but beyond brown grass and short showers, the drought is having a devastating affect on the most basic system of all the food chain. in northern california salmon eggs have all but disappeared thanks to the lack of water. the kangaroo rat has nearly died off. and drier conditions have forced land animals to seek food in urban gardens. ahead of the busy summer season the state wildlife agency in lake tahoe is preparing itself for a barrage of bear sightings. joining me now is conservation biologist reece halter and associate professor at u.k. berkeley justin. justin, let me start with you. in terms of the kangaroo rat, right, you hear that and people immediately think, oh who cares about what is happening to the kangaroo rat. the numbers of the kangaroo rat have been dpe pleated, i think, 95% have died out since 2010. why does that matter? yeah. that s a good point and you re right. a lot of folks say it s a rat.