Wildlife

A bear sow with a mangled paw in a photo taken on Oct. 12, 2021 after trying to get inside a dumpster in front of Forest Grove apartments. The sow had to be put down and the cubs were captured and slated for rehabilitation. (Brian Grover photo)

Port Alice resident hopes bear-proof garbage bins will save bear lives

Brian Grover wants to upgrade trash disposal after 6 bears euthanized in North Island village

A bear sow with a mangled paw in a photo taken on Oct. 12, 2021 after trying to get inside a dumpster in front of Forest Grove apartments. The sow had to be put down and the cubs were captured and slated for rehabilitation. (Brian Grover photo)
In this Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019 file photo, a foothold trap intended for bobcat is seen. In B.C. an average of 10 cats and dogs are accidentally caught in wildlife traps each year. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)

Call for regulations after numerous cats, dogs caught in wildlife traps in B.C.

Average of 10 pets accidentally trapped each year from 2015 to 2021

In this Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019 file photo, a foothold trap intended for bobcat is seen. In B.C. an average of 10 cats and dogs are accidentally caught in wildlife traps each year. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
A pair of cougars lounge in a Colwood back yard April 23. (Alex Labute/Facebook)

VIDEO: Cougars lounging, dining in Colwood yards

B.C. Conservation Services consistently reminds residents Vancouver Island is cougar country

A pair of cougars lounge in a Colwood back yard April 23. (Alex Labute/Facebook)
The British Columbia Conservation Officer Service says a North Vancouver man has been fined for feeding black bears at his home. A black bear yawns at its enclosure at the Dachigam National Park on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Mukhtar Khan

North Vancouver man fined for repeatedly feeding black bear and cub

Conservation officer investigation began after videos surfaced on social media in 2018

The British Columbia Conservation Officer Service says a North Vancouver man has been fined for feeding black bears at his home. A black bear yawns at its enclosure at the Dachigam National Park on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Mukhtar Khan
McKayla Spencer, the Interagency Python Management Coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) holds up a Burmese python during a news conference, Thursday, June 3, 2021, in the Florida Everglades. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Edmonton zoo employee ‘doing well’ following Burmese python bite

City reviewing what happened, including procedures for carrying the snake

McKayla Spencer, the Interagency Python Management Coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) holds up a Burmese python during a news conference, Thursday, June 3, 2021, in the Florida Everglades. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
The persistent cases of mammals infected with bird flu has put Canadian wildlife and public health experts on alert, as a recent research paper warned of a “potentially devastating pandemic” if the virus mutates to efficiently spread between humans. Dr. Samira Mubareka, an infectious disease specialist and clinician scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute and the University of Toronto, poses in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Sunnybrook Hospital

‘Potentially devastating’: Bird flu cases in mammals put scientists on alert

Fewer than a dozen confirmed human H5N1 cases globally since 2020

The persistent cases of mammals infected with bird flu has put Canadian wildlife and public health experts on alert, as a recent research paper warned of a “potentially devastating pandemic” if the virus mutates to efficiently spread between humans. Dr. Samira Mubareka, an infectious disease specialist and clinician scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute and the University of Toronto, poses in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Sunnybrook Hospital
The barred owl, so named for the “bars” running across their gray and white chest, is one of the most common owls on Vancouver Island. Photo by James MacKenzie The barred owl, so named for the “bars” running across their gray and white chest, is one of the most common owls on Vancouver island. Photo by James MacKenzie

MARS Moment: Vancouver Island boasts seven species of owls

By James Mackenzie Special to the Record Early spring is a fantastic…

  • Apr 11, 2023
The barred owl, so named for the “bars” running across their gray and white chest, is one of the most common owls on Vancouver Island. Photo by James MacKenzie The barred owl, so named for the “bars” running across their gray and white chest, is one of the most common owls on Vancouver island. Photo by James MacKenzie
In this Thursday, April 6, 2023, image provided by Providence Alaska, a moose stands inside a Providence Alaska Health Park medical building in Anchorage, Alaska. The moose chomped on plants in the lobby until security was able to shoo it out, but not before people stopped by to take photos of the moose. (Providence Alaska via AP)

Moose feasts on lobby plants in Alaska hospital building

Hungry animal finds some comfortable feasting in Anchorage, attracts quite a crowd

In this Thursday, April 6, 2023, image provided by Providence Alaska, a moose stands inside a Providence Alaska Health Park medical building in Anchorage, Alaska. The moose chomped on plants in the lobby until security was able to shoo it out, but not before people stopped by to take photos of the moose. (Providence Alaska via AP)
Dire wolf skulls found in La Brea Tar Pits are on display at the George C. Page Museum on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013, in Los Angeles. The museum celebrates a century of excavation at the La Brea Tar Pits, considered the richest and most diverse collection of Ice Age fossils. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Scientists confirm first Canadian fossil of Ice Age predator the dire wolf

Specimen found near Medicine Hat confirmed years after being found

Dire wolf skulls found in La Brea Tar Pits are on display at the George C. Page Museum on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013, in Los Angeles. The museum celebrates a century of excavation at the La Brea Tar Pits, considered the richest and most diverse collection of Ice Age fossils. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A person holds a mummified Arctic ground squirrel uncovered near Dawson City, Yukon, in an undated handout photo. The 30,000-year-old animal is set to go on display this May at Whitehorse’s Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Yukon Territorial Government

‘Amazing story of survival’: 30,000-year-old mummified ground squirrel found in Yukon

Remains, believed to be an animal that died while hibernating, found by miners

A person holds a mummified Arctic ground squirrel uncovered near Dawson City, Yukon, in an undated handout photo. The 30,000-year-old animal is set to go on display this May at Whitehorse’s Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Yukon Territorial Government
A Myotis Bat is caught by Utah Division of Natural Resources Wednesday, May 26, 2021. A fungus that has led to some Canadian bat populations becoming endangered has been found in British Columbia. The province’s Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship says the fungus that causes white nose syndrome, which has no proven treatment, has been detected in bat guano in the Grand Forks area. THE CANADIAN PRESS/The Spectrum-Elle Cabrera-via AP

Fungus that causes deadly white nose syndrome among bats detected in B.C. guano

Fungus is primarily spread by bat-to-bat contact and doesn’t affect humans

A Myotis Bat is caught by Utah Division of Natural Resources Wednesday, May 26, 2021. A fungus that has led to some Canadian bat populations becoming endangered has been found in British Columbia. The province’s Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship says the fungus that causes white nose syndrome, which has no proven treatment, has been detected in bat guano in the Grand Forks area. THE CANADIAN PRESS/The Spectrum-Elle Cabrera-via AP
Denise Foster of the French Creek Estuary Nature Preserve releases the rehabilitated eagle back to its natural elements, with North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre’s Animal care supervisor Derek Downes assisting her. (Deb Freeman photo)

Vancouver Island wildlife recovery centre releases rehabilitated eagle

Save Estuary Land Society member selected to free bird of prey

Denise Foster of the French Creek Estuary Nature Preserve releases the rehabilitated eagle back to its natural elements, with North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre’s Animal care supervisor Derek Downes assisting her. (Deb Freeman photo)
The B.C. Conservation Officer Service has received several reports of cougar sightings in the Thetis Lake area. (Pixabay)

Cougar sightings, killing of pet cat puts Langford neighbourhood on alert

Pet owners encouraged to supervise animals when outside, bring them in at night

The B.C. Conservation Officer Service has received several reports of cougar sightings in the Thetis Lake area. (Pixabay)
A coyote walks through Coronation Park in Toronto on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. Now that coyote denning season is in full swing, the Vancouver park board is offering some tips for a “peaceful coexistence” between the animals and humans. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Evan Buhler

Vancouver park board offers tips on how to ‘respect’ city’s coyotes

Animals can become bolder in the spring or stand their ground if they perceive a threat

A coyote walks through Coronation Park in Toronto on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. Now that coyote denning season is in full swing, the Vancouver park board is offering some tips for a “peaceful coexistence” between the animals and humans. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Evan Buhler
Anna’s hummingbird babies need near constant feeding by syringe. (Courtesy BC SPCA)

Disturbed nests, chicks best left alone in Greater Victoria, says wildlife specialist

Nests fall victim to weather and predators but most often humans

Anna’s hummingbird babies need near constant feeding by syringe. (Courtesy BC SPCA)
FILE - Southern Resident killer whale J50 and her mother, J16, swim off the west coast of Vancouver Island near Port Renfrew, B.C. on Aug. 7, 2018. (Brian Gisborne/Fisheries and Oceans Canada via AP, File)

Researchers: Inbreeding a big problem for endangered orcas

Whales are so inbred that they are dying younger and their population is not recovering

FILE - Southern Resident killer whale J50 and her mother, J16, swim off the west coast of Vancouver Island near Port Renfrew, B.C. on Aug. 7, 2018. (Brian Gisborne/Fisheries and Oceans Canada via AP, File)
A biologist and wild horse researcher is calling for stronger federal and provincial protections for the animals after 17 carcasses were found in rural British Columbia. Wild horse mares walk along an oil and gas roadway on crown land near Sundre, Alta., Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Researcher calls for more wild horse protections after 17 shot dead in rural B.C.

Animals found about 65 kilometres west of Kamloops, near Walhachin

A biologist and wild horse researcher is calling for stronger federal and provincial protections for the animals after 17 carcasses were found in rural British Columbia. Wild horse mares walk along an oil and gas roadway on crown land near Sundre, Alta., Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
This is a file photo of wild horses on Highway 97 near Red Wings. (Western News file photo)

‘Disheartening act’: 17 wild horses found shot in area west of Kamloops

The animals were all recently shot; RCMP are investigating

This is a file photo of wild horses on Highway 97 near Red Wings. (Western News file photo)
A skunk is seen in an undated handout photo. Eight skunks found dead last month in Vancouver and nearby Richmond, B.C., tested positive for avian flu. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Critter Care Wildlife Society

Eight skunks found dead in Metro Vancouver had avian flu: government

Skunks may have contracted H5N1 by scavenging on infected wild birds

A skunk is seen in an undated handout photo. Eight skunks found dead last month in Vancouver and nearby Richmond, B.C., tested positive for avian flu. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Critter Care Wildlife Society
FILE - A northern spotted owl, named Obsidian by U.S. Forest Service employees, sits in a tree in the Deschutes National Forest near Camp Sherman, Ore., in this May 8, 2003 file photo. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)

Province halts old-growth logging in at-risk owl territory another two years

Old-growth suspension in the Spuzzum and Utzilus watersheds extended until February 2025

FILE - A northern spotted owl, named Obsidian by U.S. Forest Service employees, sits in a tree in the Deschutes National Forest near Camp Sherman, Ore., in this May 8, 2003 file photo. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)