San Francisco Bay Wildlife
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Related Links
 |--Tule Elk
 |--Whale Watching
 |--Marine Mammals

Mammals of the Bay Area

Mountain Lion
Mountain Lion - Felis concolor
Bobcat
Bobcat - Lynx rufus (south of Livermore)
Black-tailed Jackrabbit
Black-tailed Jackrabbit - Lepus californicus (Brushy Peak)
Coyote
Coyote - Canis latrans (Morgan Territory)
Fox Squirrel
Eastern Fox Squirrel - Sciurus niger (introduced, not native, San Francisco)
Ingrid Taylar / CC BY 2.0
California Ground Squirrel
California Ground Squirrel - Spermophilus beecheyi (Alviso)
Beaver
American Beaver - Castor canadensis (Martinez)
by Heidi Perryman, Worth a Dam
Muskrat
Common Muskrat - Ondatra zibethicus (Martinez)
from Worth a Dam
North American River Otter
North American River Otter - Lontra canadensis (Martinez)
by Cheryl Reynolds, Worth a Dam
Mink
American Mink - Neovison vison (Martinez)
by Cheryl Reynolds, Worth a Dam
American Badger
American Badger - Taxidea taxus (West Petaluma)
by Andy LaCasse courtesy of Paula Lane Action Network
Tule Elk
Tule Elk - Cervus elaphus (Point Reyes)
Image Source: KQED QUEST - Some rights reserved.
Sea Otter
Sea Otter - Enhydra lutris (Moss Landing)
Northern Elephant Seal
Northern Elephant Seal - Mirounga angustirostris (Ano Nuevo State Park)

You can see quite a few mammals in the San Francisco Bay Area, if you know what you are looking for. Many are found in protected areas like State Parks but some, like raccoons and skunks, are even found in suburban environments. Several marine mammals can be seen in the nearby coastal waters and the Harbor Seal can actually be seen in San Francisco Bay.

A special whale-watching page has been compiled for more information on marine mammals  ...more .

Bay Area Land Mammals

  1. Virginia Opossum - Didelphis virginiana
  2. Ornate Shrew - Sorex ornatus
  3. Vagrant Shrew - Sorex vagrans
  4. Fog Shrew - Sorex sonomae
  5. Trowbridge's Shrew - Sorex trowbridgii
  6. American Shrew-mole - Neurotrichus gibbsii
  7. Broad-footed Mole - Scapanus latimanus
  8. Desert Cottontail - Sylvilagus audubonii
  9. Brush Rabbit - Sylvilagus bachmani  ...photo 
  10. Black-tailed Jackrabbit - Lepus californicus  ...track 
  11. Mountain Beaver - Aplodontia rufa
  12. California Ground Squirrel - Spermophilus beecheyi
  13. Sonoma Chipmunk - Neotamias sonomae
  14. Merriam's Chipmunk - Neotamias merriami
  15. Western Gray Squirrel - Sciurus griseus
  16. Eastern Fox Squirrel - Sciurus niger (introduced, not native)
  17. Botta's Pocket Gopher - Thomomys bottae
  18. California Pocket Mouse - Chaetodipus californicus
  19. Deer Mouse - Peromyscus maniculatus
  20. California Mouse - Peromyscus californicus
  21. Pinyon Mouse - Peromyscus true
  22. Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse - Reithrodontomys raviventris
  23. Western Harvest Mouse - Reithrodontomys megalotis
  24. Dusky-footed Woodrat - Neotoma fuscipes
  25. California Vole - Microtus californicus
  26. Common Muskrat - Ondatra zibethicus
  27. Norway Rat - Rattus norvegicus
  28. Black Rat - Rattus rattus
  29. House Mouse - Mus musculus
  30. Pacific Jumping Mouse - Zapus trinotatus
  31. Heermann's Kangaroo Rat - Dipodomys heermanni  ...photo 
  32. American Beaver - Castor canadensis
  33. Porcupine - Erithizon dorsatum
  34. Coyote - Canis latrans
  35. Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus
  36. Kit Fox - Vulpes macrotis
  37. Red Fox - Vulpes vulpes (introduced)
  38. Ringtail - Bassariscus astutus
  39. Northern Raccoon - Procyon lotor
  40. Short-tailed Weasel - Mustela erminea
  41. Long-tailed Weasel - Mustela frenata  ...photo   ...track 
  42. American Mink - Neovison vison
  43. American Badger - Taxidea taxus  ...photo 
  44. Western Spotted Skunk - Spilogale gracilis
  45. Striped Skunk - Mephitis mephitis
  46. North American River Otter - Lontra canadensis
  47. Puma (Cougar, Mountain Lion) - Puma concolor  ...sound 
  48. Bobcat - Lynx rufus
  49. Wild Pig - Sus scrofa (Introduced)
  50. Tule Elk - Cervus elaphus
  51. Black-tailed (Mule) Deer - Odocoileus hemionus

Common Bay Area Marine Mammals

  1. California Sea-lion - Zalophus californianus
  2. Northern Elephant Seal - Mirounga angustirostris
  3. Harbor Seal - Phoca vitulina
  4. Sea Otter - Enhydra lutris
  5. Gray Whale - Eschrichtius robustus
  6. Humpback Whale - Megaptera novaeangliae
  7. Blue Whale - Balaenoptera musculus
  8. Pacific White-sided Dolphin - Lagenorhynchus obliquidens
  9. Dall's Porpoise - Phocoenoides dalli
Extensive list of Bay Area marine mammals

Bay Area Bats

  1. Little Brown Myotis - Myotis lucifugus
  2. Yuma Myotis - Myotis yumanensis
  3. Long-eared Myotis - Myotis evotis
  4. Fringed Myotis - Myotis thysanodes
  5. Long-legged Myotis - Myotis volans
  6. California Myotis - Myotis californicus
  7. Silver-haired Bat - Lasionycteris noctivagans
  8. Big Brown Bat - Eptesicus fuscus
  9. Western Mastiff Bat - Eumops perotis
  10. Western Red Bat - Lasiurus blossevillii
  11. Hoary Bat - Lasiurus cinereus
  12. Townsend's Big-eared Bat - Pelcotus townsendii
  13. Pallid Bat - Antrozous pallidus
  14. Brazilian (Mexican) Free-tailed Bat - Tadarida brasiliensis
  15. Western Pipistrelle - Pipistrellus hesperus

Video

  • Bats in the San Francisco area, especially Fort Funston. Dr. Gary Fellers of the U.S. Geological Survey explains vocalizations and other behaviors of local bats.  ...link 

Mammals Articles and Links

  • Bay Area Puma Project - awesome research on the local Puma (Cougar/Mountain Lion) population in the Santa Cruz mountains.  ...link1   ...link2 
  • The River Otter Ecology Project - focused on River Otters in the Bay area  ...link2 
  • Video and photos of animals captured by camera traps throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains by Yiwei Wang.  ...link 
  • Beavers in Martinez! 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 
  • The Mountain Beaver is found only in one location in the Bay Area - Point Reyes.  ...link 
  • Series of camera-trap photos of San Francisco Dusky-footed Woodrats with wonderful commentary by randomtruth  ...link 
  • A good overview of the Eastern Fox Squirrel that got introducted into California and is now displacing the native Western Gray Squirrel  ...link 
  • The Incredible, Edible Ground Squirrel by Kathleen Wong, Bay Nature, January 2008. The California Ground Squirrel is an important part of the web of life in the Bay area and affects the lives of many other species.  ...link 
  • The Bay area coast provides excellent opportunities for whale-watching. You can manage to see several species of whales, relatively easily.  ...more 
  • If you happen to come across a stranded or injured marine mammal, please contact Marine Mammal Center  ...link 
  • Bats of San Francisco - a blog post by Jennifer Krauel, with a link to her Master's thesis about an acoustic survey of San Francisco Bats.  ...link 

American Badger

  • 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 trying to arrange for the purchase of 11 acres of habitat in western Petaluma.
  • Video of a Badger in Sonoma County.
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