Domestic Goat (Capra hircus) A whole herd grazing at golden hour behind a low electric fence — these are wildfire-prevention goats, deployed to clear the dry brush that would otherwise fuel fires. Since 2021, SDG&E’s grazing herds have cleared thousands of high-risk acres across San Diego County, navigating steep, rugged terrain that machines can’t reach — with no sparks required. Wikipedia | iNaturalist | Range map
📍 San Diego By-the-wind Sailor (Velella velella) Not a jellyfish but a colonial hydrozoan, each Velella is a raft of specialized polyps topped by a chitinous sail that catches the wind. Mass strandings are common along San Diego beaches in spring and summer when persistent onshore winds push entire flotillas ashore. Modeled range · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 Wikipedia | iNaturalist | Range map
📍 San Diego Aggregating Anemone (Anthopleura elegantissima) One of the most abundant intertidal animals on the Pacific coast — it reproduces by cloning itself, carpeting rocks with genetically identical colonies that wage slow-motion border wars against neighboring clones. Extremely common year-round in San Diego tidepools, found from Alaska to Baja California on rocky shorelines exposed at low tide. Modeled range · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 Wikipedia | iNaturalist | Range map