Wildlife Feature | Pacific Gopher Snake

July 12, 2020

While trekking through the hills of Playa Del Rey, California - my fiance and I came across this beautiful Pacific Gopher Snake in our path. While at first we were both a little startled at first - there was no sign of the snake feeling intimidated. It continued to take rest underneath a sprouted set of leaves and we had an awesome moment together.

There’s truly something special about connecting eye to eye with wildlife…even if it can’t see me all that well (snakes have ridiculously horrible eyesight), but it certainly was smelling my presence. Enjoy the video below by taking a quick glimpse into the life of a Pacific Gopher Snake.

Gopher Snake Facts:

Pacific gopher snakes are nonvenomous, making them harmless to humans.
They are called gopher snakes because they primarily eat gophers, as well as other rodents.
Due to their similar coloration and patterns, they are often mistaken for rattlesnakes.
When threatened, they may hiss and vibrate their tails in a similar manner to rattlesnakes.
They typically reside in dens and burrows at elevations below 2000 feet.
The snake's natural predators include red-tailed hawks, coyotes, and foxes.
In the wild, they can live up to 15 years, while in captivity, they can reach up to 33 years.
Pacific gopher snakes can grow to a length of 4-9 feet.
During mating, male gopher snakes may bite females on the back of the neck.
Pregnant females lay between 2 and 8 eggs in late June or early July and do not incubate them.

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Wildlife Feature | Ducklings

July 5, 2020

Let’s face it - baby animals are adorable! It’s true, google it.

As I’m constantly venturing out into the wilderness I always have my camera ready to capture every moment in front of me. This time, the focus is on baby ducks - AKA ducklings. The images were taken in three different areas of Southern California - The Ballona Wetlands, Playa Vista and Zuma Beach in Malibu. Anywhere near water seems like a great opportunity to pause and observe wildlife of all kinds. There’s always something unique to capture.

Generic Duckling Facts:

Ducklings begin swimming after just one day in their nest.
They’re are not born waterproof. They get some waterproof covering from an oil gland found in their mother’s tail. This also helps with maintaining their body temperature and ensures they avoid drowning.
Females lay from 5-12 eggs and sit on them for about 28 days before they hatch.
The more sunlight the mother is exposed to, the more eggs she will lay.
It takes anywhere from 50 to 70 days for ducklings to be able to fly.
They’ll continue to stay under their mother’s supervision until they are about 1.5 to 2 months old.
Ducklings can feed themselves when they reach the water and learn what is edible from their mother.
Like adult ducks, ducklings feed mainly on small insects, tadpoles, aquatic plants & grasses.

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Wildlife Feature | Southern California Crabs

June 23, 2020

Don’t worry! Contrary to popular belief, I haven’t “lost it” or “gone crazy” (yet). Just another fun & creative passion project to dive into - and this time, it’s ALL about crabs! In a constant pursuit of my own interests in wildlife videography, photography, and information I’ve created treats in the form of stylistic imagery and highly detailed informative videos for all those interested.

In this blog you’ll see some crabs I’ve encountered within a year’s span - mostly in SoCal. With all that said, let’s get started with some generic crab facts - scroll down for video & photos!

Generic Crab Facts

There are more than 4,500 species of crabs.
Crabs are omnivores; eating both meat & plants.
Female pregnancy only last one or two weeks - then they lay between 1,000 to 2,000 eggs!
Groups of crabs living together are known as “casts.”
The average lifespan of a crab is 3 to 4 years.

The Fiddler Crab

There May be around 100 species of Fiddler Crab. Males have the big claw, known as a chela; while females have two normal sized claws. As for habitat they prefer mud flats, lagoons and swamps.

The male’s claw is used in battle of ritualised combat of courtship over a female and signal their intentions between other crabs. The movement of the smaller claw from ground to mouth during feeding explains the crabs' common name; because it seems as if the animal were playing the larger claw like a “fiddle”.

Females will choose their mate based on claw size and also the quality of their waving display.

Like all crabs, fiddler crabs shed their shells as they grow. If they’ve lost legs or claws during their present growth cycle, a new one will come in when they molt. Craziest fact - If the large fiddle claw is lost, males will develop one on the opposite side after their next molt. Newly molted crabs tend to be very vulnerable because of their soft shells. They are reclusive and hide until the new shell hardens.

The Striped Shore Crab

The Striped Shore Crab AKA Lined Shore Crab AKA Pachygrapsus crassipes can be found all over Southern California’s rocky shorelines. They present beautiful colors of green and brown stripes on their shell, red claws, and a somewhat purple underbelly.

They’ll spend half it’s time on land, but will purposely submerge to wet its gills and can stay alive on land for up to 70 hours.

They’ll mate once, maybe twice a year. When the eggs are fertilized, they are held under the belly of the female. The crab eggs hatch into zoea larva, which turns into megalopae larva (the size is less than a centimeter), and then into crabs.

Pachygrapsus crassipes is omnivorous, which means it eats both plants and animals. The main diet consists of specific red and green algaes and brown seaweed. However, Pachygrapsus crassipes also eats diatoms, worms, muscles, and small dead fish, limpets, snails, hermit crabs, and isopods. Pachygrapsus crassipes can also become cannibalistic and eat each other (usually this occurs when they still have their soft-shell after molting)!

The Hermit Crab

The hermit crab is a decapod — toting five pairs of legs, which includes a pair of claws. Defense and food shredding as well as eating are the primary uses of the claws. The second and third pairs of legs help the crab walk, and the last two pairs hold the hermit crab in its shell.

There are over 800 different species of hermit crab. They’re also oddly named because they’re more closely related to certain kinds of lobsters than a crab. This is due to their bodies - which are a hard exoskeleton on the front with a soft tail on the back.

Hermit crabs have been used as pets and found in tourist shops but this is not a good practice as they don’t breed well in captivity. When the hermit crab dies, it releases pheromones signaling other crabs that there may be a shell available which then lures other crabs to a death trap.