Rocky Mountain WildHeart

10/14/2026

10/14/2026

10/14/2026

River in a forest river

10/14/2026

Behold the island fox (Urocyon littoralis)! This small canid is found only on six of California’s Channel Islands. It typically weighs around 5 lbs (2.3 kg)—the size of a housecat. Its varied diet includes insects, cacti, marine invertebrates, and small mammals. This species is known to mate for life, and individuals can survive up to 15 years in the wild. During the 1990s, the island fox’s numbers plummeted to just a few dozen, but conservation efforts have since brought this species back from the brink of extinction.

Photo: tomwatsonphotography, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist

10/14/2026

It's a busy time for bats! With the pups now independent, it's time to feed up ahead of the winter months, mate, and find cosy hibernation sites.

Have you spotted any bats flitting about on these chillier evenings?

📷Brandt's Bat © Hugh Clark FRPS

10/14/2026

Pine martens once lived throughout the woodlands of southwest England. But more than a century ago, the small, weasel-like creatures disappeared from the region, largely due to habitat loss and hunting. In 2025, wildlife biologists released 19 pine martens into Exmoor National Park, a 267-square-mile protected area along the northern coast of Somerset and Devon counties.

Will the cat-size mammals be able to make a comeback? https://bit.ly/3W5ZlTk

📸: Exmoor National Park