NWPS Fall Newsletter 2014

F A L L

N E W S L E T T E R W I L D L I F E

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T A L E S

Preservation Through Education NORTHWEST WILDLIFE PRESERVATION SOCIETY

As the sun begins to go down earlier and the air becomes a little more crisp, summer seeps away and fall begins to take over.

do instead of hibernation on page 7.

Hiking isn’t only a summer activity.

Spring and fall bring more mild

Animals know summer is over and fall temperatures for enjoyable hiking. If you’re is here. Antlers clattering will echo through

getting out there and enjoying the

the forest as moose compete in the rut.

wilderness make sure to find out how to

Learn more about moose and their ruts

have a no-impact hike on page 6. Hiking is

from our Creature Feature on page 4. Birds

an affordable activity, except for when you

will begin to migrate to warmer climates as

buy pricey energy bars! Learn how to make

summer turns to fall and fall turns to

your own fruit and nut bars on page 6.

winter. Animals start to bulk up for winter

These yummy treats are perfect for keeping

and build their food reserves. Although not you going. all animals hibernate, find out what bears

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—IN THIS ISSUE — INTRO

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VAN ISLAND OPERATIONS

3-4

NWPS IN THE COMMUNITY

5-6

MOOSE FEATURE

7-8

VISION FEATURE

9-10

RECIPE

11-12

NO IMPACT

13-14

MYTH : BEARS HIBERNATE

15-16

VOLUNTEER FEATURE

17-18

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— VANCOUVER ISLAND OPS — We have been offering full time wildlife education programming since 2013 on

[MANLY FARM] Our permits have been approved to

Vancouver Island.

Our island operations have done over 40 Wildlife in Schools programs from Victoria to Nanaimo reaching over 1500 school children.

Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society has been attending events around the island over

continue our wetland restoration project! We need funding and support in order for this project to be a success. BCIT faculty and students will be helping out with the restoration. However, we always need more volunteers! Volunteer involvement can range

the summer.

from anything from wildlife surveying to land

We look forward to all the great things to come

interested in getting involved please contact us.

with the 2014-2015 academic year.

Manly Farm Bird and Wildlife Sanctuary has been doing well! There is some very exciting news about our permits.

use planning. If anyone on Vancouver Island is

Please contact execassistant@northwestwildlife.com

THANK YOU, DONORS! Thank you so much to our generous top donors whose contributions have made it

Wildlife in Schools programs

School children

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possible for us to continue providing important environmental education to British Columbians since 1987.

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— NWPS IN THE COMMUNITY — [FESTIVALS]

Burnaby

Surrey’s World Ocean

Environmental Festival

Day Celebration

May 31st

June 8th

North Delta Family Day June 22nd

Family Fishing Day June 15th

MEC Paddlefest July 5th

O.W.L. Summer Open

White Rock Sea

House

Festival

July 26th-27th

August 3rd

Crankworx August 15th-16th

We would like to thank everyone who Raptor Festival

hosted us at festivals

August 17th

and congratulations on such successful events!

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[STEWARDSHIP EVENTS]

Iona Beach Invasive

Kitsilano Shoreline

Species Pull

Cleanup

June 17th

July 15th

Iona Beach Invasive

Shoreline Cleanup

Species Pull Sunset Beach Shoreline June 17th Cleanup

July 21st

August 8th

Third Beach

[UPCOMING EVENTS]

Coho Festival Sunday Sept 7th Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup

Critter Care’s Annual Walk-a-thon Sunday Oct 5th

Tree Planting at Crippen Regional Park Saturday Oct 25th

Sunday Sept 20th

Thank you to all who volunteered at our stewardship events and to those who came out and visited us at festivals. Keep an eye out for us at the upcoming events. More events to come that may not be listed here so make sure you keep up to date!

A huge thanks to Pacific Coast Tents for lending us a tent for special events.

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— CR E A TU RE FE A TU R E — M O O S E are the largest herbivores in North America.

Canada: home to the largest moose population in the world! The animal’s range stretches across the Northern Hemisphere. The moose is often thought of as a Canadian symbol alongside maple syrup, hockey, and the beaver. These magnificent creatures can be seen in every province of Canada roaming around wetlands, woodlands and muskeg.

They are the largest of the deer family. Unlike other smaller species in the deer family, moose tend to lead a more solitary life and avoid forming herds. A common deer characteristic that is seen in moose is that they lack upper incisors; they have no top teeth at the front of their mouth. Instead of snipping at the aquatic and terrestrial vegetation with a set of teeth, they use their bottom incisors against their top flat pallet.

A fascinating feature of the male moose is the large palmate antlers. These massive antlers can span 6 feet! They grow a new pair every season, shedding them in December. A female moose, also called a cow, lack antlers. This sexual dimorphism is common within the deer family.

These antlers play an important role during the rut. The rut is the mating season when bulls compete for cows. The antlers show a males size but they will also be used in competing against other bulls of a similar strength for a group of females. The rut usually begins in late August and runs until early October.

With moose being such a large animal they have very few predators . The two main animals that hunt moose are wolves and grizzly bears. These predators need to be careful when hunting moose because these large deer can kick in every direction!

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The animal kingdom demonstrates

Having night vision opens up a

many adaptations that contribute to

different time niche for animals to hunt.

some species’ superior vision. Raptors are

This is not only demonstrated in owls but

well known for their precise vision. Being

also

able to see at night is a huge advantage

Animals’ eyes that have night vision will

for

more

often give off a glow. This glow is from

adaptations that most people don’t think

the tapetum ludicum which is a layer in

about.

the eye that reflects light. This reflective

many

animals.

There

are

wildcats,

such

as

the

cougar.

We’ve all heard of the sayings

layer makes it possible for the animals

“watching like a hawk” or “eagle eyes”.

eye to interact with the light longer, there

These idioms are inspired by nature.

for detecting more light.

Eagles and hawks are both part of the

The light that humans can see is

raptor family. Raptors are a family of

not the only spectrum of light that

birds that catch prey with their feet and

animals’ eyes pick up. Humans have

are carnivorous in their diet.

They are

three types of colour receptors while

well known for their accurate vision, it is

birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish have

said to be 8 times better than human

an additional type of receptor that helps

vision. One of the reasons these birds

them detect the ultra-violet spectrum.

have excellent vision is the ratio of their

One example of birds using their ability

eye size to their body size; they have the

to see UV on feathers and bills is during

largest eyes compared to their body.

courtship.

Their eyes have adapted to seeing far

imagine something different than our

distances because they need to scout out

own vision but many animals see the

tiny prey while hunting. Owls are also

world much differently than we do.

It’s hard for humans to

part of the raptor family. They can see during the day but their vision is best at night.

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Power bars, granola bars, fruit and nut bars can all be expensive. Why not make your own fruit and nut bars! These bars are fantastic, easy and mess-free: the perfect energy boost for hiking, biking, camping or skiing. Luckily, they are simple to make containing only four ingredients. *Best results when using a food processor.

CHOCOLATE LOVER Walnut • Chocolate • Cranberry • Dates

SWEET & SUMMERY Pistachio • Orange • Cranberry • Dates

• Coarse chop your nut of choice• • Food process the dates or dates & cranberries• • Blend to paste, if using cranberries ensure there are no recognizable chunks• • For Chocolate Lover, grate and add orange zest• • Knead together like dough • • Press into a mini loaf pan • • Freeze, cut when frozen • • Enjoy•

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12 Photo Credit: Jack Edgar

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— N O IMP A C T H I K IN G — [WATCH OUT] Be mindful of what terrain you’re hiking on. Try to stay on durable materials like rock, gravel or sand as opposed to dirt, alpine plants and stream banks. If there is a designated path stay on the path and try not to cut corners on switchbacks. Cutting these corners can lead to soil erosion and destroy the path.

[WATER DISPOSAL] Disposing of wastewater can attract wildlife and ruin pristine waterways. Make sure to be 200ft away from any waterways or streams when disposing of wastewater from washing out containers.

[LEAVE NO TRACE] You must pack everything out that you packed in. Try to minimize the disturbance you’re causing to the environment you’re going through.

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— M YT H: B E A R S H I BE RN A TE — When you are young, one of

will drop to around the same degree

the first things you learn about bears

as

is that they hibernate. Hibernation is

whereas

not the correct term to use when

temperature is relatively high. One

referring the process that black bears

reason that bears keep their body

and grizzly bears go through. These

temperature high in their dens is to

bears are not

help keep the cubs warm.

classified

as true

the

hibernators. The phenomenon bears undergo is called torpor. Both torpor and

hibernation

are

types

of

dormancy, which helps to reduce energy consumption. Food resources are low in the winter, so by going into a state of dormancy animals are able

in

torpor,

atmosphere, the

body

The heart rate slows down rapidly in hibernation, while in torpor the drop is not as dramatic. They are similar

processes

but

they

are

different enough that they should be recognized separately.

to survive harsh winter conditions.

There have been cases where

There are many differences between

black bears and grizzly bears do not

these two processes.

enter torpor for the winter because

One

of

the

most

notable

differences is the body temperature.

With hibernation, body temperature

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surrounding

their food resources are plentiful enough for them to survive off of .

This shows how torpor is a voluntary process, whereas hibernation is not.

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— V OL U N TE E R : E M M A N U E L L E — I'm Emmanuelle. I'm 23 years old and I come from France.

I was in Vancouver only for 6 months to learn English and to live an adventure.

At the beginning I took some English classes in a language school, where I met Darren from Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society during one of his wildlife presentations.

At the beginning, I didn't know a lot about wildlife and British Columbia, that's why I was really interested in becoming a volunteer.

It was a very good experience for me because I learned a lot about Canadian wildlife and it was a pleasure to help Darren, who is very passionate about this subject.

He gave me a lot of experience during my stay and I was involved in a variety of activities and programs. So thank you so much for everything!

Tomorrow I’ll leave Vancouver but I’ll come back here to learn and discover more about Canada.

See you soon, unbelievable Vancouver!"

If you would like to volunteer, please call us at 604.568.9160 or email us at info@northwestwildlife.com

NEWSLETTER PRODUCED BY NORTHWEST WILDLIFE PRESERVATION SOCIETY CREATED BY ANITRA PARIS

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