Here are some of the most iconic and fascinating animals we support when we protect redwoods.
Pumas (Puma concolor) are the native mountain lions of the Santa Cruz Mountains, also known as panthers, cougars, or catamounts. The extensive ranges pumas need for territory, hunting and breeding is one reason why it’s so important to have large intact habitats with connected wildlife corridors. Roads and new development that fragment habitat are the biggest threats to pumas. Lean more about our work to conserve and expand puma habitat.
Banana slugs are native to the redwood forests of the Pacific coast in North America, and you can often see them out and about when the forest is wet. Visit redwood forest parks in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and you can see banana slugs making their way through the forest floor. Just remember to watch your step on the trail! Learn more about banana slugs.
You may be thinking, salmon in the forest? Critically endangered coho salmon are anadromous fish, which means they live part of their lives in freshwater and the other part in the salt water of the ocean. After multiple years feeding and growing in the open ocean, coho salmon nearly always return upstream to lay their eggs in the same place where they were hatched. Standing redwoods shade creeks keeping the water cool while fallen trees help trap sediment and slow water flow, creating pools and hiding places for coho salmon. In return, salmon add important nutrients back into the forest’s soil. However, more than a century of human activities like logging and damming have have led to a steep decline in the coho salmon population. Coho salmon are just one of the species that benefit from protecting and restoring redwood forests. Learn more about our work to improve habitat for endangered coho salmon.
photo by Bureau of Land Management.
Bats
Love them or hate them, bats are an important part of our ecosystem. They help control insect populations and even pollinate some flowers. And they love to roost in redwoods. The large basal hollows (openings)—known colloquially as goose pens—that form at the base of old-growth redwoods from fire may be easy for bats to navigate. Redwood bark is also soft, with deep crags in which smaller species have been found to shelter. A great place to find nesting bats is around the perimeter of forests near waterways—bats like to rest nearby to where they hunt.
Marbled Murrelet
Listed under the Endangered Species Act since 1992, the marbled murrelet is a rare and elusive seabird, under threat by oil spills, unsustainable fishing, and onshore habitat loss. Marbled murrelets are small and chunky—they’re often described as a flying potato with a beak. For more than half the year, birds sport greyish feathers with black-dipped wings and heads; during breeding season, adults turn a mottled brown. Marbled murrelets fly over the redwoods at dawn and at dusk—en route to the ocean to catch fish, or to their hidden nest in redwood canopies. Learn more about the marvels and mystery of the marbled murrelet.
Newts
The California Newt (Taricha torosa torosa) are spellbinding little beasts—and surprisingly deadly. The glands in their slimy skin secrete the potent neurotoxin tetrodotoxin, which is also found in pufferfish and harlequin frogs. Hundreds of times more toxic than cyanide, it’s strong enough to kill most vertebrates, including humans—but only if ingested. So, as a general rule, try to restrain from eating one.
Red-legged Frogs
California’s official amphibian, and a federally listed threatened species, the California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) is the largest native frog in the western United States.Their habitat must stay moist and cool through the summer, including slow-moving streams, ponds, and upland shelters such as rocks, small mammal burrows, logs, dense vegetation , and even, man-made structures, such as culverts.
Did you know steelhead trout are actually in the salmon family? And like Coho salmon, steelhead trout are anadromous, spending about half their lives in the ocean’s saltwater and coming back to the freshwater they were born in to spawn the next generation. Although being able to survive in both fresh and salt water is already pretty rare, steelhead trout are truly unique because they develop based on their environment. Steelhead and rainbow trout are actually the same species, the only difference is their lifestyle. After being born in gravel-covered freshwater beds of streams and rivers, steelhead migrate out to the Pacific Ocean where they typically grow larger and more steely colored than their rainbow trout relatives who remain in freshwater. Steelhead trout are threatened throughout their habitat range in a large part due to blockages like dams and culverts that prevent them from returning to the freshwater they need to spawn. We’re working to restore a critical watershed, once blocked by an ancient dam, so rare and unique steelhead trout can thrive in the Santa Cruz mountains again. Watch a steelhead in Mill Creek just downstream from the newly removed dam.
Photo by NMFS/Southwest Fisheries Science Center; Salmon Ecology Team
