Category Archives: Animals

Animals

Government protection of Species at Risk ineffective, report says

A new report commissioned by the Wilderness Committee and Sierra Club BC found that Federal and Provincial government policy gaps have rendered their protection of Species at Risk ineffective. 

“Our study looked at terrestrial and freshwater vertebrate species in BC We needed to refine the scope a little bit just because there are so many Species at Risk in BC. In order to do this analysis, we had to narrow in on a few representative species. In total, we chose 64 species. Of the 64 species, only two of them have had their critical habitat mapped by the deadlines. The remaining 97% have experienced critical habitat mapping delays anywhere from 2 to 18 years. Then there’s 16 of the 64 species that still don’t even have their critical habitat mapped,” explained Charlotte Dawe of the Wilderness Committee.

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Animals, Rivers & Oceans

At-risk fin whales are in hot water with protection downgrade, LNG, and climate change

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Conservation groups are alarmed that the status of fin whales as a threatened species on Canada’s West Coast is about to be downgraded just as the dangers of LNG shipping and climate change are on the rise. 

The global population of the sleek, fast moving whale — dubbed the greyhound of the sea and named for the dorsal fin near its tail — was decimated by industrial whaling, which lasted until the1980s. Canada’s Pacific fin whale population was listed as threatened in May 2005 and was legally protected under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) the following year. 

That protection may now be weakened after the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) concluded fin whales numbers are increasing and  reclassified it as a species of special concern in 2019.

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Animals, Rivers & Oceans

Dead humpback whale found near Masset marks third in less than a month

By Kaitlyn Bailey, Prince Rupert Northern View, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A dead humpback whale was spotted in Masset Inlet on Nov. 5, marking the third found in B.C.’s coastal waters in less than a month.

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Animals, Rivers & Oceans

Monitoring Dungeness Crab larvae in Cortes Bay

Last April, Cortes Island became part of an international monitoring project for Dungeness crab larvae. There were 20 light trap stations in the Salish Sea and 17 in the Puget Sound. Three of these traps were within our  listening area. Surge Narrows School had a trap on Read Island. The Hakai Institute and Quadra Island community had another on Quadra Island. Kate Maddigan and Mike Moore coordinated volunteers looking after the Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) trap in Cortes Bay. 

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Animals

Going batty: big brown bats

By Chadd Cawson, The Columbia Valley Pioneer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

‘Tis the season that we all go a little batty –  at least with Halloween décor – to either scare away or entice trick or treaters as October 31 creeps up. 

While black bats may be part of Halloween decorations in windows and doorways, big brown bats are the species of winged marvels that can be found flying or hanging around the unceded territories of the Secwépemc and Ktunaxa Peoples and the land chosen as home by the Métis Peoples of B.C.

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