Our story yesterday, about the Gourmet Ghetto mountain lion which was shot and killed at 3.26am on Walnut Street, elicited unprecedented interest from Berkeleyside readers. Many of the commenters on the story wondered, in particular, why the police officers shot the lion, rather than tranquillize it. According to Fish and Game warden Patrick Foy, there […]
Animals
Posted inNature
Mountain lion tours Gourmet Ghetto
A mountain lion was reported wandering through North Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto last night, and after a pursuit by Berkeley police was shot at 3:26 a.m. on Walnut Street. According to Sergeant Mary Kusmiss, the first reports of the mountain lion were received shortly after 2 a.m. A community member reported seeing the animal in the […]
Posted inNature
Tracking neighborhood wildlife, one beetle at a time
Gulf Fritillary feeding on penstemon on Grand View Drive. Photo: Kay Loughman. Like many residents of the Berkeley-Oakland hills, Kay Loughman enjoys living close to nature. Sightings of deer, wild turkeys and skunks are common-place. But Loughman is fascinated by the more diminutive species too: be it an Anise Swallowtail butterfly, a Western Terrestrial Gartersnake […]
Posted inNature
Why did the wild turkey chicks cross the road?
Berkeleyside intern Emily Gordis was walking on Del Mar Avenue in the Berkeley hills when she caught sight of this wild turkey and her two chicks sauntering across the street. How adorable is that? Update 11.46: Emily sends in the shot below, taken shortly after the one above, which shows just how accommodating our city […]
Posted inFire
Dog festival to raise funds for burned animal shelter
Every year, the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society (BEBHS) holds a fundraising event for dogs and people called Bay to Barkers. This year is the 13th year of the Bay to Barkers tradition, and may also be the most important for the BEBHS. On May 20, there was a devastating fire at the BEBHS which burned […]
Posted inNature
Just a regular evening walk in Berkeley, for llamas
Walking with a friend on the steep streets up above the Claremont Hotel last night we chanced upon the neighborhood llamas taking their evening passeggiata. I am told the llamas reside on Vicente Road, hardly the bucolic idyll one imagines for these exotic creatures. But no doubt they have a good life there. We’ve seen […]
Posted inNature
Calling all lepidopterists
Eating my bagel at lunchtime today I looked out the window and I saw two large, beautiful butterflies. I ran to get my camera and reached the garden in time to see three butterflies seemingly dancing with each other, but they flitted away before I could take a photo. So here’s the Berkeley puzzle. What […]
Posted inNosh
Talking poultry: Raising backyard birds in Berkeley
By Eve Fox Our North Berkeley neighborhood is a haven for chicken fanciers. I’ve counted at least six coops within a three-block radius of our house! And we’re fortunate enough to live right next to one of them. Our lovely back neighbors, Fran and Chip, have three young hens in their backyard. In addition to […]
Posted inNature
The spotted hyenas of Berkeley, and why they giggle
Back in April, we reported on the fascinating research being conducted by UC Berkeley into the vocalization of hyenas. The publication of the scientists’ findings was a revelation to many of us who had not realized that a pack of hyenas is currently in residence in the Berkeley hills, albeit caged. Now, thanks to a […]
Posted inNature
Deer in Berkeley: Up close, both dead and alive
Infospigot writes: I’ve mentioned several times in the last couple of years — here and here, for instance — that it has become pretty commonplace to encounter deer here in the Berkeley flatlands (and in the hills, some deer are getting ornery.) Still, today’s experience broke new ground. First, during a noontime walk, The Dog startled a good-sized […]
Posted inNature
Berkeleyans advised: Please don’t feed the wildlife
By Jane Tierney Alameda County Game Warden Roxanne Bowers (left) addressed concerned neighbors at the Thousand Oaks Neighborhood Association public meeting in North Berkeley Thursday evening on the subject of wildlife intrusion into urban areas, including Berkeley. Neighbors have been especially on edge since the attack two weeks ago by a deer on a young […]
Posted inFire
Breaking: Fire at animal shelter guts facility
A fire that broke out shortly after 1 a.m. last night gutted the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society in West Berkeley and killed a number of cats. According to reports, at least a dozen cats were killed, but many more cats and dogs were rescued by volunteers. The entire cat sheltering area at the 9th […]
