Animals

Great white sharks call Southern California shores their home. Carlos Gauna, a photographer and drone pilot, documents the hot spots and shares safety tips.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

CSU Long Beach researchers are investigating two local incidents of sharks biting humans, but they say the attacks are rare and movies often misrepresent the marine predators.

from KCRW Features

Sea otter 841 went viral last summer for stealing surfboards and evading authorities. Now she’s returned to the Santa Cruz waters where she made her name.

Santa Cruz’s outlaw sea otter is back in action

Sea otter 841 went viral last summer for stealing surfboards and evading authorities. Now she’s returned to the Santa Cruz waters where she made her name.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

A breeding program and wildlife corridor are helping boost the population of the Palos Verdes blue butterfly, one of the rarest butterflies in the world.

Rare Palos Verdes blue butterfly gets lift from volunteers

A breeding program and wildlife corridor are helping boost the population of the Palos Verdes blue butterfly, one of the rarest butterflies in the world.

from KCRW Features

Volunteers spent days cataloging the wildlife around the U.S. southern border during the annual Border BioBlitz to establish the region as a biodiversity hotspot.

Community catalogs wildlife to change borderland reputation

Volunteers spent days cataloging the wildlife around the U.S. southern border during the annual Border BioBlitz to establish the region as a biodiversity hotspot.

from KCRW Features

The California coast spans 840 miles and boasts diverse flora and fauna. Pat Krug’s new book explains why these creatures live where they do, and gives tips on how to spot them.

How CA got its unique coastline, what cool creatures live there

The California coast spans 840 miles and boasts diverse flora and fauna. Pat Krug’s new book explains why these creatures live where they do, and gives tips on how to spot them.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Construction has begun in Agoura Hills on the world’s largest wildlife road crossing. How do you get animals to cross over the busy 101 freeway?

Will animals cross one of the nation’s busiest freeways?

Construction has begun in Agoura Hills on the world’s largest wildlife road crossing. How do you get animals to cross over the busy 101 freeway?

from KCRW Features

The World Health Organization is warning of the dangers of bird flu, should it jump from animals to humans. Last month, a second person in the U.S. contracted the disease.

WHO warns of bird flu outbreak in mammals, CDC downplays it

The World Health Organization is warning of the dangers of bird flu, should it jump from animals to humans. Last month, a second person in the U.S. contracted the disease.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has been fostering abandoned sea otter pups for later release into the wild.

Saving orphaned sea otters: Aquariums in Long Beach and Monterey team up

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has been fostering abandoned sea otter pups for later release into the wild.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

The southbound 101 freeway in Agoura Hills will be closed nightly for the next few weeks — as Caltrans continues building a massive wildlife bridge.

Animal highway in Agoura Hills: Construction means freeway closures

The southbound 101 freeway in Agoura Hills will be closed nightly for the next few weeks — as Caltrans continues building a massive wildlife bridge.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

LA’s animal shelters are so overcrowded that the City Council has paused issuing dog breeding licenses. The president of a local rescue explains what’s going on.

What's behind the massive influx of dogs at LA's shelters?

LA’s animal shelters are so overcrowded that the City Council has paused issuing dog breeding licenses. The president of a local rescue explains what’s going on.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

A total solar eclipse will trace a path from Texas to Maine on April 8. One zoo curator explains how her animals responded last time.

Pacing, chirping, mating: Animal behavior during a solar eclipse

A total solar eclipse will trace a path from Texas to Maine on April 8. One zoo curator explains how her animals responded last time.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Pine Mountain Club, about an hour north of LA, has suffered hundreds of break-ins and thousands of dollars of bear-related damage over the past decade.

All-out bear assault comes to this SoCal town every year

Pine Mountain Club, about an hour north of LA, has suffered hundreds of break-ins and thousands of dollars of bear-related damage over the past decade.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Tens of thousands of bird enthusiasts are watching Jackie and Shadow, a bald eagle pair, on a live camera. With three eggs laid, hatch time is imminent.

When will eagle eggs hatch? Big Bear residents wait on edge

Tens of thousands of bird enthusiasts are watching Jackie and Shadow, a bald eagle pair, on a live camera. With three eggs laid, hatch time is imminent.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Two recent fires in the Mojave Desert killed millions of Southern California’s Joshua trees. Camels are helping make sure the iconic yucca species survives.

Camels are helping ensure the Joshua tree’s survival

Two recent fires in the Mojave Desert killed millions of Southern California’s Joshua trees. Camels are helping make sure the iconic yucca species survives.

from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

Activists are calling on the LA Zoo to release its elephants to sanctuaries after an elephant was euthanized in January, the second to die within a year.

Elephant death sparks protests of LA Zoo exhibit

Activists are calling on the LA Zoo to release its elephants to sanctuaries after an elephant was euthanized in January, the second to die within a year.

from KCRW Features

You fall in love, move in, adopt a dog, and then? You break up. So who gets the dog? Dividing up the pets can be as contentious as a child custody battle.

Pet custody is a tricky topic for child-free millennials

You fall in love, move in, adopt a dog, and then? You break up. So who gets the dog? Dividing up the pets can be as contentious as a child custody battle.

from KCRW Features

You often can’t tell cats what to do, much less put leashes on them and take them on walks. But that’s just what LA Times writer Lila Seidman did, and continues to do.

Hiking with your cat? What to know before hitting the trails

You often can’t tell cats what to do, much less put leashes on them and take them on walks. But that’s just what LA Times writer Lila Seidman did, and continues to do.

from Greater LA

In sleepy Sierra Madre, an uptick in bears has spurred the city to declare the animal a “public safety threat.” But locals and officials aren’t sure how to handle the ursine explosion.

Hug vs. harm: Sierra Madreans split over how to handle black bear boom

In sleepy Sierra Madre, an uptick in bears has spurred the city to declare the animal a “public safety threat.” But locals and officials aren’t sure how to handle the ursine explosion.

from Greater LA

Authors Carl Safina and Jennifer Ackerman talk owls: from their extraordinary vision, hearing, and flight to the mystery and folklore that has surrounded them for centuries.

Owls: What they know and what humans believe

Authors Carl Safina and Jennifer Ackerman talk owls: from their extraordinary vision, hearing, and flight to the mystery and folklore that has surrounded them for centuries.

from Life Examined