There are many interesting and unique creatures living around our watersheds. Below are a few species that live in the Central Coast.

California Red Legged Frog

The California Red-Legged Frog has been on the Endangered Species list since 1996. Much of it’s habitat has been destroyed by mining, logging, and development. Their natural and historic habitat ranged over much of the state. Today they are found in only 238 streams, most of which are in the Central Coast. The Caifornia Red Legged Frog is the largest frog in the Western United States, ranging from 1.5 to 5 inches in length. The frogs lay over 2,000 eggs at a time. Once these eggs hatch it takes them several months to become frogs. Only about one percent of the tadpoles will live to reach maturity. Mice and other frogs make up the staples of the frog's diet.

Salmon

Here on the west coast, we have Pacific Salmon. The five species of Pacific Salmon are chinook, chum, coho, pink, and sockeye. Salmon are an anadromous fish which means they live part of their life in freshwater and part of their life in the ocean. Salmon are born in freshwater and then migrate out to the ocean. When they grow old enough to reproduce, they travel back to the same stream they were born in. Chinook Salmon can travel up 2,500 miles inland to spawn and can spend up to eight years in the ocean before they do so. Salmon eat other small fish. Salmon are a declining species because of overfishing and loss of habitat. Dams have prevented many salmon from being able to swim upstream and spawn. The destruction of riparian plants have caused a loss of shade in many streams which means that water is too warm for salmon.

Southern Sea Otters

Sea Otters are the smallest mammal in North America, growing to just four feet long. They eat small marine animals such as clams and abalone. They float around on their backs while they eat. They have to eat a quarter of their weight in food each day to survive. Their coats are the thickest of any animal which is how they stay warm in the cold Monterey water. Their fur has 600,000 to 1 million hairs per square inch. This thick fur has been part of the reason they have been driven to such small numbers. Humans started hunting sea otters for their fur in the 1800s and almost drove them to extinction. Their populations were so low that people actually thought they were extinct until the 1930s when a group was found in Monterey Bay. The sea otter was put on the Endangered Species list. The biggest threat to the sea otter today is diseases. (Source: Fish and Wildlife Service)