Animals

Meet Richmond’s fishermen (and one woman)

Despite some concerns about water pollution from the city’s industries, people fish in many different spots across Richmond’s extensive shoreline: in parks, off piers, and even under bridges and highways. They do so for relaxation, to enjoy the outdoors, and to feed their families. Meet some of them here.

Researchers team up to solve a ‘50-year old murder mystery’: What’s killing sharks in the San Francisco Bay?

Spirits were low in McCovey Cove as the San Francisco Giants played a discouraging game against the Kansas City Royals. The visitors were on track to win, holding on to an 8-1 lead for several innings. The atmosphere was buoyed, however, when a cameraman spotted an unlikely supporter in the cove: a leopard shark swimming along the surface of the water. Giants player Jeff Samardzija’s nickname is “Shark,” and fans seemed to interpret the animal as a good omen. The…

Evacuation of local animal rescue group following October wildfires reveals challenges for animal shelters

After drawing a tube of blood from the front left leg of Diana, an 8-year-old American bulldog, outreach coordinator John Fonseca commended her as she laid on the bench at the adoption center of Milo Foundation, an animal rescue group based in Point Richmond. “You did good, Diana,” Fonseca said. Bethany Sullivan, Diana’s foster parent, was constantly caressing the dog’s abdomen. Although Sullivan’s own dog was sitting on the ground a couple of yards away, the deep concerns on her…

On Earth Day 2015, a look at the wild species that live in the East Bay regional parks

The California Grizzly bear has been immortalized on the state’s flag, but the four-leg symbol is not around California anymore—at least not since 1924, when the last specimen was spotted in Santa Barbara County. However, other creatures inhabit California’s land, water and sky. The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) includes more than 100,000 acres, 65 parks and more than 1,200 miles of trails in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. These parks, like the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline in Oakland, or the…