#wildlife-behavior

#wildlife-behavior

An unnamed tourist saw it and told Aidan Moore, who works for Alcatraz City Cruises. Moore told SFGATE that he was initially skeptical, but the guest's iPhone footage left little room for doubt. The video shows, not a sea lion or an otter, but an actual Canis latrans, doggedly dogpaddling, then clambering out of the water, noticeably shaky and struggling to settle tired paws on the craggy rocks.

February heralds skunk mating season, and our striped friends have romance on their minds. Over the next several weeks, skunks will be seeking mates, and this activity always results in an uptick in the amount of skunk spray in the air. Male skunks spray each other when they fight over females, and females spray males they don't want as mates.

If you plan on strolling through West Seattle's Lincoln Park, you might want to carry a large umbrella. We'd recommend wearing a hat, too, but Seattle Parks and Recreation issued an "owl safety alert" after an aggressive hooter started attacking unsuspecting park-goers and flying off with their headgear. In a post on the agency's Facebook page, one hiker reported that an owl swooped down and stole their brother-in-law's hat while they were walking through Lincoln Park on their way to visit a troll.

There were two separate squirrel-on-human attacks in Marin County's Lucas Valley the weekend before last, on both Saturday, September 13 and Sunday, September 14. In both separate cases, women were attacked and bitten by the squirrel while walking through their neighborhood. While both squirrel attack victims were sent to the hospital and examined, neither was required to stay in the hospital.

The latest crazy coyote behavior in the SF Bay Area is that coyotes are swimming the more than one mile between Tiburon and Angel Island, and apparently somewhere between 14 and 17 coyotes now call Angel Island home. We've known for years that the probable reason that San Francisco has coyotes again is because they probably walked here from Marin County across the Golden Gate Bridge. Now Angel Island park officials have observed another very unexpected coyote behavior.

While peacocks and turkeys, depending on the individuals, can live together amicably, they likely are more companions than amorous partners. That's not to say a randy peacock wouldn't try to impress a turkey, but it wouldn't be a productive courtship.

Cecil the Seagull has become notorious for stealing sandwiches and biting fingers at Waterford Beach Park, creating a fearsome reputation among beachgoers.

Dust bathing is a common practice with many species of birds, mammals, and even some insects, including certain species of bees.

Researchers created a cognitive testing apparatus applicable across diverse fish species, allowing examination of cognition in their natural habitats, revealing more about their cognitive abilities.

The footage shows two enormous alligators dilly-dallying around the home's front porch, possibly trying to get into the house, captured by the family's Ring camera.