Los Angeles River - Wildlife

Wildlife

There is an abundance of fish species in the Los Angeles River which include Common Carp, Largemouth Bass, Tilapia, Green Sunfish, Amazon Sailfin Catfish, Bluegill, Black Bullhead, Brown Bullhead, Channel Catfish, Fathead Minnow, Crayfish, and Mosquito Fish. No native species of the Los Angeles River have survived ever since the channelization of the river in 1938. The native species of fish in the Los Angeles River included Rainbow Trout, Arroyo chub, River Shrimp, Chinook Salmon, Sacramento pikeminnow, Pacific lamprey, three-spined Stickleback, and Santa Ana sucker. The last native species to be caught in the river was a Rainbow Trout in 1940 by a local fisherman.

There is also a large variety of bird species in the Los Angeles River which include Snowy Egret, Black-necked Stilt, Great Blue Heron, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, American Coot, Muscovy Duck, White Pelican, Canadian Geese, Osprey, California High Desert Mourning Dove, Black-chinned hummingbird, Barn Owl, and Red Tailed Hawk. All of these species either nest or live off of the resources of the river.

Before the river's channelization the river supported a variety of mammals which included the California golden bear (removed 1897), Grey wolf (removed 1890's), Coyote, Mule Deer, and North American Beaver.

There is indirect evidence that North American beaver (Castor canadensis) were native to the river, as the Beñemé (Mojave) and Jeniguechi (San Jacinto branch of the Cahuilla) Indians of the San Gabriel Mission were described by Father Pedro Font on the second de Anza Expedition in 1776, "The costume of the men in heathendom is total nakedness, while the women wear a bit of deer skin with which they cover themselves, and likewise an occasional cloak of beaver or rabbit skin, although the fathers endeavor to clothe the converted Indians with something as best they can." The Tongva or Gabrieleño Indians of Mission San Gabriel had a word for beaver To-le-vah-che.