California Wildlife Story Archives

Shadows in Flight

July 1, 2001 • by Christine Petersen

Rarely seen and, until recently, poorly understood, bats are a significant component of the Bay Area’s natural environment. Now, researchers are filling in the gaps by studying several of the area’s most at-risk species.

Taxonomy 101

July 1, 2001 • by Joe Eaton

Over 200 years ago, Swedish naturalist Karl von Linne (or, as he Latinized the name, Carolus Linneaus) devised a system for classifying all living things based on anatomical structures. Although Linneaus lived before Darwin, his method presaged later concepts of … Read more

Are there any resident animal species in the region that hibernate in winter, even though we don’t usually have snow or freezing temperatures?

January 1, 2001 • by Joe Eaton

That depends on what you mean by hibernation. All but one of the Bay Area’s 13 species of bats are capable of hibernating; the exception is the abundant Mexican free-tailed bat. But according to bat rehabilitator Patricia Winters, “No bat … Read more

California newt, creative commons photo by randomtruth

East Bay Regional Newts

April 1, 1997 • by David Loeb

This article was the first nature article published by Bay Nature cofounder David Loeb. It originally appeared in Terrain, the magazine once published by the Berkeley Ecology Center. The small pond sits deep in an old quarry pit. Actually, it’s partly a pond … Read more