A coyote recently made its way to Alcatraz Island for the first time in documented history, most likely from SF’s Coit Tower area, after it perhaps got caught up in the Bay’s current, which was much stronger than usual due to recent storms.

Yes, the coyotes around here are pretty good swimmers.

As SFGate reports, Aidan Moore, who works for Alcatraz City Cruises, shared some videos on Facebook featuring a lone coyote furiously doggy-paddling its way to Alcatraz as nearby tourists watched in amazement. While coyotes are common on nearby Angel Island, where around 14 to 17 coyotes live by way of Tiburon, as SFist reported last fall, this is the first documented sighting of them on Alcatraz Island.

“I didn’t believe them to start with,” Moore told SFGate, until he saw the video footage, which was filmed by a guest. Per SFGate, the coyote came ashore along the southern edge of the island near the Agave Trail, reportedly “panting and shivering.”

The coyote appeared a lot like its cartoon counterpart, as it struggled to gain its bearings while navigating the rocky terrain, as can be seen in the videos and accompanying screenshots.

Then the coyote quickly disappeared after it hit land.

A spokesperson for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Julian Espinoza, confirmed the sighting. “Coyotes can be commonly seen throughout our San Francisco and Marin parklands but never before on Alcatraz,” he told SFGate. “This was the first time our park biologists observed anything like this.”

SFGate spoke to a captain with Alcatraz City Cruises, who said the run-off from recent storms was entering the bay at eight or nine knots that day, or around eight miles an hour, making it impossible for the animal to outswim it.

“I suspect he fell into the water chasing something and was swept away,” Moore told SFGate.

Christine Wilkinson, a conservation scientist and carnivore ecologist who has researched coyotes for University of California Berkeley and the California Academy of Sciences, told SFGate the coyote, which she said appeared very weak, may have ventured from SF’s Coit Tower area in search of more green space to claim new territory — choosing the risky bay currents over the deadly Interstate 280 in the other direction.

Wilkinson told SFGate she wondered if the coyote will try to claim the territory and call over a mate, like the coyotes on Angel Island did. “But it is a much smaller island and I am not sure if I’ve heard of a coyote pack ever establishing such a tiny territory,” she said.

It’s unknown if the coyote is still on the island or whether it made its way back to where it came from. “We’ve been wandering around the island looking for him, but no one has been able to spot him,” Moore told SFGate. “It’s possible he might not be seen for a while.”  

Images: Screenshot from videos

Previously: Coyotes Are Now Swimming More Than a Mile Back and Forth From Tiburon to Angel Island

It’s sea lion breeding season, but hundreds of dead sea lion pups have shown up at Bay Area beaches this month, part of a worrying trend across the entire West Coast. And scientists don’t know why.

Patrick Robinson, the director of UC Santa Cruz’s Año Nuevo Reserve, told the Chronicle that a survey of Año Nuevo Island’s coasts in San Mateo County found over 300 stillborn or aborted sea lion fetuses in early May — an “abnormal event,” he said.

Similarly, more dead or stillborn pups, aborted fetuses, malnourished pups, and underweight adult females with dystocia — difficult births — were found at common sea lion colony breeding hotspots along the coast, from San Miguel Island in the Channel Islands all the way down to Mexico, per the LA Times.

Researchers are reportedly conducting tests on the fetuses for several factors including domoic acid, a toxin that has poisoned sea lion populations in the past, and bird flu, which has hit sea lion and elephant seal populations in South America. They haven’t received the results yet.

Another potential explanation could be the El Niño phenomenon, which brings warming waters and geographic shifts in schools of anchovies, sea lions’ principal food source. That could compel pregnant sea lions to swim farther for food and leave them malnourished, prompting premature births. Sharon Melin, a research biologist with NOAA, told the LA Times that up to 20%-30% of the approximately 25,000 pups born annually in the Channel Islands might be born prematurely during El Niño years.

As scientists continue to search for the cause of these deaths, animal rescue organizations like Sausalito’s Marine Mammal Center, which treats sick and injured sea lions, among other marine mammals, are gearing up for an increase in sea lion strandings. The center has reportedly admitted over 160 sea lions since the start of the year, slightly above the historical average.

Luckily, California’s sea lion population is still robust, scientists say. NOAA estimates it to be about 250,000 strong. Robinson said that “one bad year is not going to dramatically impact that,” but added that “the concern is if this is an environmental event that could affect other life as well.”

The public is advised not to intervene if they see a distressed marine mammal but to contact local marine life centers for trained rescuers.

Feature image via Unsplash/Joss Woodhead.

Sacramento is getting in the crab season spirit.

Outgoing Assemblymember Jim Wood, the North Coast’s representative since 2014, recently introduced Assembly Bill 1797, which aims to immortalize Metacarcinus magister, the iconic Dungeness crab, as the state's official crustacean.

It would add the Dungeness crab to a laundry list of official state fauna: the now-extinct California Grizzly Bear (official state animal); the California gray whale (marine mammal); the California dogface butterfly (insect); the golden trout (freshwater fish); and the desert tortoise (reptile). That’s not to mention the flora: golden poppies (official state flower); California redwoods (tree); purple needlegrass (grass); lace lichen (lichen); and California golden chanterelle (mushroom). (And did you know that California's official state dance is West Coast Swing?)

The bill makes a compelling case, describing the Dungeness crab as "an essential part of California's ecosystem and economy." It’s already garnered support, co-authored by Senator Mike McGuire, as well as Assemblymembers Dawn Addis and Gail Pellerin, per the Mercury News.

Wood expects some good jokes to come out of it, too. He posted on social media requesting some crab puns.

Meanwhile, commercial Dungeness crab season is still in limbo. Its start date has been delayed several times, and despite being set for Friday, January 5, it looks like it might get pushed back once again. Local fisherman are in the midst of ongoing price negotiations with seafood distribution companies, claiming that the crab prices offered for are too low, as the Times-Standard reported.

Image via Colleen Proppe/Flickr under Creative Commons.

Two loutish raccoons took it upon themselves to occupy a Redwood City bank today, and both suspects remain at large after their raccoon party free-for-all.

It is that time of year when uninvited raccoons just waltz right in to yards, garages, and even homes with unattended bags of Purina, acting like they own the place, and refusing to respect even the simplest of other creatures' boundaries. And so it was again in a Tuesday morning break-in in Redwood City, as KRON4 reports that two raccoons broke into a bank, then of course ignored several polite requests to leave before the Peninsula Humane Society  cleared out the “masked bandits.

Just look at them, probably changing the messages on outgoing voicemails, ignoring that food the break room is clearly labeled as belonging to someone else, and approving home-equity loans that are nowhere near credit-worthy. “There were several broken ceiling tiles, and the masked bandits knocked papers around and even a computer over.” Peninsula Humane Society communications manager Buffy Martin Tarbox told KRON4.

Noticed by an ATM user early Tuesday morning, the raccoons gave chase upon being initially told they had to leave. “The bank managers let our rescue staff into the bank, and after about ten minutes of chasing the raccoons around the bank, we were finally able to safely shoo them outside,” Tarbox said in a statement to KPIX. “They apparently didn’t want to leave the bank.”

In true raccoon fashion, the little trash pandas’ refusal to clean up after themselves revealed how they executed their caper.

“There were muddy pawprints on a tree outside the bank, so we suspect the raccoons climbed the tree to the roof of the bank, and then somehow managed to crawl into the air ducts and fell through the ceiling tiles onto the floor of the bank,” Tarbox’s statement explained, according to NBC Bay Area. “Thankfully the raccoons were not injured during their morning escapade, and to our knowledge they didn’t abscond with any money.”

Which is just as well, because they probably would have spent it on fast food and rotten produce instead of putting it into their savings. The pair was not charged and will avoid prosecution, so they won’t learn their lesson and they're just going to pull the same impudent shenanigans again and again. But even if these raccoons were put behind bars at San Mateo County main jail, they’d likely just slip through and walk right out.

Related: Marauding Gang of Raccoons Spotted In Golden Gate Park, Also a Coyote [SFist]

Images courtesy Peninsula Humane Society

Wow! Python snake found on @VTA bus last month now up for adoption at @PeninsulaHumane in #Burlingame. His name? #Rumplesnakeskin! #BayArea pic.twitter.com/mhoKAlqYSk

— Chris Nguyen ABC7 (@ChrisNguyenTV) October 24, 2017

A Samuel L. Jackson-worthy tale of squamate bus adventure is approaching a happy ending this week, as a snake that terrified passengers of a Bay Area bus is now ready for a new forever home.

The ball python, which has since been named "Rumplesnakeskin," was discovered on a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority bus on September 27, ABC 7 reports.

Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA spokesperson Buffy Martin Tarbox tells ABC that "No one is quite certain how the snake ended up on the bus," which was passing through Palo Alto at the time of the incident.

According to SF Gate, "After the scaled creature was spotted, the driver pulled over at the Encinal and El Camino Real stop in Palo Alto and asked passengers to disembark."

An animal control officer picked up the snake and took it to Palo Alto Animal Services, where it was held for nine days in hopes that it might be claimed by its guardian.

The two-foot-long snake, which news organizations identify as "he," is now at the PHS/SPCA. And though he's not on their available "exotic animals" page yet, Tarbox says he's now looking for a new family.

According to Wikipedia, ball pythons are non-venomous constrictors that are named as such because they "curl into a ball when stressed or frightened." They're the smallest of the African pythons (average length is 3-4.5 feet), making them a popular pet.

"Rumplesnakeskin is a very friendly snake and likes to be held," Tarbox tells ABC 7. "It is clear he was someone's pet, but no one came forward to claim him so he's now looking for a new permanent home."

Does a look at Rumplesnakeskin stir your heart? If so, you can meet him at the PHS/SPCA's Center for Compassion (1450 Rollins Road in Burlingame) on Monday through Friday from 11 a.m.- 7 p.m., or between 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday or Sunday. And if you adopt him, you'd better send us pictures!

Related: Portland Python Thief Shoves Snake Down His Pants

After more than a week the the Northern California wildfires are finally beginning to approach containment. As officials continue to search for the missing and survivors return to what's left of their homes, we're just beginning to comprehend the massive devastation the blazes have wrought. It's times like these that we have to cling to what author Raymond Carver referred to as the small good things — the little flashes of hope in what's otherwise a tragic world.

For me, many of those small good things are animals. The same seems to be true of many of the victims (both still with us and not) — think of the number of times you've read in the past week about folks who packed the pets in the car as they fled the flames, or pups like Odin and Izzy who were happily reunited with their families.

So here are some more small good animal stories we've heard during these terrible fires. Spoiler alert: In each one of these tales, the beasts survive.

Santa Rosa resident Linda Hamik has been trying to catch this chubby stray chihuahua for months, and when she was evacuated (twice) the dog remained on her mind. When she was able to return home, she tells SF Gate, she found that the dog had miraculously survived though it was only about a mile from Coffey Park, one of the worst-ravaged areas. Not only that, but around the time the fire broke out Sunday night, the chihuahua was giving birth to six puppies. Hamik's taken the whole family into her garage for fostering until they can be scooped up by an area animal rescue org.

There are a lot of great, happy cat stories out there! Milo, seen in the video above, was rescued from beneath a car by a Sonoma County Sheriff's Deputy. KTVU reports that Ed Ratliff (Milo's guardian) says the cat ran off during the rush to evacuate. The resulting fire took Ratliff's home and all his possessions, but other than a bit of dehydration, Milo's fine and back with his family.

Meanwhile, ABC 7 reports, a PG&E worker tasked with fixing Santa Rosa's power lines is operating a side project rescuing cats. So far, she's "reunited two with their families and has taken one to the vet," they report.

Kids with Napa's Vintage High School FFA have also gone into the rescue game, "heading out into the night to rescue livestock in harm's way," ABC 7 reports. The kids picked up 250 horses, goats, sheep, pigs, llamas, and chickens and are caring for them at the school's farm until they can be reclaimed by their guardians. Though the some of the beasts suffered "smoke inhalation and stress," they're all expected to recover.

I don't have any backstory here, but I appreciate the firefighter's knife technique.

The fire approached Paul and Drusilla Robinson's Santa Rosa home so swiftly that even though they searched for their dog Bill, they had to leave him behind. They were sure he had died, a Marin Humane spokesperson told the SF Gate. According to NBC Bay Area, a "police officer found Bill in a field, shaking with fear as fire and smoke surrounded him." Bill's collar showed his home address, but the residence has been consumed by flames. The folks at Marin Humane managed to track the Robinsons down and they reunited with Bill this weekend.

Napa County Animal Control worked with vets from Napa Valley Equine to save this "85 year old, 200 lb tortoise" as the fire approached. They say via Facebook that "it took 4 people to lift it up into a wheel barrow so they could get it off the property, which had limited road access." The rescue is "a unique highlight," they say, "during such somber times."

Related: Hero Dog Who Stuck With Rescue Goats During Wildfire Reunited With Family

Some residents in Northern California's more rural areas threatened by fire are refusing to leave their homes because they don't want to leave their livestock and larger animals behind, including one Butte County woman who is still on-property with over 175 animals.

As ABC 7 reports, one farmer didn't want to go until all of his cows were properly corralled. It took some help from a neighboring animal sanctuary to get that accomplished. Following that, a T.J. & Friends Sanctuary employee told ABC 7 that they "picked up six horses yesterday, llamas, goats, pigs whatever we can."

It may have been a little tougher for the Butte County woman in Bangor, California, though. SFGate spoke with Monica Hardeman, founder of the Equine Rescue Center, who stayed on her property with 72 horses, 100 cattle, and her goats and dogs. They reportedly tried to move all of the animals off the property, but the LaPorte Fire has effectively cut off any possible help, stranding her there with the animals. In a phone interview with SFGate, Hardeman said, "We're just kinda trapped at this point. If people could get to us, they would, but we're in a situation where it's just not possible."

Since then, Hardeman has been providing updates through the ERC Facebook page. In the latest one, she said that the LaPorte Fire has moved in a different direction, but the Cascade Fire "has come our way." She went on to say, "I don't want to leave because I know [officers] won't let me back, so I'm not leaving. Unless somebody puts a gun to me or something I might leave, but... right now, I go where they go and nobody could get up here yesterday, they wouldn't let people in."

Hardeman isn't alone at the ERC, though, as SFGate also explained that the center's ranch director, Gabe Pimentel is also there assisting her with taking care of the horses. As of right now, they're in pretty dire straits — they have no electricity, only one generator, and spotty cell phone service.

On the other side of things, Safari West in Santa Rosa has written a post on Facebook thanking people for offering to help take care of their stable of African animals with donations and the like, but they've asked that potential donors redirect their efforts and generosity elsewhere. They wrote, in part:

Please, if you do feel compelled to make a donation, direct it to a charity or organization that benefits all the victims of this terrible event. Our Safari West family has suffered but we are not alone and our fellow citizens of Sonoma, Napa, and surrounding counties are all dealing with the same heartache and loss. Thank you again for thinking of us.

They also wrote that they have a skeleton crew of core staff back on site, including a veterinarian who will take care of the animals. Though they seem to be safe now, they still remain worried as the Tubbs Fire bearing down on them hasn't been contained at all, according to CalFire.

Related: Santa Rosa's Safari West Works To Save African Animals While Area Shelters Take On More Pets

Today is World Rhino Day! Help Save them and #BuyInformed: https://t.co/r2vGrfvLMR #SavingSpecies Photo: Adi Ringer pic.twitter.com/8auhHOTyzH

— Safari West (@SafariWest) September 22, 2017

While animal shelters in Sonoma and Napa counties are inundated with fleeing, lost, and abandoned animals, workers at the Safari West Animal Preserve in Santa Rosa are working to protect and save the safari animals located on their 400-acre property — which has sat dangerously close to the Tubbs Fire since Sunday night and is in the evacuation zone.

The Chronicle reports that Safari West's African animals — cheetahs, rhinoceroses, giraffes, and more — are currently being tended to by preserve workers who returned to the site to figure out a way to evacuate them if that need should arise. They issued a statement about the preserve's status, which they shared to Facebook. It read:

While the situation remains dynamic and very dangerous, we have received word that the Safari West Wildlife Preserve appears to have weathered the worst of this firestorm. The situation is still very much active and could take a turn, but for the moment, it looks like our preserve and our animals are OK.

Thank you everybody for your thoughts and prayers. The status on the ground at Safari West remains much the same as reported last evening. The preserve remains intact and the animals safe and contained. However, fires continue to burn nearby and the situation is far from stabilized. Please continue to help by keeping the roadways as clear as possible and allowing our firefighters to do their work. Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and please stay safe out there.

The Chron also refuted reports from social media that the fences were cut to allow the animals to escape.

In addition to animals at Safari West, many animal shelters in the North Bay have found themselves inundated with animals and a few lost pets as just about all forms of life are doing their best to get away from the raging wildfire. According to ABC 7, the Napa County Animal Shelter has had to take on a few pets who were dropped off by their humans, as evacuation orders went out yesterday and the day before. The shelter has put out a call for volunteers, pet food, and blankets for the boarded pets.

KRON 4 shared an update from the Rohnert Park Animal Shelter, which is doing the same, and also requires donations from people who are willing to share pet supplies and equipment with the shelter. When asked how many animals they've taken in thus far, a worker told them, "We’ve taken in so far about 20 cats, 12 dogs, 5 chickens. But we are currently still taking animals in and we do have space for more animals to be brought in." They also said that if you have any larger animals, you can evacuate them to the Sonoma Fairgrounds.

Update: Here's a GoFundMe to help support employees of Safari West.

Related: Mill Valley Fire Chief, Multiple Sonoma County Doctors Lose Homes To Fires

Pretty much all Bay Area critter populations have swollen with this year’s wetter and warmer weather, and we’re seeing flocks of wild parrots, whales, and rats of unusual sizes. But that also includes the least welcome, most intrusive little bastards of the animal kingdom — the barbaric bandit raccoons. The annual early autumn San Francisco raccoon menace is often responsible for dog assaults, attacks on people, and the impudent louts making themselves at home in kitchens or garages, and this year has already produced raccoons so large people thought they were kangaroos. With the completely uncalled-for and indefensible holiday International Raccoon Appreciation Day coming up this weekend, SFist spoke to some Bay Area raccoon experts on what to expect with the coming raccoon scourge.

Critter Twitter is exploding with raccoon content these days, much of which presents the unmannerly mongrels as cute or uplifting. Do not be deceived! These nuisance beasts are not your dog’s friend, as the above propaganda would indicate. They’re coming to steal your Purina, knock out your electricity, and prance right into your kitchen with that ‘What are you lookin’ at?’ expression on their insolent little faces.

“We are seeing an increase in calls,” said David Martins, owner of critter removal service Wildlife Detectives, whose humane, no-kill practices have earned the recommendations of Humane Societies across northern California. “Since there isn’t any scientific organization doing formal studies of the raccoon population in the Bay Area, it is difficult to estimate if the population is going up.”

While anecdotal, this sentiment is also backed by SFist’s good friend Deb Campbell, spokesperson for San Francisco Animal Care and Control. (SFACC can answer all your raccoon questions at their Pet Pride Day this Sunday.) “There are certainly many raccoons in the city,” Campbell told SFist. “Right now raccoons are more visible — this applies to all types of wildlife — as the babies born in the spring are now out with their parents, foraging for food.”

But they’re also creating racket and having their raccoon parties on roofs and in basements, which the SFACC says can be prevented. “Evaluate the environment and see if there’s anything that could be attracting raccoons,” Campbell said. “Water sources, pets fed outside, bird feeders, open trash or green bins — all are enticing to raccoons. If there’s no food, water or shelter available, they’ll move along.”

Try telling that to your dog! Dogs are often victims of raccoon attacks, and SFACC can provide some help in that department as well. “We give out flashing collar charms for dogs to wear at night,” Campbell told SFist. “Wildlife is usually wary of things that they don’t understand and will stay away. A water pistol will usually annoy a raccoon enough to send them on their way. A loud noise should frighten them away. Keeping dogs on leash is the best way to avoid all sorts of danger, including scuffles with wildlife.”

These churlish little animals are out in force right now because the mommas are essentially teaching the babies ‘how to be raccoons’. “It is during the late summer and early fall months that [mother raccoons] begin to take them out into the world and teach them where to find the available food sources in their territory,” Wildlife Detectives’ Martins told SFist. “This is when many people experience their new sod or lawns being dug up. What is happening is that the mother raccoon is teaching her babies how to find grubs, which is a source of food for them. A heavily watered lawn will have grubs, and that is what the raccoons are after. It is believed that they can actually hear the grub activity under the lawn.”

They are crafty critters! That can certainly be a problem if they’ve infiltrated your home. “Shelter can be unsecured deck space under your home, open crawl spaces, broken vent covers or other entry points in your home,” Martins said. “When a raccoon enters any of these areas, the odds are great that she is seeking a den site to give birth to her young. This is why trapping raccoons is not the solution. If you trap a mother raccoon, the babies are left behind. California state law also requires that any trapped wildlife must be released within a 150 yards or killed. Since we do not believe in killing healthy wild animals, our approach is one of peaceful coexistence and prevention.”

That said, dead raccoons are what SF Animal Care and Control mostly deals with. “We interact with raccoons daily — but most are not living,” Campbell told SFist. “Our agency picks up two or three dead raccoons a day, most hit by cars.”

Related: Who Was This Man With A Pet Raccoon On Telegraph Hill In The 1950's?

A man's dog remains missing Thursday morning, after a bike-riding man with a golf club snatched the pup from its guardian's grasp.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, the theft went down at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, at 14th and Harrison Streets, an intersection just steps from Office Max, the Wag dog hotel, and Best Buy.

Police say that a male suspect in his 30s rode a bicycle up the the 42-year-old male victim, and threatened to "strike him with a golf club" if he didn't hand over his dog.

The victim "was scared of getting hit and let go of the leash," police say.

The suspect grabbed the leash and took off on his bike, dog in tow. He was last seen fleeing north on Harrison Street.

Police say that the victim wasn't injured in the attack, but he's presumably eager to get his dog back. The suspect has not been caught as of Thursday morning, police say, as no arrests have been made in the case. If you know anything about the theft (or any other crime!) , police ask that you call SFPD's Anonymous Tip Line at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 with SFPD at the beginning of the message.

Related: SF Couple Accused Of Pepper-Spraying Apartment-Dweller To Steal Their Cat

Given the vast number of cats available for adoption in San Francisco, who on earth would you 1) go all the way to San Bruno then 2) pepper-spray someone to steal a cat? Those are but some of the questions I have for a San Francisco couple who police say did just that on Saturday.

According to a press release from the San Bruno Police Department, at 7:22 p.m. on September 23, officers were called to a home on the 1000 block of National Avenue, which people from outside San Bruno might recognize as just behind that big Tanforan mall with the two-story Target.

When they arrived, police were told that two suspects entered an apartment, pepper-sprayed the resident, and "forcefully stole a pet cat."

San Bruno police say that they worked with the San Francisco Police Department to track down the suspects in the catnapping, and arrested them right here in SF. They have been identified as a 26-year-old man named Oleksandr Mirza and a 26-year-old woman named Ching Yen, both SF residents.

Further information, such as any possible motive behind the theft, was not released to the public as of Wednesday morning. Police do say that the investigation is ongoing, and that anyone with information related to the case should contact the San Bruno Police Department at (650) 616-7100 or by email at sbpdtipline@sanbruno.ca.gov.

Police do confirm that both Mirza and Yen were booked into San Mateo County Jail for "charges related to robbery, burglary, unlawful use of tear gas, and conspiracy." According to a San Mateo County Sheriff's Department spokesperson, Mirza and Yen remain in custody as of publication time. A date for their initial court appearance is as yet unknown.

Related: Dog Reportedly Stolen From SoMa Whole Foods

A jet packed with adoptable cats and dogs landed in the Bay Area Thursday, all refugees from Florida shelters emptied as preparation for Hurricane Irma.

It's all thanks to the Walnut Creek-based Animal Rescue Foundation, a shelter founded by former Oakland A's great Tony La Russa after a stray cat wandered onto the field during a 1990 game between the A's and the Yankees. Since then, they've helped save over 36,000 pets, their website says — most recently the 152 who flew in from Florida yesterday.

ARF was first contacted by the Humane Society of Broward County, Florida Tuesday, CBS 5 reports, "once it was clear that the storm could lead to catastrophic damage in the Fort Lauderdale area."

“By clearing shelter space," ARF Executive Director Elena Bicker says, Florida animal care officials "can better respond to recovery efforts and focus on reuniting any local owners and pets who may be displaced by the storm."

Working with the East Bay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Berkeley Humane Society, ARF greeted a cross country flight with 60 dogs and 92 cats at the APP Jet Center in Hayward Thursday.

Some of the animals will be housed at ARF's Walnut Creek facility, KRON 4 reports. According to the Berkeley Humane Society, at least 50 of the pets will be sheltered there.

But though the animals are available for adoption, don't rush to the Berkeley Humane Society's adoption center quite yet. "In order to ensure we are meeting the medical and emotional needs of our animal population we will not be open for adoptions this weekend," they write on their website.

"By closing our shelter on Friday, 09/08, Saturday, 09/09, and Sunday, 09/10 we will allow our volunteers and staff to focus on animal care and ensure all of the required medical records and paperwork are in order and that the animals have recovered from their long journey."

But the wait is worth it, as after that shelter reopens for adoptions on Friday September 15th, "Berkeley Humane will waive all adoption fees in order to remove any potential barriers to finding these animals new loving homes."

The Berkeley Humane Society is located at 2700 Ninth Street in Berkeley. It'll reopen on Friday 9/15, and allows adoptions from11-5 Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

At the Zoological Wildlife Conservation Center and the Sloth Captive Husbandry Center in Rainier, Oregon, "sleepovers" are being offered for animal lovers who want to hang out with adorable sloths for a night — which is the time of day when these slow, tree-hanging creatures are most active.

ABC 7 picked up the story about the sleepovers, which don't come cheap: it's $1200 for a group of four people, and $300 for each additional person. You get to feed the sloths while hanging out in double-occupancy tenants and talking only in "library voices," and it's not like you're necessarily going to do a ton of sleeping since you may be getting to feed the sloths up to eight times.

On their website the center stresses that these are meant to be educational experiences, not entertainment, and that they are not a zoo. But proceeds from programs like the sleepovers go to help the center's mission, which they claim is to learn sloth husbandry practices for better conservation of the endangered animals as their habitats are destroyed.

Also, sort of frighteningly, the center promises a "bonus" (for as long as Federal Regulations will allow) "brief interactive 'Mystery Creature' intro encounter prior to departure (subject to species change and cancellation without notice)."

Eek.

A reputable sloth conservation organization, meanwhile, is calling attention to the fact that all may not be as it seems at this Portland-area sloth husbandry outfit.

The Sloth Conservation Foundation has looked into the organization, and they have several major concerns. First of all, where are they getting the sloths and why are they bringing them to Oregon? "Oregon seems like a strange place for a sloth ‘sanctuary,’" they write. "Sloths are only found in the rainforests of Central and South America and... the center claims that they work with logging companies in South America and offer an alternative home for the displaced animals. However, there is a glaring problem with that story. If a patch of forest is indeed being cleared, the resident sloths should simply be relocated to a nearby forest reserve. There is absolutely no need, nor excuse, for adult, wild sloths to be exported to the U.S. for any reason."

Secondly, they say this supposed research center "has published a grand total of zero scientific research papers... Despite having maintained hundreds of sloths in captivity for almost 30 years for 'research purposes.'"

Something to consider when considering their insistence that they are not a zoo.