I remember how loud the crunchy sound of extremely dry grass underfoot was in the San Rafael Valley near the U.S.-Mexico border earlier this year.
For months, we had watched the decline in vegetation across the region during the exceptional drought of the last few years. With fewer and fewer wildlife detections on our Border Wildlife Study cameras, I found myself hoping for big rain to come this summer and for the wildlife numbers to rebound.
In June, we set out a new camera to record wildlife videos so we could watch the summer progress — and I’m so relieved to say that my hopes were realized! With record rainfall documented across the region, this monsoon is breathing new life into our borderlands.
Please enjoy this compilation of wildlife near the headwaters of the Santa Cruz River between June 11th and August 4th, 2021. Watch as the summer moisture soaks in and turns the San Rafael Valley bright green. Delight in climbing raccoons, owls, deer, javelina, a bobcat, coyotes, and even a monarch butterfly.
Please consider sponsoring a wildlife camera to keep our research effort going into 2022.