Conservation

(Twitter/BC Conservation Officer Service)

Otter with a toothache, cougar in a pink collar top most ‘unique’ calls for BC COS in 2021

Conservation Officers handle 30,000 calls per year on average

 

It has been a brutal year for bears in the Elk Valley, with dozens destroyed by Conservation Officers and more killed by traffic and trains. (Scott Tibballs / The Free Press)

31 bears euthanized in the Elk Valley

Conservation Officers have been forced to destroy 31 bears in the Elk Valley so far

 

A Vancouver man has been fined $6K and handed a five-year hunting ban after strolling through downtown Princeton killing deer. (File photo)

Vancouver man fined $6K for killing deer with a crossbow in downtown Princeton

The man who was arrested near the Subway is also banned from hunting for five years

 

The fawn mule deer that was injured by an unleashed dog in Kuiper’s Peak Mountain Park on Nov. 7. (Contributed)

Unleashed dog attack on deer in Kelowna park leads to charges against owner

Conservation officers had to euthanize the injured deer

The fawn mule deer that was injured by an unleashed dog in Kuiper’s Peak Mountain Park on Nov. 7. (Contributed)
Three dead mule deer were found near Castlegar. Black Press file photo

Conservation officers investigating killing of 3 mule deer in West Kootenay

Three dead does were found in a clear cut

Three dead mule deer were found near Castlegar. Black Press file photo
The Nature Conservancy of Canada said that spooky stereotypes surrounding creatures such as bats create misunderstandings about the important mammals. (Megan Atkins-Baker/News Staff)

Halloween-linked creatures’ spooky reputation hurts protection: conservation group

Stereotypes inhibit understanding of the importance of these creatures

The Nature Conservancy of Canada said that spooky stereotypes surrounding creatures such as bats create misunderstandings about the important mammals. (Megan Atkins-Baker/News Staff)
Three grizzly bear cubs killed after being hit by a train near Elko, B.C. on October 6 2021. Their deceased mother was found further down the tracks. (Contributed by Dr. Clayton Lamb)

Mother grizzly bear, 3 cubs killed by train in Kootenays

A female grizzly and her three cubs died on train tracks on October 6

Three grizzly bear cubs killed after being hit by a train near Elko, B.C. on October 6 2021. Their deceased mother was found further down the tracks. (Contributed by Dr. Clayton Lamb)
RCMP, Conservation officers, DFO and Wildlife officers all participated in a roadside blitz near Boston Bar on Oct. 16 and 17 to enforce B.C. hunting and angling laws. (BC Conservation Office photo)

Loaded firearm nets ticket for hunter in roadside conservation blitz near Boston Bar

Hunters and anglers targeted by conservation officers in B.C. ‘funnel point’

RCMP, Conservation officers, DFO and Wildlife officers all participated in a roadside blitz near Boston Bar on Oct. 16 and 17 to enforce B.C. hunting and angling laws. (BC Conservation Office photo)
A bull moose is wandering around the woods in the Fernie area with an arrow in its back hump. (Pixabay file)

Moose with arrow in back hump spotted wandering around near Fernie

Unfortunate but complicated situation, says COS

A bull moose is wandering around the woods in the Fernie area with an arrow in its back hump. (Pixabay file)
Brendan Sandhu cuddles one of the male wolf-dog hybrids he recently helped rescue in the Hope and Chilliwack area. (Submitted by Brendan Sandhu)

‘One of my guys jumped into a 10-foot poop pit,’ says wolfdog rescuer near Chilliwack

Born from dog/wolf parents, hybrids are nearly genetically, physically identical to wolves

Brendan Sandhu cuddles one of the male wolf-dog hybrids he recently helped rescue in the Hope and Chilliwack area. (Submitted by Brendan Sandhu)
Proceeds from the B.C. Wildlife Federation’s second annual online auction will support conservation initiatives around the province. BCWF photo.

Online gift, gear and getaway auction boosts BC fish and wildlife conservation

B.C. Wildlife Federation online auction supports conservation projects across the province

Proceeds from the B.C. Wildlife Federation’s second annual online auction will support conservation initiatives around the province. BCWF photo.
Tucker, the starving bobcat rescued by Langley’s Critter Care, is doing well, but he will need new accommodations. The wild animal rehab centre has launched a sponsorship campaign to help pay for it. (Critter Care video)

VIDEO: B.C. animal rehab centre offers a chance to sponsor rescued bobcat

Tucker is doing well, but he will need a new enclosure

Tucker, the starving bobcat rescued by Langley’s Critter Care, is doing well, but he will need new accommodations. The wild animal rehab centre has launched a sponsorship campaign to help pay for it. (Critter Care video)
Creek flows are so low that fish are dying in the shallow water. (Okanagan Nation Alliance)

Low flows, high temperatures killing fish in Okanagan creeks

The drought conditions are threatening fish habitat in Okanagan creeks

Creek flows are so low that fish are dying in the shallow water. (Okanagan Nation Alliance)
UBCO researchers have worked to Indigenize a set of wildlife conservation principles and policies that have guided wildlife management decisions in Canada and the United States for decades. (Contributed/UBCO)

UBCO researchers help weave Indigenous-led policy into wildlife conservation model

New approach takes traditional knowledge and applies it to a modern setting

UBCO researchers have worked to Indigenize a set of wildlife conservation principles and policies that have guided wildlife management decisions in Canada and the United States for decades. (Contributed/UBCO)
Gates Creek, 274-acres of land now in trust with the Nature Conservancy of Canada. (Nature Conservancy)

New conservancy will protect 274-acre corridor B.C. grizzly bears use to meet, mingle

Maintaining connectivity between Stein-Nahatlatch and South Chilcotin grizzly populations essential for species’ survival

Gates Creek, 274-acres of land now in trust with the Nature Conservancy of Canada. (Nature Conservancy)
New research suggests wolves can be steered away from the endangered caribou herds they prey on by making the man-made trails they use to hunt harder to move along. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Culling cutlines, not B.C. wolves, key to preserving caribou herds: researcher

The government has turned to killing hundreds of wolves in an effort to keep caribou around

New research suggests wolves can be steered away from the endangered caribou herds they prey on by making the man-made trails they use to hunt harder to move along. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
The B.C. Conservation Officer Service set up a live trap on Ben McGuffie’s property on Quadra Island. Photo courtesy Ben McGuffie

B.C. winery operator throws rock to protect his goats from menacing grizzly

The big bears are rare for Quadra Island, especially in the populated areas

The B.C. Conservation Officer Service set up a live trap on Ben McGuffie’s property on Quadra Island. Photo courtesy Ben McGuffie
A group of Coquitlam golfers was interrupted on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, by a black bear who bit a player's ball and tossed it back towards the group. (Screen grab/Mark Pettie)

VIDEO: ‘Seriously annoyed’ black bear tosses ball, interrupts B.C. golfers

‘If the bears are chasing golf balls at least they are not chasing golfers,’ says Sgt. Todd Hunter, a B.C. conservation officer

A group of Coquitlam golfers was interrupted on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, by a black bear who bit a player's ball and tossed it back towards the group. (Screen grab/Mark Pettie)
Brandi Hansen said she was disheartened to find dozens of severed, declawed bear paws dumped in a culvert alongside a North Shuswap road on Sunday, May 23, 2021. (Contributed)

B.C. First Nations condemn those responsible for bear paws dumped in North Shuswap

Union of BC Indian Chiefs says poachers likely responsible

Brandi Hansen said she was disheartened to find dozens of severed, declawed bear paws dumped in a culvert alongside a North Shuswap road on Sunday, May 23, 2021. (Contributed)
The BC Conservation Officer Service (COS) handed out fines to two anglers on Shuswap Lake who were both casting more than one line, in violation of provincial regulations, Saturday, May 15, 2021. (COS photo)

Conservation officers snag Shuswap anglers for unlawful fishing

Two anglers were given $150 fines for casting two lines at once, against provincial regulations

The BC Conservation Officer Service (COS) handed out fines to two anglers on Shuswap Lake who were both casting more than one line, in violation of provincial regulations, Saturday, May 15, 2021. (COS photo)