highlights: Animals Adjust to Shrinking Habitats

Bobcat on the trail

Adapting for survival The wildlife in the little canyon, like in other open spaces that are squeezed in by urbanization, must adapt and adjust to shrinking habitats that are increasingly fragmented by highways and buildings. Predators, being territorial, need lots of open, wild acreage to live and hunt in. Additionally, some predators, such as mountain […]

Wildlife Highlights from the Canyon

Vulture

Life and Death in the Canyon Despite the canyon being only 93 acres, hemmed in by homes and roads, it’s a complete eco-system where plants and animals are interdependent. The death of one organism means many others will live. The lesson hit home a couple of weeks ago when a small deer was killed by […]

September Videos and Pictures

Mountain lion

There seems to be less wildlife in the canyon this month. It could be a natural cycle or it might be caused by destruction that is occurring in part of the habitat. Mountain lion This large male puma is a regular visitor to the canyon–he shows up about every two to three months. This time […]

Life Stories of Two Canyon Mountain Lions

Mountain lion #2 walking the trail

Today’s a sad day. Another mountain lion died, hit by a vehicle not too far from the canyon. I’m worried that the victim may be the big male we’ve been monitoring on the canyon trail since early this year. The one who died tried to cross the freeway at 10:00 Friday night. Perhaps the lion […]

The Bobcat Kittens Grow Up

Young bobcat kitten

It’s hard to describe the anticipation I felt last summer as we waited for the wildlife cameras to finally catch glimpses of adorable bobcat kittens trailing closely behind their mum. We knew that we would soon see them because a couple of months before the cameras had recorded a resident bobcat going through stages of […]

Featured Videos of the Month: July

Male bobcat

July’s wildlife video highlights include a coyote puppy, bobcats and 2 cars. Yup… cars. Bobcats One of the ways bobcats mark is by scraping the ground with their back feet and then either urinating or defecating in the scrape. We have a lot videos of this gorgeous bobcat. He’s active at all hours of the […]

Featured Videos of the Month: June, a Visual Essay

Mountain lion on the trail

June was a visually exciting month on the trail. A mountain lion visited a week ago—he stayed for a couple of days before moving on. There’s a new bobcat on the trail he sports a beautiful dark coat. And, our resident coyote, 09M, continues to make his mark. Mountain lion A male mountain lion visited […]

City Coyote Moves to the Suburbs

Coyotes 09M and mate

I used to have mixed feelings about coyotes. When I was a child late at night, I loved drifting off to the howls, barks and yips from coyotes—their vocalizations added depth to my sleep. While I felt in awe of coyotes, at the same time I was afraid of them. I grew up hearing stories […]

Rat Poisons Aren’t Selective

San Mateo, California is an affluent, suburban community where residents enjoy mild weather and amenities such as up-scale restaurants and specialty shops. In addition to people, common rats also enjoy living the good life here. They’ve adapted well to the near-perfect climate all year round and the gourmet food that is just a short scurry […]