Wildlife Around Boulder Creek: Who You'll Meet and How to Be a Good Neighbor

Apr 28

The short version

Secure the food supply. Keep trash and recycling in latched or secured bins and set them out the morning of pickup, feed pets indoors, and pick up fallen fruit.
Bring cats and small dogs in at night, when coyotes, bobcats, and mountain lions do their moving around.
Never feed wild animals. It's illegal in the state parks, and everywhere else it's how a normal animal becomes a problem animal.
Injured wild animal: call Native Animal Rescue at (831) 462-0726. Take a photo and call before you drive anywhere.
Any emergency involving people, including a mountain lion that's an immediate threat: call 911.

A flock of turkeys can hold a driveway for an entire afternoon, and there's no negotiating with them. That's most of what sharing a neighborhood with wildlife up here amounts to, and it works out fine almost all the time. Deer will eat your roses, raccoons will test your trash cans, and once in a long while a mountain lion will pass through without you ever knowing. Get a few habits right and the arrangement mostly runs itself. Here's who you'll actually meet and what's normal.

The Everyday Neighbors

Black-tailed deer are the animal you'll see most, browsing yards and road edges at all hours. They're generally calm around people, and that's normal, but don't help it along. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) warns that fed deer "can also lose their fear of humans or attract predators," and around here the predator that follows deer is the mountain lion. Admire them, fence the garden, and let them stay wild. They're also the main reason to drive Highway 9 gently at dawn and dusk, which our guide to driving the mountain roads covers.

Wild turkeys move through in loud, confident flocks. Mostly they're comedy, but a habituated flock can turn pushy. UC's integrated pest management program explains that turkeys used to people "may see human beings as part of the flock and, therefore, part of their pecking order," which is how you get a tom charging a mail carrier in spring. The fix is the same as everything else on this page. Don't feed them, and know that it's legal to shoo them off your property as long as they aren't physically harmed. Clapping, a hose, or letting the dog escort them out all work.

Raccoons are the valley's night shift, smart and persistent. CDFW notes they "easily become food conditioned" when they find accessible food, so the answer is prevention: latched cans, no pet food outside overnight, closed pet doors after dark. One habit worth knowing about: CDFW says raccoons leave droppings in a shared spot called a latrine, which can expose people and pets to raccoon roundworm. If one appears in your yard, clean it up carefully with gloves rather than ignoring it.

Banana slugs are the mascot of the whole forest, the bright yellow ones you'll find on any damp trail. Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park lists them alongside deer, coyotes, and bobcats as the wildlife visitors most often spot. They need nothing from you except to not get stepped on.

The Shy Ones

Bobcats live here and want nothing to do with you. CDFW describes them as solitary animals that typically avoid humans. The realistic concern isn't people, it's that "unsecured poultry or small pets can be preyed upon," so the chicken run needs a roof and the cat sleeps inside.

Coyotes are around more than they're seen, and the CDFW coyote guidance reads like a neighbor's advice: put trash, recycling, and pet food in secure bins, don't leave small pets unsupervised outside, and bring pets in at night. If a coyote lingers near people, haze it. Yell, clap, wave your arms to look bigger, and it should move off. A coyote that's lost its wariness is almost always a coyote someone has been feeding, which is why not feeding is the most neighborly wildlife policy there is.

Mountain lions are the resident everyone asks about, so here are the facts without the horror-movie lighting. Lions live in these mountains because deer do, and they're built to avoid us. Encounters are genuinely rare, and attacks are rarer still: CDFW puts it memorably, "a person is one thousand times more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a mountain lion," and counts fewer than 50 verified attacks in California since 1890.

If you do meet one, CDFW's instructions are specific and worth memorizing:

Don't run. Running can trigger a chase. Stay calm and stand your ground.
Face the animal. Don't turn your back, make noise, and try to look bigger.
Pick up small children. Put them on your shoulders.
Give it an exit. Leave the lion a clear escape route; most encounters end with the cat taking it.
Don't crouch or bend over.

CDFW's prevention advice doubles as a mountain-life checklist: avoid hiking, biking, or jogging alone at dawn, dusk, or night, deer-proof your property so you're not stocking the lion's pantry, trim dense vegetation near the house, add outdoor lighting, and give livestock and outdoor animals a sturdy covered shelter at night. If a lion is an immediate threat to people, that's a 911 call.

The Habits That Make Coexistence Work

Almost every wildlife problem in a mountain town traces back to food, so the whole playbook is short.

Trash and recycling: keep it in latched or secured bins, and put it out the morning of pickup rather than the night before.
Pet food: feed pets indoors, and never leave bowls out overnight.
Pets at night: bring cats and small dogs in after dark, when coyotes, bobcats, and lions do their commuting.
Fallen fruit: pick it up if you have trees.
Openings: close up crawl spaces and pet doors after dark.
Feeding: never intentionally feed wild animals, anywhere. In the state parks it's explicitly illegal, State Parks regulations prohibit feeding or disturbing any animal, and everywhere else it's how a normal animal becomes a problem animal that ends up relocated or killed.

Feeding wildlife is the opposite of kindness in these mountains. None of this requires fear. It requires the same tidiness you'd apply to keeping mice out of the pantry, applied at yard scale.

When You Find an Injured or Orphaned Animal

This is the section to bookmark, because it always happens on a Sunday.

For most hurt or orphaned wildlife, songbirds, squirrels, opossums, young raccoons, reptiles, the county's rehabilitator is Native Animal Rescue of Santa Cruz County at 1855 17th Avenue, Santa Cruz, (831) 462-0726, urgent line extension 0. Their own guidance on what to do when you find an animal comes down to three steps: take a photo, call, and their wildlife dispatcher will give you a number to text the photo to so they can tell you the right next move. Call before you drive; the county animal shelter lists their receiving hours as 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Don't try to feed or water a rescued animal, and don't handle anything you're not confident about. The phone call comes first.

Some animals route elsewhere, and Native Animal Rescue publishes the referrals:

Adult large mammals such as deer, mountain lions, bobcats, and adult raccoons: Santa Cruz County Animal Services at (831) 454-7200.
Injured deer specifically: the county shelter directs residents to CDFW dispatch at (916) 358-1312.
Marine mammals: the Marine Mammal Center at (415) 289-7325.
Oiled birds: the Oiled Wildlife Care Network at (877) 823-6926.
Ongoing wildlife conflicts, or to reach the state directly: our area is CDFW's Bay Delta Region, (707) 428-2002, and sightings or incidents can be reported through CDFW's Wildlife Incident Reporting system.

And the standing rule: if an animal situation is endangering people right now, on the road or otherwise, call 911 first.

We can't promise any animal can be saved, and neither can the rehabilitators. But this county is lucky to have a licensed wildlife hospital twenty minutes down the hill, and knowing the number is half the rescue.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I be worried about mountain lions in Boulder Creek?

Aware, not worried. Lions live here and mostly avoid people entirely; CDFW notes attacks are extraordinarily rare statewide. Follow the basics, supervise kids outside at dusk, keep pets in at night, don't feed deer, and know the encounter drill: don't run, look big, make noise, give it an exit. Report a lion that's threatening people or pets to 911 or CDFW.

Who do I call about an injured wild animal?

Native Animal Rescue at (831) 462-0726 (ext 0 for urgent), 1855 17th Avenue in Santa Cruz. Take a photo and call first; their dispatcher will tell you whether and how to bring the animal in. Injured deer and other large animals route to county Animal Services at (831) 454-7200 or CDFW dispatch at (916) 358-1312.

Is it really that bad to feed the deer or turkeys?

Yes, and it's the one habit that causes most of the rest. CDFW warns fed deer lose their fear of people and attract predators, and UC's wildlife guidance notes feeding wildlife is illegal and turns turkeys aggressive. Feeding also draws the coyotes and lions that follow prey. A wild animal's respect for your space is the thing you're protecting.

What actually keeps raccoons out of my trash?

Latched or locking bins, stored in a shed or against a wall if possible, and set out the morning of pickup. No pet food outside overnight, pet doors closed after dark. Raccoons give up on properties that never pay out; CDFW notes they become persistent exactly where food access teaches them to be.

A coyote walked through my yard in daylight. Is that abnormal?

Not by itself; coyotes move around the clock. What matters is behavior. A coyote that ignores you and keeps moving is being a coyote. One that approaches people or lingers after you haze it has likely been fed somewhere, and that's worth reporting through CDFW's Wildlife Incident Reporting system. Keep small pets supervised regardless.

Last reviewed July 17, 2026. This article links to official sources from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the UC integrated pest management program, California State Parks, and Native Animal Rescue of Santa Cruz County. Phone numbers, agency roles, and local requirements can change; the responsible agency is the authority for your situation.

Wildlife is one piece of settling into mountain living. For utilities, permits, road conditions, and county contacts in one place, see the Residents guide, and keep the mountain roads driving guide handy for the deer at dawn.

Adrienne Gaughan