A Wild Kingdom Right in the Middle of San Jose
Who knew? Downtown San Jose is booming with exotic wildlife. Earlier this month came news that beavers had returned to the Guadalupe River after a long absence. Now … an update on the falcons that are making their nest on top of San Jose’s City Hall.
San Jose should be a reminder that even our highest-tech cities of electronics and asphalt aren’t able to keep nature from creeping in. Not creeping in — she’s always there, nesting in our rosebushes, spearing goldfish out of our ponds, and stalking our garbage cans for unclaimed treasure. Why shouldn’t she be? Just because we invaded her space and poured concrete along her streams doesn’t mean she disappeared. Still, people are surprised every time a coyote is seen in the morning hours, an opossum crosses the street, or the news reports a mountain lion was shot outside a popular restaurant.
KQED’s QUEST wrote extensively about their return. The beavers recolonized Martinez in 2007: Since the beavers have settled in Martinez, the ecosystem has flourished, seeing at least 13 new species.
“The next year, the river otter returned, no doubt to hunt the now plentiful fish in the beaver ponds. Then the year after, the mink returned,” said Rick Lanman of the Institute of Historical Ecology in Los Altos. “All manner of birds and fish have returned, and we don’t even know how many species of dragonflies and damselflies.”
Beaver supporters praise the benefits that beavers bestow on the environment. The “ecosystem engineers” are a keystone species, and they raise water tables, create wetlands, clean water, slow water down and restore topsoil.
Ahh Rick. You are such a fine spokesmen for beavers they have come to your doorstep so you can represent them. Of course it didn’t exactly happen like that. This clear and lovely progression like a staged Zigfield number cascading through Alhambra Creek. The otters were occasional visitors always, but they became more regular. Some species we had seen fleetingly, like the green heron or kingfisher. But they gradually became regulars so that everyone recognized them, not just REI folks with binoculars. Nature crept up on us thanks to the beavers.
Just got off the phone with Bay Nature who will be running an article about the San Jose beavers in their July Issue. What did Martinez learn from our beavers? Can beaver problems really be solved? And do I think that they’ll benefit the Guadalupe like they benefited Alhambra Creek?
Can you guess what I replied?
