What with wildfires, gravity, and poachers, California wildlife has struggled. However, two animals have been saved by human intervention and one wolf pack still outwits human interference. In the past weeks, I’ve learned about a young eagle who fell from the nest, a bear cub burned in the Carr Fire, and the current status of the state’s gray wolves.
Lucky the bald eagle not only survived a fall from the nest. That fall resulted in a health check and treatment for lead poisoning that probably saved her life. Then she was given the opportunity to leave the hectic urban lifestyle of Milpitas (near San Jose) for a wild home in Big Sur with the big birds. (How does a not-yet-fledged eagle ingest lead? Probably from the prey brought to the chick by her parents.)
A Bald Eagle that fell from its nest in Milpitas earlier this year has been given a new home in the company of California Condors in San Simeon, California. Despite its fall from the nest, locals have called the eaglet “Lucky”, no doubt due to the unique collaboration that has provided a second chance for the young bird. State and City officials, with help from Pacific Gas & Electric Company, tried replacing Lucky back in the nest, but found that the nest was too high. Lindsay Wildlife Experience, of Walnut Creek, rescued Lucky, and the bird was transferred to California Foundation for Birds of Prey in Roseville. Here, it was discovered that she had ingested lead, but that release back to the wild would be possible after treatment.
Ventana Wildlife Society was called to release Lucky on July 5th, 2018. Fortunately, Ventana Wildlife Society had a suitable release site and facilities, thanks to their current efforts recovering a population of California Condors in the coastal mountains from Big Sur to San Simeon.
Now in its new home in the mountains along the central coast, Lucky has a new lease on life. Biologists monitoring the release observed Lucky feeding with condors for at least three days following release. For feeding and navigation, the condors can serve as role models for this eagle. “Bald Eagles are scavengers as well as hunters,” said Sorenson, “so it makes sense for condor feeding to attract a young Bald Eagle.” She was seen again a week following her release, and wildlife officials are calling the release a success. Knowing where to find food and becoming familiar with her surroundings, which include nearby rivers and lakes where Bald Eagles are currently thriving, Lucky is making the most of her second chance at survival.
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Last winter I wrote about a novel, successful treatment for bears burned in a wildfire that had been the largest ever in California (for eight months): Fish skins and acupuncture help heal wildlife burned in Thomas Fire. Dr. Jamie Peyton of the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital successfully treated two bears injured last December. Her techniques and skills are once again needed for the Carr Fire now burning west of Redding in NorCal. More details and images are in this CDFW video. (Content Warning: the last time I shared similar images some people regretted seeing the raw injuries.)
According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the bear cub was found on Thursday, August 2 when a PG&E contractor near Whiskeytown found her lying in ash, unable to walk on her burned paws. The contractor contacted Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care and the director reached out to CDFW, which quickly sent a team to help.
"Generally speaking, an animal that has survived a fire and is walking around on its own should be left alone, but that wasn't the case here," said Environmental Program Manager, Jeff Stoddard. "In addition to her inability to stand or walk, there were active fires burning nearby and with the burn exceeding 125 square miles and growing, we weren't sure there was any suitable habitat nearby to take her to."
Officials said over the weekend, the little bear stayed off her injured paws as much as possible but showed signs of a healthy appetite.
California has won some/lost some in gray wolf re-establishment. First the win — Lassen, the second pack to form in the state, had their first litter in 2017 and a new litter of five pups this year.
Kent Laudon, the senior environmental specialist for wolves with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the wolves are settling right in to life in Plumas, Lassen and Sierra counties. [...]
...the Lassen Pack, is healthy and growing now that the breeding female has up to five pups at her side. The new pups and the approximately three yearlings she had last year bring the pack’s numbers up to at least 10.
This video shows a yearling pup born last year.
And the loss — Shasta Pack, the first pack to form since wolves were eliminated from the state 100 years ago, no longer exists.
Official wording of their absence is summed up as “That could mean they all dispersed or did not survive.” Unofficially, I heard (from people who should know) that human poachers killed at least some of the pack. Shasta Pack was documented in 2015 with two adults and five new pups but vanished as a pack in late 2015, shortly after being seen eating a calf they killed. It isn’t just ranchers who feel offended by the re-establishment of gray wolves. I see bumperstickers that claim re-establishing wolves is an act of terrorism by liberal environmentalists. (You know, those people who cause the wildfires by withholding water and not allowing any trees to be cut down.)
Of the other 21 livestock depredation reports investigated by CDFW since 2015, two were confirmed to be wolves (10/13/17 and 4/3/18) and two were determined to be Probably Wolf (10/16/17 and 6/1/18).
More elaboration on the outcome of the Shasta Pack is offered in CDFW’s July 2018 Gray Wolf update.
The pack was regularly detected from August through November, and at least six wolves remained alive in late November 2015. The Shasta Pack was observed feeding on a calf carcass in mid-November 2015, and a subsequent investigation determined the wolves had likely killed the calf. There were then no verified detections of the pack between late November 2015 and early May 2016, when a yearling male (CA07M) was detected by trail cameras, tracks, and scat near several pup-rearing sites the pack had used in 2015. In November 2016, that same male (verified through genetic analysis of scat) was observed in northwestern Nevada. CDFW believes the pack no longer exists, although some evidence suggests at least one wolf was roaming within and near the Shasta Pack territory in the summer and fall of 2017.
Two single unrelated wolves are roaming around eastern California — a male and a female.
I wrote about the female single wolf OR-54 last Valentine’s Day.
From CDFW’s update.
On January 24, 2018, a female wolf wearing a GPS tracking collar (OR-54) crossed theOregon border into eastern Siskiyou County in California. After passing through portions of four counties and travelling more than 500 miles, OR-54 returned to Oregon on February 19.On April 15, OR-54 again entered eastern Siskiyou County from Oregon. By the end of June,OR-54 has travelled through Siskiyou, Shasta, Tehama, Plumas, Sierra, and Nevada counties, covering over 700 miles.OR-54 was born into Oregon's Rogue Pack most likely in 2016. She is the fourth Rogue Pack wolf known to have spent time in California. OR-54 weighed 83 pounds when collared by ODFW biologists in October 2017.
The male wolf hasn’t yet been documented in the same area as OR-54 at the same time, but they could meet up and start a new pack. Between March 13 and May 28, OR-44 traveled at least 450 miles in Siskiyou and Del Norte Counties.
On March 13, 2018, a male wolf wearing a GPS tracking collar (OR-44) crossed the Oregon border into eastern Siskiyou County in California. CDFW staff are in close communication with ODFW regarding his locations and will continue to closely monitor his whereabouts as long as he remains in California. OR-44 was born into northeastern Oregon’s Chesnimnus Pack in 2016. OR-44 was collared by ODFW in December 2016 and dispersed from his pack in fall 2017. He is believed to be approximately two years old.
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NO SNAKE JUST YET — IT’S AFTER THIS sweet IMAGE FROM THE HOLY FIRE IN SOCAL
Not California but said to be taken by a firefighter on the Taylor Creek Fire in Oregon,
This snake exemplifies the threat of a wildfire racing through our homeland.