The red fox is named for its rusty-red fur coat, but there are other color variations: completely black (black phase), black with silver-tipped hairs (silver phase), or brown and gray (cross phase). However, their bushy tail has a white tip in all color phases. Their chin, throat and belly are white; their lower legs and feet are black. Like a cat’s tail, the fox’s thick tail aids in balance, but it also acts as a warm cover in cold weather!
Classified as a carnivore, the red fox is really an omnivore. They will feed on whatever is available: berries, acorns, grasses, birds, mammals, grasshoppers, beetles, crayfish and garbage. They will store food under the snow or leaves. The red fox is beneficial, as are other foxes, in rodent control. Though fairly common, red foxes are shy, secretive, nocturnal and cunning, which makes them difficult to observe. They will elude competitors by circling and backtracking rather than fighting. They live in a variety of habitats ranging from cultivated areas to woodlands and brushlands.
An average of 4 -8 pups are born in a maternity den and the male fox helps provide food for the pups.
The porcupine looks deceitfully cuddly! Their face has short black hair and small dark eyes. Their long guard hairs lay over their specialized hairs so they appears to be soft, but those special hairs are better known as quills. There are up to 300,000 quills covering the porcupine’s body. Their legs are short, with long curved claws on their toes, which help in gripping large tree trunks.
Porcupines cannot shoot their quills, but a SLAP of the tail will send many quills into their attacker. They live in woodland and forest areas. They prefer to escape up a tree rather than face an attacker. They will den in a hollow tree, underground burrow, crevice or tree.
Solitary and nocturnal, the porcupine is a slow, but excellent climber. An herbivore, they feed on leaves, twigs, green plants and inner bark, and they are fond of salt. They can kill trees by stripping bark; they will sometimes gnaw on and damage buildings, furniture and tools with their orange teeth.
One porcupette per year is born in May or June and weighs 1 lb.
The bobcat and mountain lion are the two cat species native to California. Both cats are very secretive and are seldom seen in the wild.
Bobcats have muscular shoulders, ear tufts and a short “bobbed” tail about 5” long that has a black tip on the upper side. Their fur coat is tawny gray, occasionally with faint markings.
Bobcats live throughout California and much of North America with a home range of up to 25 square miles. They den in rock crevices or hollow trees and are quick to run off competitors.
Bobcats stalk and ambush their prey, seldom chasing it more than a few feet. Their diet varies with availability but usually consists of mice, hares, rabbits, squirrels, gophers, rats, and birds.
Female bobcats produce a single litter each year with an average of 3 kittens, but up to as many as 6.
The gray fox has rather short legs, which it uses to climb trees in order to get food or seek refuge. The gray fox has a silvery-gray coat with conspicuous patches of yellow, brown, rust, or white on the throat and belly. Black tipped guard hairs form a dark line down its back to the tip of the tail.
The gray fox is the most common fox in California, mainly populating coastal or mountain forests at lower elevations. They rarely dig their own dens. Instead they will rest in crevices, under boulders, or in hollow logs.
Secretive and mostly nocturnal, the gray fox is an excellent hunter. Their main diet consists of small rodents, birds and berries, but they will also eat insects, eggs, acorns and fungi.
Mating begins in January and 3-5 pups are born in February or March. Pups will begin to hunt after 3 months. The family group remains together until the autumn, when the young reach sexual maturity, then they disperse.
The mountain lion is also known as the cougar, puma, panther and catamount, and is the largest wildcat in North America. They are tan colored cats with tawny-beige fur, except for a whitish-gray belly and chest. Black markings decorate the tip of the tail, ears and around the snout. They have powerful limbs and can leap as high as 15 feet and as far as 40 feet.
Mountain lions are stealthy, hunting at night and often lying in wait for prey or silently stalking it before pouncing from behind, delivering a lethal bite to the spinal cord. Typically, they prey on deer, but also feed on smaller animals, and even insects when necessary.
Mountain lions inhabit a wide range of ecosystems, making their home anywhere there is shelter and prey, including mountains, forests, deserts and wetlands. Unlike other large cats, they cannot roar. Instead they growl, shriek, hiss and purr, similar to house cats. Baby mountain lions are born blind and are dependent on their mothers for the first 3 months of their lives.
The most vocal of all North American wild mammals, this opportunistic hunter and scavenger is steadily increasing in number through rapid adaptation to human encroachment and a fast reproductive rates. The coyote looks similar to a large dog. Its coat is grayish brown to yellowish gray in color with a white throat and belly and a bushy, black-tipped tail.
Classified as a carnivore, the coyote will eat pretty much anything. 98% of its diet is meat from rodents, reptiles, insects and carrion. The other 2% is made up of fruits and berries. To catch their prey, coyotes will pounce with all of their legs held stiff. The coyote is the dominant wild animal in the food chain.
Found throughout most of North America, the coyote is common in open sagebrush areas, but has adapted to living in urban areas, as well. They have expanded their range due to the decreasing population of their larger competitor, the wolf. Pups are born in litters of 6-7 with the males leaving the pack at 6-9 months.
Screech owls have prominent, wide-set feather tufts with bright yellow eyes. They have different brownish hues with whitish, patterned undersides. This coloration helps them get camouflaged against the tree bark. They have well-developed raptorial claws and curved bills. They use them as a tool to tear their prey into pieces that are small enough for them to swallow. They tend to carry their prey to the nest and then eat it.
Screech owls are primarily solitary. They are known as a “sit and wait” predator.
During the late-winter breeding season, however, males make nests in cavities, sometimes reusing abandoned nests of other animals, to try to attract females. The females select their mate based on the quality of the cavity and the food located inside. During the incubation period, the male feeds the female.
The normal territorial call is not a hoot as with some owls, but a trill consisting of more than 4 individual calls per second given in rapid succession (although the sound does not resemble screeching or screaming).
The turkey vulture’s most notable characteristic is the red to reddish-purple skin on their bald head and neck. Their body is covered with blackish brown feathers with a silver lining. They have pale legs, gray-brown eyes, and are 26-32” long.
A turkey vulture’s diet is almost exclusively carrion. Their feet and beak are too weak to kill their own food. They have a highly developed sense of smell, which they use to locate dead flesh while soaring at 200 ft.
Turkey vultures live across the United States during the summer in dry, open areas, deciduous forests and woodlands. If migrating, the bird will soar at 4,000-5,000’. One of the largest turkey vulture migration patterns in the world can be seen over CALM during October.
Females lay 2 eggs yearly and the male will incubate the eggs for 38-41 days.
The red-tailed hawk has a chestnut red color on the upper side of the tail as a distinguishing field mark, which gives it its name. The adults are dark brown on top; white with brown streaks below. They are also found with dark and light colorings. They have broad wings and broad tails that aid in soaring and have excellent vision for hunting. The red-tailed hawk is most the most common hawk found in America.
Red-tailed hawks are beneficial to rodent control, feeding mainly on mice, rats, and squirrels. They will also eat rabbits, birds, snakes (including rattlesnakes), lizards, frogs and salamanders. Most often, they watch for prey from a perch but like to hunt while soaring. They attack their prey in a slow, controlled dive with legs outstretched, much different from a falcon’s stoop dive.
Red-tailed hawks have a shrill cry and are often used on soundtracks for television and movies. These hawks prefer mixed country with open pastures interspersed with woods. They court for life with the female mostly incubating the eggs and
the male bringing food to the nest.
The great horned owl is the second largest owl in California. The “horns” of the owl are actually only feather tufts, colored brown with the rest of the body. They also have some spotted coloration in darker shades of brown. The great horned owl is one of the most common owls, equally at home in deserts, wetlands, forests, grasslands, backyards and cities.
Great horned owls are fierce predators and are often referred to as “tigers of the sky”. They can take large prey, including raptors such as ospreys, falcons, and other owls. They mainly eat squirrels, jackrabbits, skunks and other small mammals and birds. They also eat much smaller items such as rodents, frogs, and scorpions, which they swallow whole and later regurgitate in owl pellets. They have excellent hearing, specially adapted feathers that dissipate air flow, facilitating silent flight, plus powerful feet and talons.
Females will usually lay 2-3 eggs once a year. These eggs will be incubated by both parents. They will hatch in 4 weeks, and will mature and leave the nest in 1-2 months.