YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK – A shrew that lives in Yosemite National Park has been photographed alive for the first time.
The Mount Lyell shrew had never been captured on camera. In fact, it’s not clear whether the tiny and frenetic creature had ever actually been seen alive before this. The last time one was seen was 20 years ago, after it died. Typically, the shrews were observed dead after being trapped.
Remarkably, this was reported to be the only mammal in all of California that had not been photographed alive, according to the San Francisco Standard.
Student researchers at UC Berkeley and the California Academy of Sciences learned about this interesting blank space in science and decided to do something about it. They went up into the mountains near Mono Lake at an elevation of about 7,000 feet for a three-day expedition. They caught their first shrew in the first two hours and got the photos they were after.
Mission accomplished!
National Park News
