Campbell River’s bear problem is escalating. There were twice as many reports of bears raiding garbage cans this year. Sergeant Mike Newton, a Conservation Officer with the Ministry of Environment, went to the June 27 city council meeting with a couple of suggestions.
They both hinge upon changing human behaviour.
Continue reading A North Island situation: solutions for Campbell River’s Bear problem
‘Climate Crisis: The Cascade Effect’ opens at Wild Cortes, in the Linnaea Education Centre, 1 PM on Sunday May 29, 2022.
Co-curator Donna Collins explained that this exhibit illustrates what the climate crisis is doing to our natural habitat, especially species like deer, owls and the island’s apex predators.
Continue reading At Wild Cortes: ‘Climate Crisis – the Cascade effect’
A group of 10 Cortes Island residents set out from Gorge Harbour in a Zodiac.
“I loved it that we were all together on this boat, like tourists from Cortes out there hunting for a sighting of a whale. Everybody was in that together. Our only purpose today was to get out onto the water, look around and see what creatures we’d see. And it just seemed like community,” explained Jane Newman.
Continue reading A wild water adventure: seeking orca, seals and other marine lifeA total of 92 species are listed in Cortes Island’s Spring 2022 Bird count. More than 20 birders participated, including local naturalist George Sirk who started the day off as a guide on board the Misty Isles. This year’s count was expanded to include Mitlenatch island, where Sirk served as a naturalist in 1969 and 71.
Continue reading Cortes Island’s Spring 2022 Bird CountClick here for ‘The need to protect Black Bear dens on Vancouver Island‘
National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The photo of a baby black bear scrabbling around the woody debris of its destroyed den is certainly heart-rending, conservation biologist Tony Hamilton says.
The former large carnivore specialist with B.C.’s Environment Ministry recalls being called to attend the incident, despite it occurring more than a decade ago.
A mother and her cub were displaced from their nest in a huge, old stump that had been destroyed during logging operations in a second-growth forest on Vancouver Island near Campbell River.
Continue reading Conservationists urge B.C. to protect bear dens ‘before it’s too late’
