Animal Tales

Catching up on local animal news:

Mother's burden: stuck and heavily lactating (Chron)

Mother Raccoon stuck in roof

A mother raccoon trying to reach her babies in an attic got stuck as she chewed through the roof of a home in the Santa Cruz Mountains on Monday morning, wildlife rescue officials said.

The raccoon may have been trying to get to her babies in the attic, following the homeowner’s repair of an attic vent...

Construction workers nearby then helped the homeowner, and the raccoon made its way back to her babies...It was unknown how many baby raccoons were in the attic.

The lesson is that we need to check for critters before undertaking home repairs. No love for animals is required, just self-interest--no one wants dead animals in their roof, basement, or walls,

(Intl Bird Rescue / Chronicle photo)

Pelican Crisis

California’s brown pelicans are suffering from a mysterious affliction that has landed more than 200 of them in wildlife rehabilitation centers in recent weeks, resulting in what wildlife officials are calling a major “pelican crisis.”...

Determining a cause for the pelicans’ conditions has been difficult because the issue appears to be affecting pelicans of all ages in different ways, and the injured and hungry birds are coming from all over..

The affliction, whose cause could take years of research and tracking to fully understand, could be the result of a combination of factors, [International Bird Rescue spokesperson Russ] Curtis said. Young fledglings are just now learning to feed on their own, and IBR officials believe there could be a lack of available fishing stocks, meaning pelicans are struggling to find enough fish to eat or taking unusual risks in search of food.

International Bird Rescue is spending about $2,000 on 1,000 pounds of fish every day....“They are voracious eaters,” Curtis said. “We got a lot of mouths to feed.”

The quail is both the State and City bird. (Chron photo)

Coyotes may help bring California quail back to San Francisco (?!?)

The last California quail known to live in the Presidio was a male...Scientists gently collected it in 2008 and brought him to the San Francisco Zoo. The hope was that at least the bird’s genetics would live on, even if its flock had not.

Coyotes reduce predators like rats, raccoon and feral cats that threaten quail and its eggs. The effect is significant.

The presence of coyotes in urban parks increased the odds quail would live there, too, by 73.3%, according to an analysis of data on quail sightings.

Today there are "5 to 10" coyote in the Presidio. They eat the rodents that dine on quail and quail eggs. Thanks to coyote, the park service is considering reintroducing quail to Golden Gate Park.

California newt (Chron photo)

Amphibians Need Road Crossings, Too

Every winter, a road in Tilden Regional Park closes to vehicular traffic so California newts can safely get to water during their breeding season. They’re lucky. Elsewhere in the Bay Area, thousands of newts get squashed every year by unaware drivers.

...Despite their size, newts share something with mountain lions: They’re top predators on the forest floor, with a steady diet that regulates the invertebrate population and may even help combat climate change.

...In Santa Clara County, over 7,000 newts have been killed on a stretch of Alma Bridge Road this breeding season. It’s the highest known roadkill rate of any other species in the world, according to the UC Davis Road Ecology Center.

Given the weightier issues of the day, these tales des animaux seem frivolous. I for one am glad that so many people know so much about and care for our fellow creatures.