Aquatic Animals

Marine Biologist Pleads Guilty to Illegally Feeding Whales

When orcas kill and eat a gray whale, they often don't finish the whole thing in a single serving. For up to three days after the feast, chunks of blubber float around the area, drawing hungry orcas like leftovers in the fridge. Marine biologist Nancy Black and her assistant encountered such a scen ... More >>

California Sea Lion Pup Stranded on Seal Rocks at Ocean Beach

Distressing news today. This baby sea lion appears to be unhappily stuck out on Seal Rocks and could probably use a helping hand (or flipper). In the words of local photographer and animal observer, David Cruz, who shot the photo and video: I called the mammal rescue center and they are hoping it ... More >>

Watch This Sextet of San Francisco Penguins Go Christmas Caroling

Penguins might not be able to fly, but they sure as hell can sing -- or at least this sextet of aquatic birds can. Call it a Christmas miracle, but somehow while bored at the San Francisco Zoo, these musically inclined penguins managed to harmonize the ubiquitous Christmas tune "Jingle Bells." S ... More >>

"Bel Borba Aqui": Cool Art, Nasty Arthropods

Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom Gets Overwhelmed by Two Meetings

It's not news that Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom has not a thing to do up there in Sacramento, a city that he himself has said is boring. But you know what is news: Newsom finally had something to do -- and didn't do it!On Monday, Newsom's morning included showing up to a meeting and casting a vo ... More >>

Massive Blue Whale to March at Crissy Field This Weekend

Are you one of those Shark Week and Free Willy fans who always wondered what it would be like to fill the shoes, or rather, fins, of these sea creatures? Well, here's your chance.On Sunday, Blue Whale Tatzoo is holding a march at Crissy Field, where participants will be able to create an imitat ... More >>

Starved Pelicans Are Now Crowding San Mateo's Shelter

Those sad and starved Brown Pelicans that have packed into nearby shelters this past month have wormed their way into the Peninsula Humane Society's Wild Life Center where they are getting 'round the clock care. The Peninsula Humane Society has taken in some 30 emaciated and really cold Pelicans, su ... More >>

San Francisco Bay-Delta Longfin Smelt Could Become Extinct

​The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service needs you and conservation partners to help save the dwindling San Francisco Bay-Delta longfin smelt population. Once the most abundant fish population in the San Francisco Bay-Delta, the state says the 4-to-6-inch estuarine fish are at a record low for the f ... More >>

"Big Miracle": Saving the Whales Doesn't Save Any Laughs

Is Cruelty-Free Foie Gras Possible? An American Experiment

abaransk/Flickr​This past week, This American Life returned to its annual "Poultry Slam" theme: fowl stories for holiday diners. This year, stories included tales of tic-tac-toe-playing chickens (apparently illegal in San Francisco) and a wild turkey who terrorized a neighborhood on Martha's Viney ... More >>

It's a Bad Week To Be a Gay Animal

It's Flipper and Eve, not Flipper and Steve​SF Weekly used to bring you the regular "This Week in Gay" column, and now -- given certain events that have transpired over the past few days -- we are happy to partially resurrect the defunct column with our first edition of "This Week in Gay Pets."Oka ... More >>

San Francisco Bulls -- The Best Hockey Name Money Couldn't Buy

The right name at the right price. And they're passing the savings on to you! ​These days, San Francisco feels good about its 49ers. But, even during the darkest days of the team's long Babylonian captivity in the cellar, we could at least take pride that "49ers" is one of the cleverest and most g ... More >>

Sea Lions Found in S.F. With Wires Wrapped Around Their Necks

Inquiring minds​Marine rescuers are attempting to save the lives of two young sea lions who were found on San Francisco's Pier 39 with wires draped around their necks -- which could easily kill them. The wired mammals first came to the attention of rescuers after tourists spotted the two sea anima ... More >>

"Mr Popper's Penguins": Jim Carrey Mugs Endlessly in Dull Kids' Romp

Swatch Watch

Crustaceans 1, Techies 0

Junk Food Ban Weighed -- For Seagulls

Gross​Since seagulls are mysteriously dying by the dozens at Pier 94 rendering plant after feasting on offal, the Board of Supervisors has been urged to enforce a larine version of a junk food ban.At its Feb. 10 meeting, the city's Animal Care & Control Commission introduced a drafted letter t ... More >>

In the Sack

Man Busted For Smuggling Whale Teeth

What a smile​Here is a story that involve both sperm and teeth -- and it's still G rated.James Saunders was convicted yesterday in a San Francisco courtroom for scheming to illegally buy, sell, and smuggle sperm whale teeth from the far away country of Ukraine. The conviction was a crack in an nat ... More >>

Watching the Act of Watching

Ocean Beach Whale Likely an Endangered Species

Stoke ReportEither way, it's a shame​Scientists analyzing the dead whale that washed up on Ocean Beach yesterday were unable to determine exactly what manner of whale it was. They did narrow it down to two species, however -- both of which are endangered. Jan Roletto, the research coordinator at t ... More >>

Shark Will Almost Certainly Not Eat You, Expert Assures

Callaghan Fritz-Cope/Pelagic Shark Research FoundationYou likely won't be attacked by a shark. But this seal...​Following Monday's bloody Pacifica shark incident -- in which locals gawked as a Great White tore a hapless sea lion to shreds -- a number of observers were shocked at how quickly surfer ... More >>

The Narwhal, Commonwealth's Liquid Nitrogen Slushie

Tamara Palmer​Molecular gastronomy pops up sparingly at Commonwealth, like in a light cocktail frozen with the assistance of liquid nitrogen. The Narwhal is a lovely slushie made with ambrosia melon and lime, filtered sake, mint, and Floc de Gascogne, a French aperitif fortified with Armagnac. ... More >>

Coldcore

Rainbows. Unicorns. Whales.

SF Weekly Letters

Returning sea lions could be in for a shock

Military Dolphins, Sea Lions Save San Francisco From Terror

Brien Aho/U.S. NavySmile! You're on Dolphin Camera.​Trained journalists cover trained beasts The opportunity to watch Gavin Newsom watch Navy sea lions and dolphins in a terror-fighting exercise was just too good. Scores of creatures, meticulously trained via rote exercises, were on display in Mis ... More >>

Yats' Crawfish Boil a Pre-Party for SANFRANOLA Bash

edcasey/FlickrScene from Yats' crawfish boil in April.​We often think of the Dos Equis commercial in which the Most Interesting Man in the World breaks down the "two-party system": "The after-party is the one you want to attend." However, if an upcoming event is any indication, the seasoned, ... More >>

Expert Teaches You How to Get Eaten by a Great White Shark

El Monstruo de Cojimar was captured off the coast of Cuba in 1945 and purportedly clocked in at 21 feet.​Dr. John McCosker, the Senior Scientist and Chair of the Department of Aquatic Biology at the California Academy of Science, presented a talk called "Sharks: Why We Love, Fear, and Need Them" a ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

The Cove

Shark Week

So Long, And Thanks For All the Fish: A Couple More Beautiful Shots of S.F.

Pictures of a stormy day at sea just outside San Francisco snapped by tugboat chef/amateur photographer Gabor Gardonyi turned out to be one of our most-read articles in all of 2009. Gardonyi followed up by sending us a number of delightful photos of waves, sunsets, and porpoises. That didn't get qui ... More >>

Have the Sea Lions of Pier 39 Left Earth for Space?

Few local news stories in recent memory have attracted as much international attention as the abrupt vanishing act pulled by the popular sea lions of Pier 39, who this fall deserted the docks where for decades they were wont to haul out and bask in the attention of tourists.Yearning for yet more dis ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

How Hyde Street Pier eliminated its sea lion problem

Pack of 15 Sea Lions Patrols Mission Creek

Joe EskenaziBARK! BARK! BARK! BARK! ​Not so long ago SF Weekly reported on the exploding number of sea lions on Hyde Street Harbor -- a situation deemed an "infestation" by those charged with keeping the city's piers operational and relatively sea lion excrement-free. It seems, however, that the s ... More >>

The Cove

Dolphins: They're Just Like Us

Bow Down

Hope for Nature, Too

Let Us Atom

What Cats Think

Encounters at the End of the World

Move 'Em Out

Cute Overload

Mixed Breed

Sniffing around the newest hot nightlife neighborhood of the Dogpatch

Crying Whale

Environmental groups sent out a worldwide call to save the gray whale from a Mexican salt plant. They got millions of dollars and thousands of new members. But scientists found no threat to the whales.