Wildlife - Active NorCal

Apr- 2021 -

26 April

Fifth Dead Whale Washes Ashore in Less than a Month Near San Francisco Bay

Photo: San Francisco Whale Tours Springtime along the Northern California coast is famous for its whale migrations, where gray whales…

25 April

Officials Plan to Drop 2,900 Pounds of Poison on the Farallon Islands. Here’s Why.

Flickr/Images by John ‘K’ The U.S. Fish and Wildlife just approved a plan to drop 2,900 pounds of poison-laced bait…

19 April

WATCH: Drunk Hotel Guest Nearly Bumps Into Bear in South Lake Tahoe

There you have it folks – this is what you get when you mix casinos and 24-hour bars with the…

14 April

You Can Help Name Redding’s Three New Eaglets

It was exciting news when the eagle cam on the Sacramento River in Redding recorded the hatching of three new…

6 April

VIDEO: Bear Falls Through Thin Ice on Frozen Tahoe Pond

The Tahoe region is known for its many bear sightings. From bears breaking into homes, to bears breaking into cars…

6 April

National Park Service Reveals 152 Tule Elk Died in Point Reyes in 2020

Photo by Hari Nandakumar Following the controversial decision to kill Tule Elk in Point Reyes National Seashore in favor of cattle ranchers,…

Mar- 2021 -

31 March

Experimental Release of 186,000 Chinook Salmon Performed Downstream from Spawning Grounds on the Sacramento River

Photo: Golden State Salmon Association Officials from the Coleman National Fish Hatchery, in coordination with the Golden State Salmon Association,…

26 March

More Than 500,000 Spring-Run Chinook Salmon Released Into the Feather River

More than a half million spring-run Chinook salmon smolts were released into the Feather River near Yuba City last week.…

26 March

More Bears with Neurological Disorders Turning Up in Northern California

CDFW photo by Kirsten Macintyre The reports out of Pollock Pines, El Dorado County, last month sounded eerily familiar. A…

25 March

How Wildlife Officials Survey Northern California’s Dead Salmon to Help the Living

Curtis Brownfield, fish biologist for the Service, checks the tag number on a salmon carcass pulled up from the depths…

23 March

For the First Time in a Century, Condors Will Take Flight in Northern California

For the first time in 100 years, the endangered California condor will return to the Pacific Northwest. Once on the…

23 March

Gray Wolf Continues Historic Trek Further South into California

The wolf that made the astounding trek from Oregon to the Eastern Sierra has continued to travel south. The GPS-collared…

23 March

See the Biggest Steelhead Seen at the Coleman Fish Hatchery This Season

Since steelhead were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1998, Coleman Fish Hatchery has been dedicated to growing…

22 March

Campground in Plumas National Forest Closed for Bald Eagle Protection

A section of the Wyandotte Campground in the Plumas National Forest is temporarily closed to protect a bald eagle nesting…

22 March

Redding’s Famed Eagles Welcome New Hatch to their Turtle Bay Nest

The famed Redding eagles have welcomed a new hatch into their Turtle Bay nest along the Sacramento River. Liberty and…

20 March

Abalone Fishing Banned in Northern California Until 2026

While the spring season typically signals the start of the recreational red abalone season, CDFW reminds anglers that the northern…

20 March

5 Million Fall Chinook Salmon Released into the Sacramento River

Officials at the Coleman Fish Hatchery made their annual trip to the Sacramento River this week to release approximately 5…

16 March

Shocking Video Shows Mountain Lion Devouring Cat in the Sierra

We all know that the vicious tendencies of nature are all around us. It’s just a little more shocking when…

12 March

Coyote That Attacked Five People Caught and Removed from Bay Area Community

Photo by Joshua Wilking A multi-agency team of wildlife management professionals and local law enforcement caught and euthanized the coyote that…

12 March

Point Reyes Has a Big Poop Problem

Photo by Claude Piché Point Reyes National Seashore is one of the gems of the National Park System in Northern California.…

10 March

A Wolf Made the Astounding Trek from Oregon to Yosemite. Now Where Does it Go?

A gray wolf made major headlines after it made the long trek across the Oregon border and all the way…

1 March

Gray Wolf Travels from Oregon to Eastern Sierra – The Furthest South Ever Tracked in California

A gray wolf is making major headlines after it made the long trek across the Oregon border and all the…

Feb- 2021 -

24 February

Skiing Legend Finds Bear Living Under His Tahoe Hot Tub

The growing bear population in Tahoe has been heavily documented on this website, with bear-human interactions being scary and hilarious,…

22 February

Volunteer Mauled by ‘Critically Endangered’ Leopard at Oroville Wildlife Sanctuary

Photo: Barry R. Kirshner Wildlife Sanctuary A volunteer at Oroville’s Barry R. Kirshner Wildlife Sanctuary was hospitalized over the weekend…

1 February

Two Brand-New Siskiyou County Wolves Could Create California’s Second Wolfpack

Two Siskiyou County wolves caught on webcam It was a major milestone for wildlife conservationists in California when OR-85, a…

Jan- 2021 -

26 January

Record Number of Bald Eagles Spotted on Lake Tahoe

Photo by Richard Lee It’s a banner year for Bald Eagles in Lake Tahoe. The Tahoe Institute of Natural Science (TINS)…

16 January

Hiker Encounters Crouching Bobcat Near Lake Tahoe

You never know what you might find when hiking in the wilderness. Beautiful views and exercise are typically on the…

14 January

NorCal Deputy Kills Mountain Lion Stalking Family Near Placerville

Photo: El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office A Northern California family went for a seemingly innocuous stroll on a bike trail…

5 January

Deer Freed from Entangled Hammock After Six Months Wandering Around Sacramento

Reports of a buck with an interesting hairdo wandering around Sacramento have been circulating for the past 6 months. Finally,…

Dec- 2020 -

31 December

Young Sea Lion Returned to NorCal Beach Following Shark Attack in San Francisco Bay

The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito has successfully rehabilitated a young sea lion that was attacked by a shark in…

29 December

Activists Defy NPS Orders to Deliver Drinking Water to ‘Thirsty and Dying’ Point Reyes Tule Elk

Photo by Hari Nandakumar There are plenty of people angered at the decision to kill Tule Elk in Point Reyes National…

9 December

NorCal Man Tackles and Punches 350-Pound Bear to Save Dog ‘Buddy’

It was a seemingly normal day for Kaleb Bentham and his pitbull “Buddy” at their rural Grass Valley home when…

3 December

Rare Video: Kayakers Surrounded by Pod of Killers Whales Off the NorCal Coast

Kayakers fishing off the coast of Sonoma County were greeted by a beautiful and somewhat terrifying pod of killer whales…

1 December

Rare Videos Show the Lassen Pack in Action in Northern California

California’s only known wolf pack, the Lassen Pack, more than doubled in size in 2020 with a brand-new litter of…

Nov- 2020 -

24 November

WATCH: Adorable Bear Cubs Play on Busy Yosemite Road

It’s never rare for visitors to Yosemite National Park to see bears. In fact, there have been 36 reported bear…

9 November

Fisherman Battles with Sea Lions for Salmon on NorCal River

Facebook: Tim Bonuccelli When salmon are on the move through the rivers of Northern California to find their spawning grounds,…

7 November

Dungeness Crab Season Delayed in California to Protect Whale Populations

Dungeness crab season in California has seen its fair share of disruptions in recent years as growing whale populations continue…

2 November

10 Shocking Moments of Bears Caught-on-Camera in Tahoe

Bear sightings in the communities surrounding Lake Tahoe have grown at an astonishing rate in the past few years. Flocking…

Oct- 2020 -

29 October

Hiker Goes NUTS Watching Bear Cross Treacherous River in Yosemite National Park

When we visit the wilderness, we’re visiting the home of the vast wildlife that lives there. From birds to deer…

28 October

Family of Coyotes STILL Living in Downtown Sacramento After 6 Months

Although San Francisco has received much of the attention regarding its increased coyote activity during the Covid-19 quarantine, Sacramento has quietly seen…

28 October

Trail Cam Footage Shows Wildlife Fleeing the Flames of the Glass Fire

The flames of the Glass Fire burned through the Wine Country in the months of September and October, blazing 67,000…

27 October

VIDEO: GIANT Great White Shark Seen off the Coast of Northern California

The waters off the coast of Northern California are known as the Red Triangle, which is home to 40 percent…

27 October

WATCH: Mountain Biker Collides with Bear on Northern California Trail

Mountain biker David Sousa was having a great time riding down the Mills Peak trail in Plumas County when he…

24 October

Elusive ‘Humboldt Flying Squirrel’ Seen on Trail Cam in Northern California

Humboldt Flying Squirrel. Photo by Nick Kerhoulas. For over 200 years, scientists believed there were only 2 types of flying…

24 October

700 Winter-Run Chinook Salmon Return to Battle Creek for Spawning

At least 700 sub-adult and adult winter-run Chinook salmon (winter Chinook) returned this year to Battle Creek. Although monitoring efforts…

22 October

An Oral History of the Cantara Chemical Spill on the Sacramento River

Northern California is no stranger to disasters. Over time we’ve lived through earthquakes, volcanos, firenados, floods, mudslides and avalanches. Would…

22 October

What Would the Removal of the Klamath Dams Look Like? Here’s a Lesson from the Largest Dam Removal in U.S. History

Copco Dam on the Klamath River. Photo: California Trout While the proposal to remove four hydroelectric dams along the Klamath…

22 October

Caught-on-Camera: Bear Sings in a Tree in Yosemite National Park

View this post on Instagram Sound on! 🔊 Check out this video of an adult male black bear vocalizing in…

21 October

Yosemite Conservancy Provides $14 Million to Yosemite National Park in 2020

Photo by James Donovan Yosemite Conservancy is providing $14 million to Yosemite National Park in 2020 for restoration, research, preservation and…

13 October

The Fall Spawning of Millions of Salmon on the Feather River is in Full Swing

Alan Sheckter Photography The annual process of spawning millions of salmon is in full swing in Oroville as the Feather…

13 October

Salmon Viewing Kayak Tours Being Offered on the Feather River

Alan Sheckter Photography *Note: The salmon tours have now been sold out, with no announcement of additional tours being offered…

8 October

Park Service Announces Plan to Kill Tule Elk to Appease Ranchers in Point Reyes

The National Park Service has unveiled its plan to extend the leases of ranchers in Point Reyes National Seashore, which…

7 October

Wildlife Officials Release Black Bear Burned in the Bear Fire Back into the Wild

Photo: California Department of Fish and Wildlife While the human tragedy caused by the devastating wildfires of Northern California can’t…

7 October

Bear Activity Closes Popular Tahoe Salmon Viewing Destination

Flickr/Rose Davies The yearly migration of Kokanee Salmon at Tahoe’s Taylor Creek has become a popular destination for visitors to…

6 October

Firefighters Rescue Mountain Lion Cub Severely Burned in Zogg Fire

Burned Mountain lion cub upon arrival to Oakland Zoo Veterinary Hospital Only four to six weeks old, an orphaned mountain…

Sep- 2020 -

1 September

VIDEO: Kings Beach Gas Station Employee Confronts Tahoe Bear Attempting to Break into Store

The recent weeks have seen a lot of videos of bears entering businesses for human food in the Lake Tahoe…

Aug- 2020 -

31 August

Giant Bear Returns to Tahoe Safeway to Grab a Meal for the 2nd Time in Just Over a Week

WATCH: For the second time in just over a week, a Safeway grocery store in Lake Tahoe got an unexpected…

30 August

VIDEO: Giant Tahoe Bear Wanders into Grocery Store to Score a Bag of Tostitos

Tahoe’s King Beach community is used to having run ins with bears. During the summer months, bears emerge from hibernation…

4 August

Trail Cam Video Shows 8 Healthy Lassen Pack Pups in the Northern California Wilderness

California’s only known wolfpack, the Lassen Pack, more than doubled in size recently with a brand-new litter of eight pups.…

3 August

Bears Hilariously Wander Around a Tahoe Golf Course During PGA Tour Tournament

Photo: PGA Tour If you’re a golf fan, you may have seen videos of golfers coming across alligators in the…

3 August

Video of Shasta Lake Woodpecker Caught on Tree Shows the Importance of Cleaning Up Fishing Line

A video was sent to us by Spencer Mojarro showing him rescuing a woodpecker stuck in fishing line along the…

3 August

Four Bears Were Hit by Speeding Cars in Yosemite National Park in July

Photo: National Park Service The bear activity in Yosemite National Park has surged since the park has enacted limited visitation…

Jul- 2020 -

21 July

Lassen Pack Welcomes New Litter of Pups, Growing California’s Only Known Wolfpack to 14

California’s only known wolfpack more than doubled in size recently with a brand-new litter of eight pups. It’s the fourth…

17 July

Lassen Expands Camping Closure Due to Bear Activity

The areas surrounding Cinder Cone are part of the camping closures on the east side of Lassen Volcanic National Park.…

15 July

Conservation Collaborative Releases 115 Zoo-Reared Frogs into the Plumas National Forest

Photo: Rebecca Fabbri/USFWS By Rebecca Fabbri/USFWS Recently, 115 Foothill yellow-legged frogs, hailing from the Oakland Zoo, called the Plumas National…

8 July

VIDEO: Brash Bear Attempts to Climb Through House Window in Eastern Sierra

View this post on Instagram We got a visit from one of our neighbors, apparently he is not fond of…

6 July

Mama Duck Follows Animal Control Officer Carrying Ducklings for a Quarter Mile to be Reunited in Newark Lake

An animal control officer was called to a home in Newark, California this week after reports of a mama duck…

6 July

Mountain Lion that Wreaked Havoc in San Francisco Found Dead Along Highway 101

It was a tumultuous few weeks for a young mountain lion that found itself in the throngs of the San…

5 July

Tahoe Bear Seen Breaking into Six Cars in One Neighborhood

The bears in the area surrounding Lake Tahoe are known to be brash, hungry and adept at breaking into cars…

1 July

Lassen Pack Female Captured and Recollared, Confirming Five Pups in Pack

The alpha female of the famed Lassen Pack, California’s only known wolfpack, was captured and equipped with a new tracking…

Jun- 2020 -

28 June

River Otter Severely Injures Visitor to Lassen’s Manzanita Lake

Following an incident where a visitor to Lassen Volcanic National Park’s Manzanita Lake was “severely injured” by a river otter,…

19 June

A ‘Possible Record’ Number of Blue Whales Spotted Off the Northern California Coast

It was a normal foggy morning for the five biologists stationed on the Farallon Islands last Saturday, until they looked…

18 June

Mountain Lion Captured Outside San Francisco’s Oracle Park

Earlier this week, a video surfaced on the internet of a mountain lion walking through San Francisco’s Russian Hill neighborhood,…

17 June

Caught on Camera: Mountain Lion Takes a Stroll on the Streets of San Francisco

During the Covid-19 quarantine, packs of coyotes have been seen in volume for the first time in years on the…

10 June

VIDEO: Pod of Killer Whales Approaches Fishing Boat Off the Humboldt Coast

It’s typical to see plenty of marine wildlife off the Humboldt coast like sea lions, urchin and gray whales. But…

4 June

Family of Coyotes Settles in Sacramento’s Busy Midtown Neighborhood

Although San Francisco has received much of the attention regarding its increased coyote activity during the Covid-19 quarantine, Sacramento has…

2 June

Spawning of Winter-Run Chinook Salmon Begins at the Livingston Stone National Fish Hatchery

It’s that time of year again, when the workers of Northern California’s hatcheries prepare for the winter-run Chinook salmon to…

May- 2020 -

28 May

More Than 4,600 Lahontan Cutthroat Trout Released into Native Lake Tahoe

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife has conducted its second stocking of Lahontan cutthroat trout into Lake Tahoe, releasing 4,645 of…

28 May

How to Experience Being Surrounded by Millions of Butterflies on Lassen Peak

Lassen Peak is known to many as Northern California’s most active volcano, having erupted just over 100 years ago. The…

23 May

It’s Rattlesnake Season in NorCal. Here’s Some Tips on How to Avoid Them.

As stay-at-home rules are relaxed around the state of California, hikers are undoubtedly anxious to take advantage of the opportunity…

23 May

PG&E’s Draining of Lower Bucks Lake Presents Grim Fate for the Fish

Photo: Bucks Lake Fire Department Inc. Sitting deep in the wilderness of the Plumas National Forest is Lower Bucks Lake,…

22 May

Keep Tahoe Bears Wild!

By Lisa Herron, U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit Spring is in full swing in the Tahoe Basin…

21 May

Bald Eagle Rescued from Interstate 5 in Redding has Died

It was an uplifting story of a group of officials who rushed to the scene on Interstate 5 in Redding…

21 May

Trail Cam Video Shows Mountain Lion Walking Right Next to Unaware People in NorCal

A trail cam near Susanville captured a couple magnificent videos of a mountain lion recently, showing the big cat walking…

20 May

Bald Eagle Rescued After Landing on Interstate 5 in Redding

Officials received a report around 6:15 am Wednesday that a bald eagle was standing in the middle of Interstate 5…

16 May

WATCH: Kayaker Circled by Great White Shark in Monterey Bay

It was just hours after the fatal shark attack on a surfer in Santa Cruz when a kayaker was approached…

15 May

A Plan to Remove the Scott Dam on NorCal’s Eel River is Gaining Steam

Scott Dam. Photo: PG&E A group has submitted a plan to remove a Northern California dam which will provide headwaters…

13 May

VIDEO: Stunning Albino Deer Seen Near Mount Shasta

We’ve seen some recent sightings of an albino deer along the Trinity River just east of Redding, but the above…

11 May

Watch a Mountain Lion in a Standoff with Coyotes in Yosemite

The above video is old, but boy does it show the chaotic wildlife of Yosemite National Park in action. The…

11 May

Rare Albino Deer Spotted Along the Trinity River

It can be a stunning sight the likes of which many people never get a chance to see. An albino…

10 May

WATCH: Coyote Attacks Small Dog on Tahoe Porch

A dog owner in South Lake Tahoe was surprised when a coyote ran up on his porch and attacked his…

7 May

1.6 Million Fall Run Chinook Salmon Released into the American River

Although fishing season in four California counties has been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the California Department of Fish…

3 May

Largest Restoration Project in Tahoe’s History Begins on Upper Truckee River Marsh

The California Tahoe Conservancy has begun construction on restoring the Upper Truckee River Marsh, the largest wetland restoration project in…

Apr- 2020 -

29 April

VIDEO: Roosevelt Elk Take Down ‘Wild Elk’ Sign in Redwood National Park

Photo: Terry Feuerborn Roosevelt Elk are known to call the Redwood National Park home. There are seven herds in the…

27 April

Sea Lions Spotted Underneath the Tower Bridge on the Sacramento River

As the temperatures begin to heat up in Northern California, seas lions are swimming upstream from the San Francisco Bay…

17 April

Iconic Photo of Coyote at Golden Gate Bridge Beautifully Illustrates Quarantine’s Silver Lining

View this post on Instagram shelter-in-place has brought out the wildlife in the bay area. this coyote noticed some whale…

16 April

Yosemite Bear Sightings Have Quadrupled Since Coronavirus Closure

Photo: Josh Carter The general human public still isn’t allowed in Yosemite National Park and it seems like the animals are…

14 April

Shocking Video Shows Coyotes Howling on the Empty Streets of San Francisco

As the streets of San Francisco remain relatively empty due to California’s Coronavirus and subsequent shelter-in-place mandate, coyotes have made…

13 April

One of North America’s Rarest Mammals Spotted in Yosemite

The Sierra Nevada red fox is one of the most elusive mammals on the planet, living in solitary and only…

6 April

Mountain Lion Tranquilized, Removed from a Chico Tree After it was Chased by a Dog

A big, bad mountain lion thought it was the king of a Chico neighborhood. That is, until it met a…