Pliny 2.0

You’re walking along the tranquil trails of a pristine state park, deciding whether to partake of a Clif bar or a banana, when it happens. Rustling leaves catch you off guard. First thought: rattlesnake? A flash of electric blue, just within your peripheral, is all the more confusing.

A splash of red or a flurry of black and white accompanied by a riotous, medium-pitched waka-waka call in a western oak forest between Oregon and Central Mexico likely means that you have happened upon the astonishing acorn woodpecker.

If you were to strap on climbing gear and make your way up the tallest tree in the world, it would be like scaling a 35-story building. Seasoned window washers on skyscrapers might not think the 370-plus-foot coast redwood so high, but they may be surprised at what they’d find near its crown: soil, huckleberry, crickets, salamanders, seabirds and flying squirrels.

Snubnose, Gray porpoise, Whitehead Grampus, Bean Pot. These monikers all describe the same whitish-gray dolphin found off continental shelves worldwide, the Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus).

Whether waddling about the beach or leaping in aerial displays, California sea lions are expert entertainers. Unlike seals, sea lions have long, strong foreflippers and can rotate their rear flippers forward to stroll along on land.