Fauna of California

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Coyotes live in every habitat in California, from the arid deserts in the south to foggy coastal regions in the north.[1]

The fauna of the State of

life zones are the lower Sonoran (desert); upper Sonoran (foothill regions and some coastal lands); transition (coastal areas and moist northeastern counties); and the Canadian, Hudsonian, and Arctic zones, comprising California's highest elevations. California’s diverse geography gives rise to dozens of different ecosystems, each of which has its own unique native plants and animals. California is a huge state, the 3rd largest in the U.S., and can range broadly in habitat type.[3]

Sierra Nevada, the Transverse Ranges, the Mojave Desert, the Peninsular Ranges, and the Colorado Desert. Here, the Los Angeles Basin, the Channel Islands, and the Pacific Ocean
are treated as distinct regions.

Common animals that live throughout all the state include raccoons, weasels, otters, beavers, hawks, lizards, owls, coyotes, skunks, snakes, cougars, black bears, deer, squirrels and whales. As of 2013, there are 634 bird species on the California Birds Records Committee, ten of which are introduced species which are not native to the state. The California quail, the official state bird, has a breeding habit of mainly shrubby areas and open woodland. Another bird which winters in California is the American white pelican which is a large seabird, with a wingspan reaching up to 110 inches (280 cm).

Venomous spiders in California include Arizona recluse, baja recluse,

western black widow.[4]

Northern California

The forests of Northern California are home to many animals, for instance the American black bear. There are between 25 000 and 35 000 black bears in the state.[5]

The forests in northern parts of California have an abundant fauna, which includes for instance the

Gray wolves began repopulating California in 2011 as they entered Lassen, Siskiyou and Plumas Counties from the Cascade Range of Oregon.[6]

Sierra Nevada

Main article: Ecology of the Sierra Nevada

Mammals of the Canadian zone include the snowshoe hare and several species of chipmunk. Conspicuous birds include the blue-fronted jay, hermit thrush, American dipper, and Townsend's solitaire. Birds become scarcer as one ascends to the Hudsonian zone, and the wolverine is now regarded as rare. The only bird native to the high Arctic region is the gray-crowned rosy finch, but others often visit, including the Anna's hummingbird and Clark's nutcracker.

Principal mammals of this region are also visitors from other zones; the Sierra coney and

ring-tailed cats, the Steller's jay, California ground squirrels and the American black bear
.

Lake Tahoe

In terms of volume, the largest lake in California is

chickaree, golden-mantled ground squirrel, American martin, mule deer, black bear, coyote, raccoon, beaver, and porcupine.[7]

Birds in the region include

brown recluse, tarantula, and hobo spider. The mountain yellow-legged frog is also living throughout the area. Fish species in the lake include Tahoe sucker, mountain whitefish, brown bullhead catfish, smallmouth bass, mosquitofish, and brown trout.[9]

Klamath Mountains

See also: Klamath Mountains (ecoregion)
islands of California
.

The vast forested

golden eagles, pileated woodpecker, band-tailed pigeon, several hawks including goshawks, several large owl species including the spotted owl, plus an extensive variety of additional species both plant and animal.[10]

The area has

silver salmon, brown trout, rainbow trout, kokanee salmon, eastern brook trout, crappie, bluegill, catfish, large and smallmouth bass
.

Big Sur

sport hunting to Rancho San Carlos and can now be found in 56 of the state's 58 counties.[12][13] Sea lions, harbor seals, elephant seals, gray whales, sea otters, and several species of sharks can be spotted off the rocky coastline.[14]

Many varieties of seabirds and waterfowl also call it home, including seagulls, cormorants, willets, sandpipers, oystercatchers, guillemots and many others. Andrew Molera State Park has over 350 different species of birds. The peregrine falcon, brown pelican, Brandt's cormorant and other seabirds are very easy to see along the coast.[14] Three amphibians are found in the area: Arboreal salamander, California newt and western toad.

Southern California

California is home to dozens of species of lizards. The western fence lizard depicted is the most common in Southern California.[15]
The Sonoran Desert has eleven species of rattlesnakes, more than anywhere else in the world.[16]

Pacific Channel Islands, shorelines, beaches, and coastal plains, through the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges with their peaks, into the large and small interior valleys, to the vast deserts of California
.

Several varieties of rattlesnakes are indigenous to the region. While only the Pacific Northwest rattler makes its home in Northern California, almost a dozen

California vulture, red-tailed hawk
and many more.

Mojave Desert

The

stripe tailed scorpion and the desert iguana
.

Sonoran Desert

Mammals found in the deserts of the lower Sonoran zone include the

ring-tailed cat. Birds distinctive to this zone are the California thrasher, the American bushtit, and California condor
.

Colorado River

The

endemic.[18]

Engineering projects and river regulation have led to the extinction of four species and severe declines in the populations of 40 species. The bonytail chub, razorback sucker, Colorado pikeminnow, and humpback chub are among those considered the most at risk. All are unique to the Colorado River system and well adapted to the river's natural silty conditions and flow variations.[18]

Californian Coast

Bobcat wlaking with a dead rabbit hanging from its mouth
Bobcat with a rabbit, Montaña de Oro State Park.

On the Californian Coast, many species of animals and plants can be found. The

great white sharks. The gray fox is more common than its red cousin
.

Backyard wildlife

Raccoons, opossums, skunks, and foxes are common in yards, along with insects, birds, lizards, and squirrels. Bobcats may appear near the wild-land borders, along with rattlesnakes, coyotes, cougars, and bears.[19]

Channel Islands

Channel Islands of California
. There are six subspecies of the fox, each unique to the island it lives on, reflecting its evolutionary history.

More than 2000 species of plants and animals can be found within the

Channel Islands spotted skunk. Introduced mammal species include feral pigs, cats, rats, deer, cattle, the Santa Cruz sheep, and the Catalina Island bison herd.[20]

Other mammals include the harvest mouse, the

sea lions
.

Coastal California

Dolphins by Anacapa Island.

Along the coast of California is the

northern sea lion, California sea lion, northern elephant seal and harbor seal
.

California waters are also home to eleven species of dolphins, including the

killer whale and the gray whale. At least 34 species of sharks have been recorded off the California Coast, including the great white shark and tiger shark.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Coyote Management Guidelines--UC IPM". Ipm.ucdavis.edu. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Flora and fauna - California". City-data.com. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  3. ^ a b "California Fauna". Travelcalifornia.com. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  4. ^ George, David W. "Dangerously Venomous Spiders of the United States by State". Venombyte.com. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Black Bear Facts". Tahoewildbears.org. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  6. ^ "BLM Wild Horses & Burros, Bureau of Land Management, California". Blm.gov. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  7. ^ "Lake Tahoe California Wildlife, Animals - AllTrips". Alllaketahoe.com. Archived from the original on 21 September 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  8. ^ "The Lake Tahoe Basin - Lake Tahoe Vacation Guide". Tahoevacationguide.com. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-12-07. Retrieved 2013-04-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ "Klamath National Forest - Home". Fs.usda.gov. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  11. ^ "Klamath National Forest - Special Places". Fs.usda.gov. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  12. ^ Dowd, Katie (December 26, 2019). "One eccentric socialite is to blame for California's wild pig problem". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  13. ^ Scutro, Andrew (November 28, 2002). "Hog Heaven". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Big Sur California : Vegetation and Wildlife : BigSur-Coastline.com". Bigsur-coastline.com. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  15. ^ "Commonly Encountered California Lizards". Californiaherps.com. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  16. ^ "Rattlesnake facts". wc.pima.edu. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  17. ^ "Owls". www.desertmuseum.org. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
  18. ^
    Colorado River Basin#CITEREFBenkeCushing2005
  19. ^ Sahagun, Louis (September 4, 2019). "California becomes first state to ban fur trapping after Gov. Newsom signs law". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  20. ^ a b "Places To Go - Channel Islands National Park (U.S. National Park Service)". Nps.gov. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  21. ^ Sharks Indigenous to Waters off the Pacific Coast Archived 2013-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
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