A lot of people can agree that animals are often easier than people. They’re loyal, friendly, adorable — must we go on?
Marin locals have even deemed a few special critters worthy of celebrity status, with the generational adoration from grandparents, parents and children alike to prove it.
So if you’ve never celebrated the anniversary or birthday of an owl or an alligator, now’s the time to dust off your party hat — Claude and Sequoia would want you to.
Wildlife Ambassador’s 20th Anniversary
Sequoia, San Rafael-based WildCare’s beloved Northern Spotted Owl, is one of WildCare’s top wildlife ambassadors who greets visitors and event guests and has made hundreds of student classroom visits during her 20 years at WildCare.
Sequoia arrived in 2005 to WildCare with an injured wing after she’d fallen from her nest. Although her injury was surgically repaired, she was unable to fly silently — a critical adaptation she needed to hunt in the dense, echoing redwood forests Northern Spotted Owls call home. WildCare gave her the name “Sequoia” to remind everyone who meets her of the towering trees of her native and fragile redwood forest and the diverse species that call them home.
King of the Swamp Turns 30
San Francisco’s iconic albino alligator Claude, who rules the Swamp at the California Academy of Sciences, is turning the big 3-0 this year. There’s much fanfare surrounding Claude’s big day with the museum’s “30 Days of Claude” Sept. 1–30, including daily programs and merchandise giveaways, scavenger hunts and a public ‘hatchday’ celebration on September 14 that includes cupcakes for humans and a special fish-cake for the birthday gator.
Claude arrived at the museum in 2008 and has achieved fame not only throughout the Bay Area, but across the United States. He recently got his own Claude-cam, a livestream camera to enable his fans to spy on him 24-7, but there’s nothing quite like experiencing him in person at the museum.
Ozzy Takes the Stage at Safari West
Safari West in Sonoma County is celebrating the arrival of its newest resident. Ozzy is a southern white rhino calf born on July 22, named in honor of rock legend Ozzy Osbourne, who passed away the same day. Weighing around 100 pounds at birth, Ozzy is the second offspring of 20-year-old Eesha and 29-year-old Ongava. Ozzy joins his older brother Otto, born in 2023, expanding the preserve’s growing crash — the term for a group of rhinos.
Vulnerable to extinction, these four white rhinos are doing well thanks to the conservational care of Safari West and their partnership with The Indianapolis Zoo. Every new calf is a step in the right direction, and brings them a little closer to prolonged safety.
Guests may soon catch glimpses of the wobbly-legged calf exploring his habitat as he grows stronger under the watchful eye of his devoted mother.
