Wildlife

An adult male yellow-breasted chat is shown in this undatd photograph on lands protected in collaboration between the En’owkin Centre and Penticton Indian Band with support through ECCC. The rescue from near extinction for a little yellow bird hinges on the wild rose in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, a researcher says. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, A. Michael Bezener/ En’owkin Centre 2020 *MANDATORY CREDIT*

Rare yellow birds need wild roses to survive in British Columbia: researcher

The importance of local wild roses emerged over a nearly 20-year experiment

 

Four owl boxes, donated by resident Stephen Gordon and built by local crafter Robert Vanzella, are coming to Esquimalt parks this month. (Courtesy of Township of Esquimalt)

Custom owl homes coming to Esquimalt parks this month

Four owl boxes will accomodate barred and screech owls

 

A caribou grazes on Baffin Island in a 2008 file photo. A last-ditch attempt to save some of Canada’s vanishing caribou herds is a step closer after a scientific review panel’s approval of a plan to permanently pen some animals and breed them to repopulate other herds. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Kike Calvo via AP Images

Parks Canada captive caribou breeding proposal gets OK from scientific review panel

Wolf density in Jasper is low enough that the animals would not be expected to be a major threat

 

The Royal BC Museum exhibit begins by pulling visitors underwater, immersing them in the orca’s world. (Photo: Shane Lighter/Royal BC Museum)

Royal BC Museum exhibit dives into the world of orcas

Deep inside the belly of the Royal BC Museum’s much-anticipated new exhibit,…

  • May 4, 2021
The Royal BC Museum exhibit begins by pulling visitors underwater, immersing them in the orca’s world. (Photo: Shane Lighter/Royal BC Museum)
A bear stands in a field of hemlock parsley. (Courtesy Doug Jones)

Black bears need wild food, not your garbage: B.C. Conservation

May berries be the best treat they find this spring

A bear stands in a field of hemlock parsley. (Courtesy Doug Jones)
Map showing the Bert Brink Wildlife Management Area in Chilliwack. (City of Chilliwack map)

Duct-taped ducks found in Chilliwack with plastic ties around their necks

‘This area has suffered from chronic illegal dumping,’ says ministry about Bert Brink wildlife area

Map showing the Bert Brink Wildlife Management Area in Chilliwack. (City of Chilliwack map)
Oak Bay is proposing a moratorium on wolf hunting while more research is done to get more data on Vancouver Island’s wolf population and understand the impacts of B.C.’s current wolf hunting policies. Pictured here is Takaya, the lone wolf who captivated Greater Victoria. (Photo by Cheryl Alexander)

West Shore councils endorse proposal to pause wolf-hunting

Motion initiated by Oak Bay calls for more research on wolves and biodiversity

Oak Bay is proposing a moratorium on wolf hunting while more research is done to get more data on Vancouver Island’s wolf population and understand the impacts of B.C.’s current wolf hunting policies. Pictured here is Takaya, the lone wolf who captivated Greater Victoria. (Photo by Cheryl Alexander)
Leon the squirrel gets a fancy snack of almonds and sunflower seeds from a well-meaning local, who really should be leaving Leon to his own foraging devices. (Submitted)

Squirrels don’t need your nuts, thanks

Consider birding instead of wildlife feeding, SPCA suggests

Leon the squirrel gets a fancy snack of almonds and sunflower seeds from a well-meaning local, who really should be leaving Leon to his own foraging devices. (Submitted)
In this photo provided by the Bureau of Land Management, researchers prepare fossils to be airlifted from the Rainbows and Unicorns Quarry on Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to the Paria River District paleontology lab in Kanab, Utah, on Sept. 4, 2018. Ferocious tyrannosaur dinosaurs may not have been solitary predators as long envisioned, but more like social carnivores such as wolves, new research unveiled Monday, April 19, 2021, found. (Dr. Alan Titus/Bureau of Land Management via AP)

Mass fossil site may prove tyrannosaurs lived in packs

A team of researchers determined that the dinosaurs died and were buried in the same place

In this photo provided by the Bureau of Land Management, researchers prepare fossils to be airlifted from the Rainbows and Unicorns Quarry on Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to the Paria River District paleontology lab in Kanab, Utah, on Sept. 4, 2018. Ferocious tyrannosaur dinosaurs may not have been solitary predators as long envisioned, but more like social carnivores such as wolves, new research unveiled Monday, April 19, 2021, found. (Dr. Alan Titus/Bureau of Land Management via AP)
(Pixabay)

Man on scooter collides with, punches coyote in Vancouver’s Stanley Park

First responders attended to the injured man

(Pixabay)
Facebook screenshot of the sea lion on Holberg Road. (Greg Clarke Facebook video)

VIDEO: Sea lion randomly spotted on remote B.C. logging road

Greg Clarke was driving home on the Holberg Road April 12, when he saw a large sea lion.

Facebook screenshot of the sea lion on Holberg Road. (Greg Clarke Facebook video)
Kit Thornton, chief aquarist at the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea, plays with Wanda, the female Giant Pacific octopus currently residing at the centre. The centre will release Wanda back into the wild next month. (Wolf Depner/News Staff)

An octopus named Wanda will soon say goodbye to Sidney

Wanda’s personality is ‘complete opposite’ of previous octopus named after Dr. Bonnie Henry

Kit Thornton, chief aquarist at the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea, plays with Wanda, the female Giant Pacific octopus currently residing at the centre. The centre will release Wanda back into the wild next month. (Wolf Depner/News Staff)
Boaters must stay 200 metres away from orcas, like these Southern Resident Killer Whales. Stay 400 metres away in protected areas, including Southern British Columbia coastal waters between Campbell River and Ucluelet. (Photo: Ocean Wise)

Spotted a whale? Here’s what to do

Brush up on the rules before your next boat ride to protect BC’s whales

  • Apr 6, 2021
Boaters must stay 200 metres away from orcas, like these Southern Resident Killer Whales. Stay 400 metres away in protected areas, including Southern British Columbia coastal waters between Campbell River and Ucluelet. (Photo: Ocean Wise)
Kevin, the famous friendly Penticton goose, in the background with his new friend seen visiting and enjoying the weather on Easter Monday. (Monique Tamminga Western News)

Penticton’s favourite goose has a girlfriend

The pair have been seen together for the past couple weeks

Kevin, the famous friendly Penticton goose, in the background with his new friend seen visiting and enjoying the weather on Easter Monday. (Monique Tamminga Western News)
Boaters must stay 200 metres away from orcas, like these Southern Resident Killer Whales. Stay 400 metres away in protected areas, including Southern British Columbia coastal waters between Campbell River and Ucluelet. (Photo: Ocean Wise)

Spotted a whale? Here’s what to do

Brush up on the rules before your next boat ride to protect BC’s whales

  • Apr 5, 2021
Boaters must stay 200 metres away from orcas, like these Southern Resident Killer Whales. Stay 400 metres away in protected areas, including Southern British Columbia coastal waters between Campbell River and Ucluelet. (Photo: Ocean Wise)
A rehabilitated swan refamiliarizes itself with its natural surroundings, after being released by the Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society. Tanja Kerr, who originally reported the injured swan to MARS, was invited to attend the release ceremony. Photo by Tanja Kerr

Four months later, rehabilitated Vancouver Island swan released

Woman who discovered bird with broken wing takes part as it is freed into the Courtenay estuary

A rehabilitated swan refamiliarizes itself with its natural surroundings, after being released by the Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society. Tanja Kerr, who originally reported the injured swan to MARS, was invited to attend the release ceremony. Photo by Tanja Kerr
It’s birthing season for raccoons, and homeowners may want to make sure their attics are well-sealed. (News Bulletin file)

B.C. beware: bandit babies may be moving in

It’s racoon birthing season and homeowners should know what to expect

It’s birthing season for raccoons, and homeowners may want to make sure their attics are well-sealed. (News Bulletin file)
Wild Wise Sooke hopes to build a haul-out for harbour seals in Sooke harbour. (Pixabay)

‘Wildlife corner’ eyed for Sooke Basin

Purple martin nest boxes and a seal haul-out proposed by Wild Wise Sooke

Wild Wise Sooke hopes to build a haul-out for harbour seals in Sooke harbour. (Pixabay)
Williams Lake resident Hattie Deyo captured this photograph of a rare white moose, or spirit moose, during a drive in the Cariboo recently. (Hattie Deyo photo)

VIDEO: Rare white ‘spirit moose’ spotted in Cariboo

“It was pretty impactful,” she said. “And one in a million.”

Williams Lake resident Hattie Deyo captured this photograph of a rare white moose, or spirit moose, during a drive in the Cariboo recently. (Hattie Deyo photo)
Quatse with the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre staff. (Marine Mammal Rescue Centre photo)

VIDEO: Quatse the abandoned sea otter pup recovering under 24-hour care

Still no official word on whether Quatse will be able to be released back into the wild.

Quatse with the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre staff. (Marine Mammal Rescue Centre photo)