For some years now the polar bear has been the symbol of climate change with many conservationists concerned about the melting ice home of the animal due to warming temperatures. But a new survey has put a question mark of whether the polar bear is really decreasing in numbers with the survey showing population of the bear in parts of Northern Canada higher that estimated and even growing.
An abandoned black bear cub who was rescued from the side of a Manitoba highway nine days ago just can’t seem to get a break. Despite being nursed back to health by a local Rene Dubois, the cub could be euthanized by the Manitoba Conservation Department.
The Baleen whales are characterized by having baleen plates for filtering food from water instead of having teeth. But it seems that while these endangered whales are able to filter food, they are not able to filter the low frequency noise created by large ships in the sea and these noises are a constant source of stress for the whales.
Harp seal pups are dying off at dramatic rates in Eastern Canada. The culprit? Climate change, once again. A recent report in the science journal PLoS One revealed that disappearing seal habitat has resulted in a spike in the mortality rate of harp seal pups.
In a move that has come as a pleasant surprise for many animal activists Russia, Belarus and Kazakstan, informed the World Trade Organization that they are banning the import and export of harp seal pelts. Canada’s commercial harp seal industry will receive the biggest setback from this development.
A garbage collection employee got the surprise for his life when he discovered a bear had ‘hitchhiked’ in the back of his truck on Monday.
If a Canadian Conservative senator has her way, beavers will be replaced by polar bears in Canada shortly. No, she isn’t suggesting that polar bears should start feeding on beavers, but rather that Canada’s emblem should no longer be the beaver (which is also the country’s national animal) but instead be replaced with the polar bear.
Not surprisingly, security is pretty tight at nuclear power plants around the world. But that didn’t stop an intruder from hanging out at the Darlington nuclear power plant in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada last week. A willow ptarmigan, who lives in the Arctic regions of Northern Quebec, was discovered on the plant’s grounds by an employee. It had been over 100 years – 1897 to be exact – since a willow ptarmigan was seen in the area, so this discovery caused quite the stir in the bird watching community.
As humans encroach more and more onto wildlife habitat, humane societies are learning to care for more than just dogs and cats. Take the Kitchener-Waterloo Human Society, for instance. Located about an hour’s drive southwest of Toronto, the human society has rehabbed and released five red-tailed hawks in the past four years alone, including two this past Thursday.
The Toronto Zoo has received some not-so-positive press as of late due to the controversy over their dwindling elephant population (the board has since voted on getting out of the elephant business). Couple that with a 12% decrease in attendance at the zoo last year, and things aren’t looking too sunny for the Toronto Zoo. Enter Shaker, Flap, Pedro and nine friends to save the day.
Are you in the market for an elephant – or three?! If so, you are in luck, as it appears that the Toronto Zoo may be forced to give away their remaining elephant herd. The three female elephants (Toka, Thika and Iringa) are all that remains of what was once a 10 elephant herd.
