Threatened, endangered species call Travis home Published Sept. 6, 2017 By Ret. MSgt Randy Couch TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – A form of diversity that you may not even think of is all around you every day at Travis Air Force Base, California… wildlife diversity. Military bases often host a wide array of local wildlife due to the wide-open federally protected spaces often found on these installations. Military bases tend to make good homes for wildlife because people on military bases seldom come into contact with or harass the wildlife present there. The U.S. Air Force, and Travis in particular, are sensitive to the need to be good stewards of the environment. This is especially true on Travis because the wildlife found on the base includes quite a few threatened and endangered species. The California tiger salamander, Swainson’s hawk, tri-colored blackbird, golden eagle, bald eagle, burrowing owl, fairy shrimp and western spadefoot toad can all be potentially found living on base or passing through the area on migration. Another listed species occasionally found on Travis is the white-tailed kite. These small raptors often hunt by hovering 20 to 100 feet above the ground, usually in open grassy areas. Their heads, tails and undersides are white while their upperwing coverts or shoulders are black. Their crown, back and upper flight feathers are gray. These little birds were recently the subject of famed National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore when he visited the nearby California Raptor Center at University of California Davis. Sartore photographed one adult and one juvenile white-tailed kite. He also photographed and recorded video of a fledgling northern spotted owl that was at the center for rehabilitation. Sartore is also the founder of the Photo Ark and travels to the farthest flung corners of the Earth in a quest to take portraits of the world’s endangered animals, in hopes of raising awareness of these animals before they become extinct. To date, Sartore has photographed over 5,000 of the more than 7,000 endangered or threatened species. Some of his photo shoots have resulted in the discovery of previously unknown species and subspecies. This project was recently the subject of a three-part PBS series entitled “RARE: Creatures of the Photo Ark.” So, the reason for this commentary is the same reason that Sartore travels the world highlighting endangered species with photo. Even in a busy, semi-industrial area like Travis, as you proceed through your daily life, look up into the sky or down at the ground. Even in what may seem like the unlikeliest of places, live some of the Earth’s rarest life forms. Becoming aware of them and learning to appreciate nature’s diversity is half the battle in preventing many of these species from falling over the edge into extinction. Endangered species can be brought back from the edge, but once they are gone they can never be again. https://www.joelsartore.com/photo-ark www.pbs.org/wgbh/rare/joel-the-photo-ark https://www.instagram.com/joelsartore