Jinca, the gray fox at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum.

Jinca, the gray fox featured in the QUEST TV's "Cool Critters" segment, arrived at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in 1996 with a broken back and a fractured leg. After going through months of rehabilitation at the Lindsay, he was too habituated to humans to be released back into the wild. So, he lived out the rest of his long life as an "animal ambassador" at the museum.

By the time we shot our story with Jinca and Animal Keeper, Jason Pfau, the fox was elderly and arthritic. Pfau told us that because his front shoulders and joints get stiff and he often appears to be in pain, the exercise that the keepers do with the ball, food and rock structures are critically important to his physical and mental health.

"Accepting this training that we’ve given him is a choice for him, it gives him a chance to make decisions in his life the way he would out in the wild," says Pfau. "And also it gives us a chance to be able to work with him further, to work with him closely, to get a good look at his ears. His eyes. His fur."

Sadly, Jinca passed away not long after we taped our story at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum. But in February 2011, the museum welcomed a new handsome, young gray fox – as yet to be named. He was found as an abandoned pup in a barn in Humboldt county. He had been raised inappropriately by someone and then taken to a rehabilitation facility.The gray fox can be seen by the public daily along with hundreds of other wonderful "animal ambassadors" at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum.

I didn’t grow up in a rural isolated town. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and animals had a great deal of influence on my childhood.

When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always answered a tiger trainer. I loved animals and I lived in a suburb where contact with wildlife was common. My mom would go into hysterics every time my brother or I would bring home a lizard or a snake found on the way home from school. Growing up in Orinda, we had a creek that ran the perimeter of our backyard. Many days, my brother and I would scramble down its length on a grand adventure. We found fish, lizards, snakes, rodents and fresh water crawdads and most often one or two would find their way home.

When I was twelve, we moved to the adjoining town, Moraga. I ran cross-country in high school and we ran the reservoir trails often. We were told to run in packs because of the mountain lions that lived in the area. One mountain lion was seen crossing the bike trail one day in the middle of town. We had coyotes running and howling behind our house each night and a wild turkey even adopted us and lived in our backyard for over a month.

I didn’t grow up in a rural isolated town. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and animals had a great deal of influence on my childhood. My family’s expert for native wildlife was the Lindsay Wildlife Museum. The museum’s goal is and has historically been to connect people with wildlife to inspire responsibility and respect for the world we share. Alexander Lindsay founded the museum in the early 1950’s. The museum started out in an elementary school and taught school children about the natural world through classes and field trips. In 1965, the museum was moved to a permanent station in Walnut Creek in Larkey park. A 5000 square foot unoccupied water pump house housed the museum and it was here were they first displayed non-releasable native animals. I have very fond memories of the pump house. I can still picture its halls and the locations of my favorite bobcat. We used to call when we had animal questions, be it an injured bird or lizard and once when a brand new fawn wandered into our yard. The Lindsay Wildlife Museum often got calls about lost or injured animals and started a rehabilitation program in 1970; it was the first program of its kind in the United States.

My goal as a child was to become an interpretive guide at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum. Back then you had to be thirteen to apply. (Now you can be as young as 12.) Right when I turned thirteen I applied; however, I was turned down and was completely devastated. I applied again later that year and was accepted. I loved volunteering at the museum; I started out in the lending library with rats, hamsters, rabbits and guinea pigs and worked up to snakes, raptors, and opossums. I then become a member of the mammal team and worked with bobcats and foxes. I have so many wonderful memories of working with these animals.

Now I get up really early every Tuesday in order to volunteer at the Steinhart Aquarium. I look forward to going in and interacting with the animals and asking questions of the trainers. There is a deep joy I get working and being with animals. I got the bug very early in my life but it is still gives me great joy. I believe that places like the California Academy of Sciences and Lindsay Wildlife Museum let people get close to wildlife in a way that’s respectful and educational. Aquariums and zoos give the public the chance to get up close and attached and in so doing, give them a reason to believe in conservation.

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I was traveling in Alaska when I saw a Golden Eagle for the first time. I saw one when I was looking out my window up toward the trees. They were a lot harder to spot than the iconic Bald Eagle, with its white-feathered head.
Seeing the Golden Eagle up close gave me a greater appreciation for how amazing they truly are. The largest of the raptors, they are typically 8-12 pounds, and their wing span is around 6-7 feet. While flying (the Golden Eagle is usually gliding) they dive towards earth to catch prey and can reach speeds of up to 200 mph!

The Golden Eagle we got to meet for our Cool Critters segment really captivated us. Between her enormous size, stunning eyes, and gorgeous plumage, we could still see the power and grace that are so iconic to American Eagles. And be sure to catch a look at Jason Pfau, her handler, while he watches her during the segment – the love and admiration he has for this bird tells a story all its own.

Personally, I think the Golden Eagle is cooler than the Bald Eagle, especially because you can see them here in your backyard. Just keep an eye to the sky – the Golden Eagle population over by Mt. Diablo is the highest concentration in the world!

If you want to get a close-up look at some amazing animals, including the Golden Eagle and the Bald Eagle, take visit the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek, CA.

Watch the Cool Critters television story online.

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A pure beauty — your friendly Cathartes aura. a.k.a Turkey Vulture

When most people hear vulture, they think of a big ugly bird found in the desert, waiting for something to die, circling, circling… In reality, the Turkey Vulture is a local species, and is one of the more common birds we see soaring the skies of the Bay Area.

While we interviewed Dawn Manning about the Turkey Vulture, there were quite a few "colorful" facts we learned: The Turkey Vulture has no vocal organs – they can only grunt or hiss, although they usually stay silent. They do not build nests – they lay their eggs directly on the ground in caves, crevices, burrows, hollow logs, under fallen trees, or even in abandoned buildings. While they have few natural predators, their main form of defense is vomiting. The foul smelling substance deters most creatures, and will also sting if the offending animal is close enough to get it on them.

Luckily, this pretty lady didn’t seem to mind the camera and all the people; I might even go as far as saying she enjoyed the attention. You never know… yesterday, a wildlife ambassador; today, a star on QUEST; tomorrow, a Hollywood superstar??

Take a visit to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek, and say hello to the Turkey Vulture – some day you might be able to say, "I knew her when…!"

Watch "Cool Critters: Turkey Vultures" online.

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"Opossums are marsupials, just like kangaroos."

But they are just trying to make a living like everybody else. They need those teeth to crush bone – which means that they are good for clearing out those unwanted rodents in your neighborhood. (No, they are not rodents themselves; opossums are marsupials… that’s right, just like kangaroos!). Their eyes… well, they just look that way and they're not particularly useful, however these critters have an excellent sense of smell and hearing to make up for it. As for that smell that they emit, they only do that when they're fighting for their lives. Believe me, if you could spew a foul stench when some unsavory character is harassing you, you'd do it! And let me take this moment to clear up a very common misconception: no, opossums cannot hang by their tails, though they can use them to balance themselves and gather bedding materials for their nests.

The truth is, if you ever get the chance to know one like we did, you'll see they are really sweet creatures. Most of the times that they find themselves in direct conflict with humans, it’s the human's fault. Their habitats are shrinking due to our development plans, which forces them to live closer and closer to us. If you leave your pet food outside… well, who doesn't take a free snack when it's offered up? And the poor creatures only live for two to four years, so please folks, give the opossums a break!

Watch the Cool Critters: Opossums television story online.

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