Notes on Mammals of San Franscisco Bay Area

• Fog Shrew
• Mountain Beaver
• Dusky-footed Woodrat
• American Beaver
• North American Porcupine
• American Badger
• Western Spotted Skunk
• Sea Otter
• Gray Fox
• Puma (Mountain Lion)
• Wild Pig
• Tule Elk
• Books

Fog Shrew - Sorex sonomae

• Camera trap photo of a likely Fog Shrew in Marin County by "Camera Trap Codger".  ...link 

Mountain Beaver - Aplodontia rufa

The Mountain Beaver is only found in one location in the Bay Area - Point Reyes. The subspecies found here, the Point Reyes mountain beaver (Aplodontia rufa phaea), is endemic to the area - found nowhere else. It is only known to occur in western Marin County, almost entirely within Point Reyes National Seashore.

• Informative page about the species at Point Reyes by the National Park Service.  ...link 
• Camera-trap photos of and interesting blog post by Camera Trap Codger, July 2007  ...link 
• Fire Effects on the Point Reyes Mountain Beaver (Aplodontia rufa phaea) by by Gary M. Fellers, David Pratt, and Jennifer L. Griffin, National Park Service, 2005.  ...link 

Dusky-footed Woodrat - Neotoma fuscipes

• Series of camera-trap photos of San Francisco Dusky-footed Woodrats with wonderful commentary by randomtruth  ...link 
• The Original “Pack Rat”, by Nancy Reyering, Committee for Green Foothills, 8 May 2015. Blog post with good overview and tips on co-existence.  ...link 
• Blog post about Dusky-footed Woodrat by WildRescue, 14 April 2012  ...link 
• Use of California bay foliage by wood rats for possible fumigation of nest-borne ectoparasites by Richard B. Hemmes, Arlene Alvarado, and Benjamin L. Hart, in Behavioral Ecology, 2002. Study conducted in Sonoma County, June-August, 1994-1995.  ...link 
• The Dusky-Footed Woodrat: Resident of California Oak Woodland, by John M. Harper, Richard B. Standiford, and John W. LeBlanc, University of California. Article about demographics and habitat associations in California oak woodlands at Camp Roberts, in coastal central California.  ...link 
• Dusky-footed Woodrat by Friends of Edgewood - detailed article with notes on seeing the animals and their dens at Edgewood County Park and Natural Reserve in San Mateo County.  ...link 
• Dusky-footed Woodrat Nature Note from City of Palo Alto, Community Services Department.  ...link 

American Beaver - Castor canadensis

• A beaver family has taken up residence in downtown Martinez. Read about the efforts to save them by a local group - Worth a Dam. A good overview article is available in Bay Nature.  ...link 
• Beavers in downtown San Jose, on the Guadalupe river, included cool video.  ...link 
• Beavers build a foothold in Napa waters, Napa Valley Register, May 2014. A pair of Beavers setting up home on Tulocay Creek in south Napa.  ...link 

North American Porcupine - Erithizon dorsatum

• Sonoma Valley Wildlife Corridor, fall 2014  ...link 
• Camera trap photo Pepperwood Preserve, July 2014.  ...link 

Austin Creek State Recreation Area, Sonoma County, CA, May 2011

American Badger - Taxidea taxus

• On the Hunt for Mount Tam’s Two Known Badgers, by Mary Ellen Hannibal, Bay Nature, September 2017.  ...link 
• The status of the American Badger in the San Francisco Bay Area (2008), Master's Theses by Chris Lay  ...link 
• The Paula Lane Action Network, a grassroots group in Petaluma, is working on developing the Paula Lane Nature Preserve which includes 100 year old Badger habitat.  ...link 
• Detailed information about American Badgers with special reference to Badgers in Sonoma county from Paula Lane Action Network  ...link 

Sightings

• Blog post with lots of camera trap photos and good information about Badgers in the Santa Cruz Mountains, by randomtruth, January 2017  ...link 
• Young one at Point Reyes, photo by Daniel Dietrich, January, 2017  ...link 
• Camera trap photo at night, Santa Cruz Mountains, San Mateo County, by Georgia Stigall, August 2016  ...link 
• South Skyline area, Santa Cruz Mountains, September 2015  ...link 
• Report received by email about a juvenile on the outskirts of Dublin, Alameda County, July 2015
• Camera trap photo from Ano Nuevo State Park, February 2015  ...link 
• Point Reyes, photo by Kyle Breckenridge, February 2015  ...link 
• Point Reyes, photo by Daniel Dietrich, December 2014  ...link 
• Young Badger, with some illness, found in Nicasio, Marin County, August 2014  ...link 
• Camera trap photo from Star Creek Ranch, Santa Cruz County, August 2014  ...link 
• Grassy hillside, Lonoak Rd., Monterey County, May 2014  ...link 
• Nocturnal camera trap photo from Marin Headlands, March 2014  ...link 
• Point Reyes, by Bryan Grundy, August 2013  ...link 
• Photo from Del Puerto Canyon Road by Aaron Maizlish, July 2013  ...link 
• Camera trap photo at night in Santa Cruz mountains by Georgia Stigall, June 2013  ...link 
• Young Badger at Brushy Peak, Livermore, May 2013  ...link 
• Badgers pop up around Mount Diablo, by Alison Hawkes, Bay Nature, September 24, 2012  ...link 
• Camera trap photo on private property north of Round Valley Regional Preserve, Contra Costa County, Cakebread family, July 2012  ...link 
• Badger encounter, with photo, in Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve, Contra Costa County, by David Silva, May 2012.  ...link 
• Badger photographs from Point Reyes by Wildlifist, May 2012  ...link 
• Video of 3 Badgers in Point Reyes by Randy Finley, May 2012  ...link 
• Windy Hill Open Space Preserve, San Mateo County, April 2012  ...link 
• Photo from near Pinnacles National Park by Deborah M. Zajac, April 2012  ...link 
• Badger sighting in the Fremont hills, with photos, by Paul Turner and Al Motto, June 2011.  ...link 
• Camera trap nocturnal, photos of a Badger in the Santa Cruz Mountains by "randomtruth", May 2011.  ...link 
• Photo in Point Reyes National Seashore by Bob Gunderson, May 2011  ...link 
• Badger rescue and release in Solano County by Suisun Wildlife Center, May 2010.  ...link 
• Badger encounter in Henry Coe State Park, Santa Clara County, beautifully written by Marlene Testaguzza  ...link 

A Badger in the Jenner Headlands, Sonoma County by Ryan DiGaudio, July 2011

Western Spotted Skunk - Spilogale gracilis

• Camera trap photo near Deer Park in Marin Municipal Water District, Sep 2015  ...link 
• Sightings at Point Reyes with close up photos of a road-killed animal, by Zachary E Dautrich, Nov 2013.  ...link 
• Skunk Season Arrives, Marin County Parks blog, by David Herlocker, Marin County Parks Naturalist, Oct 2012.  ...link 

Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

• Research blog on Gray Foxes by Bill Leikam.  ...link 

Gray Foxes of Silicon Valley by Guadalupe-Coyote Resource Conservation District

Puma (Mountain Lion) - Puma concolor

• Bay Area Puma Project - awesome research on the local Puma (Cougar/Mountain Lion) population in the Santa Cruz mountains.  ...link1   ...link2 
• Puma Field Guide by The Cougar Network. Covers biology, general life history, identification, assessment and management.  ...link 
• The "roar" of a Puma  ...sound 
• The Neighbor You Never See: Keeping Mountain Lions in Our Midst, Peninsula Open Space Trust article, Spring 2010.  ...sound 

Wild Pig - Sus scrofa