Manitoba Falcon Cam Forum
News, Videos & Other Webcams => Other Wildlife Cams => Mammals => Topic started by: The Peregrine Chick on August 21, 2010, 11:30
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Baby Moose(s) & a sprinkler - http://www.wimp.com/babymoose
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Amur Tigers / Assiniboine Park Zoo
If you haven't checked out the Amur Tigers at the Zoo yet - Mom & kiddies - then check out this slideshow attached to this article ....
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Names-chosen-for-Zoos-Amur-tiger-cubs--131336139.html
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Amur Tigers / Assiniboine Park Zoo
They are indeed beautiful animals. Mom will have her hands full with these two lively cubs.
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Amur Tigers / Assiniboine Park Zoo
To me, tigers have always been the true monarchs of the big cats -- hard to believe that these adorable cubs will grow quickly to be magnificent and deadly beasts!
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Amur Tigers / Assiniboine Park Zoo
To me, tigers have always been the true monarchs of the big cats -- hard to believe that these adorable cubs will grow quickly to be magnificent and deadly beasts!
Agreed :)
The other thing that is hard to believe is that there are estimated to be only 500 left in the wild :'(
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Amur Tigers / Assiniboine Park Zoo
Yes, only 500 in the wild, and those numbers will drop, unfortunately!
We now have to rely on captive numbers to see how this species will fair.
A monarch can now only be safe, so to speak, in a cage, in captivity.
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Amur Tigers / Assiniboine Park Zoo
A sad and tragic reflection of how humans have (so far) managed the planet. :P
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Amur Tigers / Assiniboine Park Zoo
The other thing that is hard to believe is that there are estimated to be only 500 left in the wild :'(
At least there is some possibility of encouragement -- a relatively large number of the tigers living in captivity (over 4,000, I think?) and some recent investigations into the idea of re-stocking the wild population. I know there hasn't been any success to date, but at least the attempts have begun. I know it's optimistic to think there might be some reversal of the declining numbers in our lifetimes, but I'd like to think we might live to see it.
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Amur Tigers / Assiniboine Park Zoo
They are truely magnificent cats. 8) Let's hope that they can be brought back from the brink of extinction.
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Some Hudson Bay polar bears nearing starvation due to climate change: experts
by the Canadian Press / 10 January 2011
WINNIPEG - Experts say the slow formation of winter ice on Hudson Bay this year has pushed some polar bears to the brink of starvation.
The bears weren't able to get onto the ice to hunt until late November this year and some had to resort to eating from old garbage dumps around Churchill, Man.
David Barber, one of the world's top Arctic researchers, says polar bears have lost six weeks of hunting time on the ice due to climate change.
He says the bay often doesn't freeze up until early December and thaws early in the spring.
Polar bears depend on winter hunting to build up enough fat to carry them through the lean summer months on land.
Peter Ewins with the World Wildlife Fund says he saw starving polar bears during a visit in mid-November, signalling the population is in deep trouble.
Full article & photo: Some Hudson Bay polar bears nearing starvation due to climate change: xxperts (http://www.brandonsun.com/national/breaking-news/some-hudson-bay-polar-bears-nearing-starvation-due-to-climate-change-experts-137020463.html?thx=y)
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This is very sad, indeed. :( While we may be enjoying warmer winters, I have often thought about the global warming effect on animals, particularly polar bears who depend on winter ice for hunting.
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Ice posing polar problems
Warmer weather means bears can't hunt properly: scientists
By: Melissa Martin and Kevin Rollason
Posted: 01/11/2012 1:00 AM
(http://media.winnipegfreepress.com/images/648*394/3736172.jpg)
SEAN KILPATRICK/ THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Even though the ice came early to Hudson Bay, it took too long for that ice to stay -- and experts say its slow formation sent some of Canada's polar bears to the brink of starvation.
Polar bears weren't able to get onto the ice to hunt seals until early December this winter, which observers say is becoming the norm.
"Those bears are all lining up along the coast line waiting for the ice to form," said David Barber, who holds the Canada research chair in Arctic science at the University of Manitoba. "They're basically all starving. They are really at their limit biologically."
Polar bears depend on winter seal hunting to build up enough fat to carry them through the lean summer months on land. The bears lose at least one kilogram of fat a day when they aren't on the ice. Given they are off the ice for up to 150 days, the hefty bears can lose well over 100 kilograms -- leaving some emaciated by the time the ice freezes again.
Andrew Derocher, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Alberta, and a science adviser with Polar Bear International, said he has been studying polar bears around Churchill for more than 30 years and the last few years have been the hardest on the animals.
"Sea ice has been declining globally," Derocher said. "It's not quite there for the failure of the polar bears on Hudson Bay -- will it be five, 10 or 50 years? I think it will be before mid-century."
Derocher said 30 years ago the ice on Hudson Bay stayed until early August and the water was iced over again by Remembrance Day.
But Derocher said scientists have followed the polar bears this year using radio transmitters on their collars and found some of them were having to come off the ice in June and they weren't able to get back on the ice until the first week of December.
"It used to be three months on land and now it is longer," he said. "This affects the pregnant female bears the most. They have already gone eight months without food and now it would be nine months. The longer the total ice-free goes the higher the mortality rates will be.
"If it is ice-free for 160 days or longer the mortality rates will go up dramatically."
In Churchill, tundra buggy tour operator John Gunter watched a "bizarre" season take shape along the shore. "The ice actually closed up earlier than it typically does, and we were really searching hard for bears," said Gunter, the general manager of Frontiers North. "The following week, the ice had broken up and a number of bears were forced back to shore."
Each season, Frontiers North works with researchers from institutions such as Polar Bear International and the World Wildlife Fund to keep tabs on the bears around the bay. One of the researchers, Peter Ewins, director of species conservation at World Wildlife Fund Canada, watched starving polar bears nosing around old grain stores and garbage dumps while others were found dead.
The odd berry patch and goose egg nest isn't enough to sustain the massive mammals, Ewins said. "The weaker individuals, the ones who are less proficient at hunting, they were in poorer condition and it was visible this year," he explained. "It's just an indicator that those less fit, poorer quality bears were really up against the wall already."
Familiar temps on the horizon
While conditions near Hudson Bay seem to be approaching normal, the forecast for southern Manitoba also calls for temperatures to dip back down to where they usually are.
But first, one last push towards record highs in Winnipeg -- Tuesday's highest recorded temperature, 5 C, virtually tied the record high for Jan. 10 set back in 1990, when the thermometer struck 5.1 C.
Environment Canada predicts that today's temperature is expected to plummet to -17 C during a snowfall. Sunny skies are forecasted for the rest of the week, but even then we may not see the melting side of zero: Thursday's high is predicted at -18 C.
original article & photo: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/ice-posing-polar-problems-137076833.html
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SERIOUSLY CUTE ALERT - Baby polar bear at Toronto Zoo
One of three cubs born in October 2011 to a 10 year old female named Aurora, she rejected all three cubs and this little male is the only survivor. He was hand-raised, is about 3.5 months old now and outside playing. Check out the photos and video clips. And yes, there is a "name the polar bear cub" contest :)
http://www.torontozoo.com/polarbearcub/
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Seriously cute alert is an understatement! :D
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This morning in Brandon we had a couple of Moose at one of our schools. I think one was just a baby. ;D
Check the right side of page for pictures
http://www.ebrandon.ca/messagethread.aspx?message_id=641051&cat_id=3
Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Av7TfaodivM
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What goes on when you're not there - deep woods shindig ... 8)
http://youtu.be/AihvuZiDhsg
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What goes on when you're not there - deep woods shindig ... 8)
http://youtu.be/AihvuZiDhsg
Now that's what you call pole dancing! ;D
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Great video! ;D
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Made me itchy just watching the bear scratching his back on the tree. LOL! ;)
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Crews Rescue Litter of Wolf Pups from Funny River Fire
KTUU TV / Alaska
(https://editor.ib-prod.com/sci/servlet/image/view/-/26205640/highRes/30187034/-/h/420/w/600/-/tqjcimz/-/Wolf-Cubs3-jpg.jpg)
ANCHORAGE - The residents affected by the Funny River fire come in many shapes and sizes and a litter of wolf pups found Tuesday near the fire line were no different. Huslia crew member Jefferson Sam said he and his crew knew about a wolf den of abandoned pups on the line and did what firefighter would do for someone in need.
“Well they’re helpless, you know,” Sam said. “We kind of knew the mother was around there." One of the pups actually came out of the den, Sam said, and to him it looked like the pup, a female, was asking for help. “We thought she was the smart one,” Sam said.
The pups were treated by a field biologist and given sugar water to help their hydration.
“They would have died if we didn’t pull them out,” Sam said. “For me, it was the right thing to do.”
The five pups were transported to the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage where they are being cared for, said Zoo spokeswoman Jill Myer. It's uncertain whether the pups will remain at the zoo, but it wouldn't be the first time abandoned pups were brought there, Myer said. "A pack of wolves came in two or three years ago, all from one den, all abandoned," Myer said. "Those are our wolves now."
View short (great) video here (https://editor.ib-prod.com/ib-base/servlet/page/view/sci-ktuutv/news/news/crews-rescue-litter-of-wolf-pups-from-funny-river-fire/26205608?showAds=0)
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The World from the Polar Bear's Perspective
USGS / 2014 Research Project on the Beaufort Sea
(http://www.ecanadanow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Google-Offers-Virtual-Polar-Bear-Visit.jpg)
cool video, interesting research ...
http://www.ecanadanow.com/science/2014/06/10/new-video-footage-shows-the-life-of-a-polar-bear/
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Short video of the two orphaned polar bear cubs now at APZ
(http://i.cbc.ca/1.2785804.1412279748!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/polar-bear-cubs-assiniboine-park-zoo.jpg)
Orphaned polar bear cubs settling in at Winnipeg zoo
CBC News / 2 October 2014
A pair of orphaned polar bear cubs from northern Manitoba are getting to know their new home at Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo this week.
The 10-month-old male and female cubs were spotted by Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship staff travelling by helicopter along the Hudson Bay shore near York Factory, Man., on Sept. 24. Crews had waited 48 hours for the cubs' mother, but she did not appear, so the brother and sister were flown to Winnipeg over the weekend.
The zoo posted a YouTube video on Thursday of the wee bears checking out their new enclosure at its International Polar Bear Conservation Centre. The male cub weighed in at 50 kilograms, while the female was about 46 kilograms, Dr. Stephen Peterson, the zoo's head of conservation and research, said in the video.
"All new bears come into the facility and undergo [a] 30-day quarantine, and this allows them to get a bit more used to the keepers and the veterinary staff. We give them vaccines and monitor their health," Peterson said. "We're looking forward to them going into the transition process and eventually being introduced to the other bears that we have here in Journey to Churchill," he added.
story & video: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/orphaned-polar-bear-cubs-settling-in-at-winnipeg-zoo-1.2785799
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Another hot story from Manitoba - seems the moose do love Brandon!! (love to see video of the "escorting"!)
(http://media.winnipegfreepress.com/images/800*865/Brandon_Moose_Oct_3.jpg)
Moose spotted in Brandon, police herd it out of city
Winnipeg Free Press / 2 Oct 2014
BRANDON -- Brandon police successfully herded a loose moose out of the city, Friday morning. They tweeted out at about 8 a.m. that several officers were "wrangling" the moose around Rosser Avenue East and trying to escort it out of built-up residential areas. They asked that people be cautious in that area.
Just a few minutes later, they tweeted "Success!"
The moose had crossed the river just northeast of the 1600 block of Rosser Avenue east and was out of the city, police said, "with a full police escort!"
It's the second moose-sighting in Brandon this week. On Tuesday morning, residents of Marquis Crescent were startled as a young moose trotted through the green space behind their yard before wandering off.
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Panda Surprises
The Weather Network - Cute Countdown: Surprise Pandas (http://www.theweathernetwork.com/videos/gallery/all/video_gallery/cute-countdown-3-panda-shock-moments-3-is-hilarious/sharevideo/3835806915001)
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Cool Raccoon ...
The Weather Network - Special Raccoon Visitor (http://www.theweathernetwork.com/videos/gallery/all/video_gallery/special-raccoon-visitor/sharevideo/3837636041001/)
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Photos by Grizzly Bear ...
Here is a CBC article and video on how the "bear behind camera" photo came to be. It can be good to have two photographers in the same area.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/camera-curious-b-c-grizzly-bear-captured-in-youtube-video-1.2839833 (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/camera-curious-b-c-grizzly-bear-captured-in-youtube-video-1.2839833)
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Elephant grabs B.C. man's GoPro, snaps "elphie"
http://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/elephant-grabs-b-c-man-s-gopro-snaps-elphie-1.2382864
Definitely a photo to keep!
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Must see: Raccoon rides an alligator
Leeanna McLean / The Weather Network / 15 June 2015
(http://s2.twnmm.com/thumb?src=//s2.twnmm.com/images/en_ca/12/racoon-0614-52660.jpg&w=690&h=388&scale=1&crop=1)
Just when you think you've seen it all. This past week our viewers were greeted to images of a squirrel riding a woodpecker and now we have a raccoon standing on an alligator.
A Palatka, Florida man managed to snap this incredible photo while visiting the Ocala National Forest Saturday morning.
Richard Jones and his family were walking along the Oaklawaha river gazing at some of the gators. As his son went through some palm fronds to get a better view, he ended up frightening a nearby raccoon.
The animal stumbled towards the water and ended up hopping on top of a gator's back, Jones told Bay News 9. The photo was taken seconds before the alligator slipped underwater and the raccoon jumped off.
"Without the context, you'd think the raccoon was hitching a ride across the river," Jones told Bay News 9 in an email. "Pretty amazing. Definitely the photo of a lifetime."
Source: http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/must-see-raccoon-rides-an-alligator-/52662/
There is a very funny tweet that says: "Raccoons and alligators are working together now it is time to evacuate this planet"
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Endangered fishing cat thought extinct in Cambodia, caught on camera
by Glenn Scherer / Mongabay / 3 Sept 2015
Asia’s Endangered fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) went missing in 2003, and was thought to be extinct in that nation. That’s why researchers were so delighted when the fishing cat showed up recently in candid shots snapped by their camera traps in two Cambodian preserves.
(http://www.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2-fishing-cat.jpg)
The sightings were made in a recent camera trap survey conducted by Cambodia’s Centre for Biodiversity Conservation (CBC) in partnership with Fauna & Flora International (FFI), and the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP).
Check out the full story & the trail cam video ...
source: http://news.mongabay.com/2015/09/endangered-fishing-cat-thought-extinct-in-cambodia-caught-on-camera/
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Rabbit vs Snake in a Battle You Need to See (bunny wins)
Video = Weather Network - Rabbit vs Snake (http://www.theweathernetwork.com/videos/Gallery/all/video_gallery/rabbit-vs-snake-in-a-battle-you-need-to-see/sharevideo/4324041443001)
this is one fierce bunny!!
(no blood or gross stuff though you do see a dead baby bunny at the very beginning)
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Thousands of Orangutans Threatened by Indonesia Haze
Video = Weather Network - Orangutans threatened by haze (http://www.theweathernetwork.com/videos/Gallery/all/video_gallery/thousands-of-orangutans-threatened-by-indonesia-haze/sharevideo/4585746949001)
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Cute or Not? Koala Bear Runs Down Woman on a Quad
Video = Weather Network - Cute or Not? (http://www.theweathernetwork.com/videos/Gallery/all/video_gallery/cute-or-not-koala-bear-runs-down-woman-on-quad/sharevideo/4432377668001)
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Polar Bear Leaves Sunny Australia for Cold Canada
Video = Weather Network - Polar Bear leaves Australia (http://www.theweathernetwork.com/videos/Gallery/all/video_gallery/polar-bear-leaves-sunny-australia-for-cold-canada/sharevideo/4536452203001)
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Change of Season has Moose Fighting in Alaska
Video = Weather Network - Moose Fighting (http://www.theweathernetwork.com/videos/Gallery/all/video_gallery/change-of-season-has-moose-fighting-in-alaska-see-it/sharevideo/4535812510001)
(nothing gross)
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Moose vs Police in Chase Showdown
Video = Weather Network - Moose vs Police (http://www.theweathernetwork.com/videos/Gallery/all/video_gallery/moose-vs-police-in-chase-showdown/sharevideo/4533266579001)
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Fox Loves Begging Strips
Video = Weather Network - Begging Strips (http://www.theweathernetwork.com/videos/Gallery/all/video_gallery/loves-begging-strips/sharevideo/4530611896001)
No begging involved, just a nice civilized (by both parties) visit.
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Officers Did What to this Skunk?
Video = Skunk Rescue (http://www.theweathernetwork.com/videos/Gallery/all/video_gallery/watch-officers-did-what-to-this-skunk/sharevideo/4499193631001)
Nice piece of lateral thinking by very calm police officers (hard to be calm around skunk!)
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Canada's superhero' namesake could save your life
National Geographic
This is very cool = Jasper to the rescue (http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/wolverines-for-avalanche-rescue/67166/)
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Pole Dancer
(yup, that's all I'm going to tell you - you have to watch the video)
This is great - Pole Dancing at the Fairmont Resort in the mountains of BC (http://www.chonday.com/Videos/baybearcigolf2)
Sorry it ended where it did, would have loved to see what happened to the twit in the orange shirt when he decided he needed to get closer so he could continue to get "great video" ... sigh, another possible candidate for the Darwin Awards (http://www.darwinawards.com/)
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Cutest Break and Enter
31 May 2016 / Newfoundland & Labrador
Max cute factor here folks ....
CBC - ''Cutest break and enter': Baby moose gets trapped on steps of St. John's home (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/baby-moose-trapped-stjohns-home-1.3608670)
Global News - Newfoundland wildlife officers take baby moose for a ride (http://globalnews.ca/news/2731579/newfoundland-wildlife-officers-take-baby-moose-for-a-ride/)
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Oops! Sorry, I see my links didn't work in this post - but I must leave now so will come back later this evening and post again ...
Meanwhile, enjoy the post by TPC about Larry the cat! :)
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Trending news about Larry - The Downing Street Cat. ;D
I hope he continues to enjoy a happy life! :)
I've been following Larry's Twitter feed for years - www.twitter.com/Number10cat
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Oops! Sorry, I see my links didn't work in this post - but I must leave now so will come back later this evening and post again ...
Meanwhile, enjoy the post by TPC about Larry the cat! :)
Hopefully this works better ...
Trending news about Larry - The Downing Street Cat. ;D
I hope he continues to enjoy a happy life! :)
http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/larry-the-10-downing-street-cat-is-staying-1.3677276 (http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/larry-the-10-downing-street-cat-is-staying-1.3677276)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_(cat) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_(cat))
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Trending news about Larry - The Downing Street Cat. ;D
I hope he continues to enjoy a happy life! :)
I've been following Larry's Twitter feed for years - www.twitter.com/Number10cat
Thanks TPC. Love this Twitter link - some of Larry's comments are hilarious! ;D
I'll be sure to check in at times to see how he’s doing ...
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I see poor Larry had to have his right front paw treated by a vet and was under orders to stay inside, though today Larry was back outside again ...
Larry had to see the vet - July 21 (https://twitter.com/Number10cat/status/756170763736981506)
Larry on the sofa - July 25 (https://twitter.com/Number10cat/status/757523116570603520)
Larry is back - July 26 (https://twitter.com/Number10cat/status/757880840034615296)
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Okay, there is "hands on" and then there is "HANDS ON" ... I'll let you guess which one this is ... http://goo.gl/B8dFxG
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Their diligence paid off. Perhaps it thought it was a "Honey" pot and they should name it Pooh Bear!
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How can anyone not smile watching this (these?) little bandit(s) ...
http://www.9news.com.au/world/2017/01/08/07/38/shop-owner-appeals-for-help-to-catch-squirrel-chocolate-thieves
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Marine police, animal control rescue frozen coyote trapped on pier ladder
CBC News / Mar 13, 2017
A coyote was rescued after getting itself stuck at the Burlington Canal on Sunday.
(https://i.cbc.ca/1.4022632.1489421321!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_300/coyote.jpg)
A concerned citizen waved Hamilton police marine unit officers over to the ship canal wall to help rescue a coyote that was stuck and had its fur frozen by the spray Sunday. (Hamilton Police Marine Unit/Twitter)
Const. Ben Rushton said officers were out on regular patrol when a concerned citizen waved them over to the canal wall and showed them where a coyote was wedged behind a ladder that leads down to the water.
"Nobody knows how or why the coyote ended up there," Rushton said. "Because of some of the spray, its fur was frozen to the concrete."
Hamilton police's Marine Unit got in touch with animal control workers in Hamilton and Burlington, who were able to free the coyote after checking to make sure it didn't have any injuries.
Source: CBC News - Marine police, animal control rescue frozen coyote trapped on pier ladder (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/marine-police-animal-control-rescue-frozen-coyote-trapped-on-pier-ladder-1.4022629)
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Oh so cool video from the Weather Network
https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/videos/gallery/wolves-run-beside-womans-car-in-nwt-see-it/sharevideo/5359290348001
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Polar bear with strange headgear:
(https://picload.org/image/rlpigcga/polar-bears-head-in-tube-1a.jpg)
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What is it with bears and buckets?
(https://picload.org/image/rlpiglww/polar-bear-helmet-1a.jpg) (https://picload.org/image/rlpigcgr/polar-bear-helmet-2a.jpg)
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Sad ending for a young bull moose in Winnipeg
No need to tranquilize moose near Investors Group Field, says wildlife biologist
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/loose-moose-dies-banjo-bowl-1.4283909
(http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/loose-moose-dies-banjo-bowl-1.4283909)
Conservation officers to blame for IGF Moose death: wildlife biologist
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/moose-that-delayed-banjo-bowl-dies-after-transport-443754693.html
(https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/moose-that-delayed-banjo-bowl-dies-after-transport-443754693.html)
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Woman who ran into coyote shocked to find it - 35 km later - alive and stuck in the grille of her car
Source: http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/woman-who-ran-into-coyote-shocked-to-find-it-35-km-later-alive-and-stuck-to-grille-of-her-car
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Nice story - can't help but put a smile on your face :D
From our friends at the Weather Network
Firefighter came across a distressed deer, see what happens (https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/videos/gallery/firefighter-came-across-a-distressed-deer-see-what-happens/sharevideo/5582068652001)
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Incident report of Banjo Bowl moose immobilization lays no blame
An incident report has been released on the September 9 moose chase that took place near Investors Group Field.
Source: https://globalnews.ca/news/3855109/incident-report-of-banjo-bowl-moose-immobilization-lays-no-blame/ (https://globalnews.ca/news/3855109/incident-report-of-banjo-bowl-moose-immobilization-lays-no-blame/)
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Police dog finds near-frozen kittens beside remote dirt road
By Darren Bernhardt, CBC News Posted: Dec 06, 2017 1:31 PM CT Last Updated: Dec 06, 2017 1:31 PM CT
A cold, evening walk in rural Manitoba became a rescue mission for an RCMP officer and his canine partner.
Const. Taylor Burns and his service dog Hix were getting some after-work exercise Monday night, walking a dark, dirt road alongside a snowy field in the Woodlands area, when Hix caught a scent and darted off.
Two of the kittens that Hix caught a scent of were able to be saved; unfortunately, it was too late for the others.
Read the rest of this story here (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/frozen-kittens-rescued-police-dog-1.4435255)
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THIS IS INCREDIBLY SAD - I would say don't watch the video below but this is something we have caused and we should have to see what we have, and are continuing, to do. I'm not posting a photo because that makes it easier not to watch the video, even just a couple of seconds of it. If this wasn't enough of a warning then you didn't read it.
Heart-Wrenching Video Shows Starving Polar Bear on Iceless Land
By Sarah Gibbens / National Geographic / 7 Dec 2017
video & story = https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/12/polar-bear-starving-arctic-sea-ice-melt-climate-change-spd/
When photographer Paul Nicklen and filmmakers from conservation group Sea Legacy arrived in the Baffin Islands, they came across a heartbreaking sight: a starving polar bear on its deathbed.
Nicklen is no stranger to bears. From the time he was a child growing up in Canada's far north the biologist turned wildlife photographer has seen over 3,000 bears in the wild. But the emaciated polar bear, featured in videos Nicklen published to social media on December 5, was one of the most gut-wrenching sights he's ever seen.
"We stood there crying—filming with tears rolling down our cheeks," he said.
Video shows the polar bear clinging to life, its white hair limply covering its thin, bony frame. One of the bear's back legs drags behind it as it walks, likely due to muscle atrophy. Looking for food, the polar bear slowly rummages through a nearby trashcan used seasonally by Inuit fishers. It finds nothing and resignedly collapses back down onto the ground.
In the days since Nicklen posted the footage, he's been asked why he didn’t intervene.
"Of course, that crossed my mind," said Nicklen. "But it's not like I walk around with a tranquilizer gun or 400 pounds of seal meat."
And even if he did, said Nicklen, he only would have been prolonging the bear's misery. Plus, feeding wild polar bears is illegal in Canada.
The wildlife photographer says he filmed the bear's slow, beleaguered death because he didn't want it to die in vain.
"When scientists say bears are going extinct, I want people to realize what it looks like. Bears are going to starve to death," said Nicklen. "This is what a starving bear looks like."
The Climate Change Link
By telling the story of one polar bear, Nicklen hopes to convey a larger message about how a warming climate has deadly consequences.
Polar bears have long been unwitting mascots for the effects of climate change. As animals that live only in Arctic regions, they're often the first to feel the impacts of warming temperatures and rising seas.
The large, half-ton bears find concentrations of seals on sea ice. During summer months, it's not uncommon for polar bears to go months without eating while they wait for Arctic ice to solidify.
In 2002, a World Wildlife Fund report predicted that climate change could eventually lead to polar bear endangerment or extinction. Even then, the report found that polar bears were moving from ice to land earlier and staying on land longer, unhealthily extending the bears' fasting season. By the end of summer, most bears studied by the World Wildlife Fund showed signs of starvation.
Fifteen years later, polar bears' icy hunting grounds are in even worse shape. The National Snow and Ice Data Center, which tracks sea ice cover annually, has regularly noted record lows in sea ice coverage—a decline that is expected to only get worse.
A study recently published in the journal Biosciences looked at how climate science is often falsely discredited. The study found climate deniers are able to downplay the threat of climate change by discrediting the threat facing polar bears.
However, a study published last year by the European Geosciences Union and this year by the U.S. Geological Survey confirms melting sea ice continues to be an existential threat to polar bears.
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THIS IS INCREDIBLY SAD - I would say don't watch the video below but this is something we have caused and we should have to see what we have, and are continuing, to do. I'm not posting a photo because that makes it easier not to watch the video, even just a couple of seconds of it. If this wasn't enough of a warning then you didn't read it.
Undoubtedly, it was incredibly sad to watch this starving polar bear ... I would not have been able to stand by and watch an animal suffering so severely without trying to seek help ... still, realizing the various ways we've contributed to the loss of habitat for many species of wildlife - all around the world - is very distressing.
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Here's a sweet dog who is nearly 15 years old and still continues to brighten up the lives of many people. :)
Rusty, Winnipeg's glasses-wearing hospital therapy dog, to be honoured with ceremony
George Ames and his therapy dog Rusty volunteer at St. Boniface Hospital 3 days a week
CBC News Posted: Dec 14, 2017 10:15 AM CT Last Updated: Dec 14, 2017 10:15 AM CT
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-rusty-dog-hospital-1.4448212 (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-rusty-dog-hospital-1.4448212)
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Rusty the Dog & Winnipeg Business Man Honoured for Service to St. Boniface Hospital
Written by Stephen Burns
Published: 15 December 2017
https://www.chvnradio.com/news/rusty-the-dog-winnipeg-business-man-honoured-for-service-to-st-boniface-hospital (https://www.chvnradio.com/news/rusty-the-dog-winnipeg-business-man-honoured-for-service-to-st-boniface-hospital)
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From the Discovery Wildlife Park in Alberta - big cute factor, especially for a such a big bear! :o ;D
Bear On Ice
Berkley The Bear has discovered a small stream covered in ice and decides to show off her ice skating skills. Berkley is a Kodiak brown bear cub who is currently living at Discovery Wildlife Park in Innisfail, Alberta, Canada. This video brought a smile to my face as it’s always fun to see wildlife playing in the great outdoors. If you enjoyed this video and want to learn something interesting watch Counting Bears In Canada.
source: https://biggeekdad.com/2017/12/bear-on-ice/
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High-tech cameras suggest polar bears having tougher time hunting
Bob Weber / The Canadian Press / 1 Feb 2018
(https://media.winnipegfreepress.com/images/CPT133452038.jpg)
A polar bear is seen in this handout image taken from video from a camera attached to another polar bear. Researchers have attached tiny cameras to polar bears for a bear's-eye view of them hunting on the sea ice, one of a suite of high-tech tools providing what could be the closest look yet at how the iconic animals are coping with a rapidly changing Arctic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, U.S. Geological Survey *MANDATORY CREDIT*
Researchers have attached tiny cameras to polar bears for a bear's-eye view of them hunting on the sea ice, one of a suite of high-tech tools providing what could be the closest look yet at how the iconic animals are coping with a rapidly changing Arctic.
"This study was designed trying to get a much more detailed understanding of what the bears were actually doing on the ice," said researcher Anthony Pagano of the University of California in Santa Cruz. Pagano wanted to capture hard data on how often bears catch seals and how many they need to keep healthy and strong in their demanding environment.
He and his colleagues studied nine bears in the Beaufort Sea over the course of about a week during three successive Aprils from 2014 to 2016. They equipped the bears with GPS-enabled video cameras as well as with instruments to measure the speed and distance they travelled, how quickly they burned energy and how much time they spent in the water. "It allowed us to actually monitor the behaviour of the animals," said Pagano. "(The camera) gave a perspective right underneath the bear's chin."
One big conclusion is that polar bears need a lot more food than previously thought. Scientists have believed that because bears hunt mostly by waiting for a seal to pop through a blowhole, they don't use much energy. Others theorized the bears were able to lower their metabolism during those waits. Wrong, said Pagano. His study concludes bear metabolism is about 60 per cent higher than previous estimates, meaning the animals need to eat that many more seals to maintain weight. "Overall, the metabolic rates of these animals are similar to other marine and terrestrial carnivores. They need to be catching more seals than would have been predicted previously." The cameras recorded footage of bears catching seals and hauling them out of the ice, as well as of bears wrestling with large seals in frigid waters. "It was quite fascinating and really exciting to watch," said Pagano.
Ominously, he found that five of his nine bears lost weight during the study, up to 10 per cent of their body mass. That's despite the study taking place during the time when bears normally have their most successful hunting. The Beaufort Sea has seen dramatic losses in sea ice. It's population of polar bears is known to be in decline. Pagano cautions the conclusions of his study are tempered by its small sample size and limited time span.
Andrew Derocher, a polar bear biologist at the University of Alberta, warned that there is wide variability between bears and different times of year. "You might get a very different picture on weight gain from many more individuals," he said. Still, he said, the study backs up others looking at how polar bears are coping with shrinking sea ice, their favourite hunting platform. "Pretty much every component they've found was largely confirmatory in nature," Derocher said. "The true beauty of this work is that it's all integrated at once, in one place, in the same individual bears. You get a much more holistic perspective of the ecology of the bears."
source: https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/greenpage/high-tech-cameras-suggest-polar-bears-having-tougher-time-hunting-472189303.html
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If anyone needs a quick pick-me-up, try watching this video!
Boy befriends bear at Nashville Zoo, films 'cutest' viral video ever
http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2018/06/14/boy-befriends-bear-at-nashville-zoo-films-cutest-viral-video-ever.html
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Sabretooth squirrel saved by Alberta tooth fairy
By Sarah Kraus
Reporter Global News
https://globalnews.ca/news/4278244/sabretooth-squirrel-alberta-dentistry/
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Poor little squirrel. What horrible teeth. I hope the trim helps and the teeth now grow properly. If not, this wonderful person is ready to help out again.
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And the fattest bear in Alaska is ... this rotund mother bear
CBC/Thomson Reuters | Oct 10, 2018
(https://i.cbc.ca/1.4857820.1539207504!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/409-beadnose-fattest-bear-of-2018.jpg)
<A shaggy, brown and possibly pregnant mother bear known as 409 Beadnose, crowned on Tuesday as Fattest Bear of 2018, is seen on the bank of the Brooks River in Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska, on Sept. 30, 2018. (NPS Photo/A. Ramos)>
In an Alaska clash of tubby titans that has become a social media sensation, a shaggy, brown and possibly pregnant mother known as 409 Beadnose was crowned on Tuesday as Fattest Bear of 2018. Beadnose nosed out a larger Alaska brown bear, a male called 747, and likened to a jumbo jet in online votes collected by staff at Katmai National Park and Preserve during a wildly popular event called Fat Bear Week. Male bears are bigger, but Beadnose was deemed to be more rotund. Her radiant rolls were deemed by the voting public to be this year's most fabulous flab, the park said on its Facebook page. "Our chubby champ has a few more weeks to chow down on lingering salmon carcasses before she heads up the mountains to dig herself a den and savour her victory."
Katmai, which hugs the mountainous Gulf of Alaska coast, is known for its massive, salmon-chomping ursine residents.
GORGING IN PREPARATION FOR WINTER
October, the month before bears go into their dens to hibernate, is when the animals work the hardest to build the body fat they need to survive winter. And October is a perfect time for nature lovers to watch Katmai's livestream video as the park's brown bears do their pre-hibernation gorging. Fat Bear Week may be fun and games for human spectators, but it is serious business for bears, said Andrew LaValle, a Katmai ranger who is in charge of most of the park's social media postings.
(https://i.cbc.ca/1.2685547.1403618165!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_780/katmai-national-park-and-preserve.jpg)
<Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. (Shutterstock/Gilles Baechler)>
"This might be entertaining, especially with these beautiful, majestic animals, but this is a life-or-death struggle," he said. The bears have to eat a year's worth of food in a few months but really start to chow down in June when sockeye salmon begin swimming upstream through the park to spawn. Bears can lose a third of their body weight while hibernating, LaValle said.
Fat Bear Week got its start in 2014 as a one-day educational event called Fat Bear Tuesday, LaValle said. It became a week-long event the next year. Throughout the past week, park staffers have posted photos of individual bears and gathered input from viewers who selected favourites in a bracketed, tournament-style competition. This year's competition started with 12 bears before reaching Tuesday's Beadnose-747 faceoff.
Luckily for Katmai bears, their home holds a river teeming with fish from the world's largest natural salmon runs. The Brooks River is a spawning site for salmon based in southwestern Alaska's Bristol Bay.
source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/fattest-alaska-bear-409-beadnose-1.4857813
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Foundations fund urgent wolf transfer to Isle Royale
Up to six wolves, in danger of starvation, could be moved this weekend
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation (The Foundation) announced today that, with the support of the International Wolf Center, an urgent final effort is underway to move four to six wolves to Isle Royale National Park over the next four days.
Earlier this year, two wolves from Michipicoten Island (located in northern Lake Superior) were moved to Isle Royale. Four to six wolves still remain on the island and are at risk since their only available winter prey on the island, caribou, are gone. Officials had hoped to move all of the wolves off Michipicoten earlier, but poor weather, government shutdowns and a lack of funding delayed that effort.
The Foundation and the International Wolf Center agree that this wolf relocation project needs a strong start to have a more immediate impact on the current burgeoning moose population on Isle Royale, where an estimate of more than 1,600 moose are threatening the ecosystem.
"On Michipicoten, nature's lessons can be cruel and starvation is one of them,” said Sona Mehring, the chair of the Foundation. “For the remaining wolves on Michipicoten, that will be their fate unless we help move them to Isle Royale National Park, where their hunting skills and genetics can add value to establishing a new population of wolves on Isle Royale.”
“We’re especially proud of the fact that the International Wolf Center is helping to save the lives of a small pack of wolves on Michipicoten Island,” said the Center’s Executive Director Rob Schultz. “Since all of the caribou have been removed from Michipicoten, there’s nothing left for the wolves there to eat this winter and there is a real threat of starvation.”
It is estimated that the four-day effort, which will begin either Friday (March 22) or Saturday (March 23), will cost $100,000. The Foundation raised $30,000. The International Wolf Center raised an additional $45,000. The organizations have started a GoFundMe page to raise the final $25,000. That page can be found at bit.ly/isleroyalewolves (http://bit.ly/isleroyalewolves).
"As we discussed this project, we found many people who supported seeing the forests of Isle Royale remaining healthy,” Mehring said. “We are close to realizing the goal of providing
another capture opportunity to move these iconic wolves to an island that needs them in its ecosystem.”
Science has long showed that wolves play an important role in nature. This translocation shows how wolves can be used to naturally manage ungulate populations.
“Since the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park, we’ve seen first-hand the positive impact wolves have on ecosystems,” Schultz said. “A thriving wolf population in Isle Royale’s ecosystem will make a similar impact. If left unchecked, moose would over-consume the island’s vegetation. Apex predators, like wolves, are important components of any healthy, natural ecosystems.
“This shows just one more way we put our donor’s support to hard work to advance wolf populations around the world. We’re honored to team up with National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation to make a difference together.”
National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preservation of the natural resources and unique cultural heritage of Lake Superior’s five U.S. National Parks. National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation funds research, restoration, education, and resource protection projects for Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Grand Portage National Monument, Isle Royale National Park, Keweenaw National Historical Park, and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation has a proven record of funding projects both large and small providing more that $1.5 million in funding across all five parks.
The International Wolf Center, founded in 1985, is known worldwide as the premier source for wolf information and education. The mission of the Center is to advance the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future. The Center educates through its website, its ambassador wolves, museum exhibits, educational outreach programs, International Wolf magazine, and a beautiful interpretive center in Ely, Minnesota.
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This is just so cool
Lost species of fanged 'mouse deer' spotted for first time in 30 years
Jonathan Forani / CTV News / 11 Nov 2019
(https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.4680186.1573500625!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_960/image.png)
A lost species known as the “mouse deer’” has been spotted for the first time since 1990.
The “shy and solitary” silver-backed chevrotain, which is the size of a rabbit and has two tiny fangs, was last recorded more than 25 years ago. It was since thought to have been lost by snare poaching in Vietnam.
The discovery, published Monday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, was made by a team of researchers who set up a series of “camera traps” for five months in a southern region of Vietnam where locals said they may have spotted the deer-like creature with grey fur. The colour distinguishes it from “more common lesser” mouse deer, according to researchers.
It is the first mammal rediscovered as part of a Global Wildlife Conservation project to find lost species.
"For so long, this species has seemingly only existed as part of our imagination," said An Nguyen, associate conservation scientist for GWC and expedition team leader, in a statement. “Discovering that it is, indeed, still out there, is the first step in ensuring we don't lose it again, and we're moving quickly now to figure out how best to protect it."
Scientists know little about the species, which was first described in 1910 after four of them were discovered in southern Vietnam. A fifth was collected in central Vietnam in 1990 before mouse deer were thought to be lost.
“The rediscovery of the silver-backed chevrotain provides a big hope for the conservation of biodiversity, especially threatened species, in Vietnam,” said Hoang Minh Duc, head of the Southern Institute of Ecology's Department of Zoology, in a statement. This also encourages us, together with relevant and international partners, to devote time and effort to further investigate and conserve Vietnam's biodiversity heritage.”
The mouse deer are neither mouse or deer, but the smallest of small hoofed mammals known as “ungulates.” Scientists are now setting up a wide survey of the area to determine how stable and populous the silver-backed chevrotains are in Vietnam.
"It is an amazing feat to go from complete lack of knowledge of the wildlife of the Greater Annamites 25 years ago to now having this question mark of the silver-backed chevrotain resolved," said Barney Long, GWC senior director of species conservation, in a statement.
The team of researchers have also released accompanying illustrations by artist Eric Losh depicting the discovery.
source: https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/lost-species-of-fanged-mouse-deer-spotted-for-first-time-in-30-years-1.4680185?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+New+Content+(Feed)&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
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I'm always happy and scared when I read about species that were thought to have gone extinct being sighted again. Why? Because I'm afraid someone will hunt them. I'm encouraged they are working on a way to protect them, hopefully this one stays safe, as well as any others - which there must be some since he had to come from somewhere until a concrete plan is made.