Archive for the 'wildlife' Category
Gabriolan on 16 May 2013
The other day a friend mentioned that she (and her dog) met a cougar in the Gabriola woods. Now there’s something to keep in mind if you go off for a hike, hmmm? Somebody asked me a while ago if cougars can swim. Of course they can, and here’s proof in a Youtube video: (The [...]
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Tags: cougar
Filed in Gabriola Island,wildlife
Gabriolan on 21 Apr 2013
Howard Houle wrote to tell us that: The Regional District of Nanaimo is hosting a number of Bear Smart information sessions this spring. Every year conservation Officers respond to calls from concerned residents reporting conflict situations with bears. Many of those situations involve bears and household attractants like garbage cans, barbecues or bird feeders. If [...]
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Tags: bear
Filed in events,Gabriola Island,wildlife
Gabriolan on 31 Jan 2013
Today in the forest we surprised a small creature who darted under the bushes and ran off before we could see just what he was. He’d been digging, and had made these two little tunnels, each of which extend for at least a foot. I came home wondering if squirrels dig holes like this. Do [...]
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Filed in Gabriola Island,wildlife
Gabriolan on 20 Jan 2013
From the Times Colonist: Fallow deer eating their way across Gulf Islands. Invasive deer with voracious appetites are swimming between Gulf Islands and, as native trees and plants are munched out of existence, Parks Canada and local residents are looking for a final solution. European fallow deer — a different species from the native black-tailed [...]
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Tags: deer, fallow deer
Filed in Gabriola Island,wildlife
Gabriolan on 20 Dec 2012
And to think that we order Christmas turkeys from the grocery store or from the butcher!
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Tags: Dirksen Road
Filed in birds,food,Gabriola Island,wildlife
Gabriolan on 02 Sep 2012
Every now and again a certain Gabriola photographer sends a photo along to share with us; this is the most recent. I’m quite taken with this shot – it’s great to see the detail. Thank you, generous photographer.
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Tags: bat
Filed in Gabriola Island,wildlife
Gabriolan on 22 Jul 2012
I thought turkey poults were a spring thing, since it was May last time I noticed them. (Gabriola turkey update.) But now the turkeys who hang out by the RCMP station on South Road at Dirksen have lots of little additions toddling about in the grass. Very cute. Maybe one of these days I’ll manage [...]
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Tags: Dirksen Road, South Road, wild turkeys
Filed in Gabriola Island,wildlife
Gabriolan on 20 Jul 2012
You’ve always wanted a good look at squirrel teeth? Here you go, then.
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Filed in wildlife
Gabriolan on 25 May 2012
Our bear is getting more and more publicity. First this, from the Times Colonist: Bear proves its sea legs with swim to Gulf island. A black bear has managed to swim to Gabriola Island, quashing the community’s long-standing reputation as a bruin-free zone. The bear was first spotted May 7 near Twin Beaches and has [...]
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Tags: bear
Filed in Gabriola Island,wildlife
Gabriolan on 24 May 2012
We seem to have some booze-loving animal on Gabriola, and I’m wondering if it’s a bear or some other creature. What’s your guess? This is one of many, many beer cans tossed aside in the forest. (Some have been re-born as trailmarkers.) I’m guessing it had a bit of beer left inside, hmmm? And somebody [...]
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Filed in Gabriola Island,junk in the forest,wildlife
Gabriolan on 12 May 2012
Now that we’ve got a bear on Gabriola (seen on Ferne Road today), some of us will be a lot more alert in the forest. This list is from Backpacker Magazine’s article, Rip and Live: Learn to Survive a Bear Attack. Here is when and where you’re most likely to see them: Dawn and dusk. [...]
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Tags: bear
Filed in Gabriola Island,wildlife
Gabriolan on 08 May 2012
Somebody has seen a bear down at Twin Beaches, GROWLS says. So, hmmm. If you’re heading down to Taylor Bay, Pilot Bay, or anywhere near there, you might want to be a little more alert than you might otherwise be. And of course that bear could be anywhere on Gabriola by now, or might have [...]
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Tags: bear, Twin Beaches
Filed in Gabriola Island,wildlife
Gabriolan on 14 Apr 2012
From the Washington Post: Learn to speak squirrel in four easy lessons. Robert Lishak knows what the squirrels are saying. What we may hear as nonsensical chattering the Auburn University biology professor perceives as the back and forth of squirrels communicating with one another — and with other animals, as well. To study this squirrel [...]
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Filed in wildlife
Gabriolan on 02 Apr 2012
Filed in wildlife
Gabriolan on 23 Feb 2012
When a cougar was seen on Gabriola last month, talk in some circles turned to what cougars eat. Deer, we thought. But now it seems that cougars might have other preferences. From the Vancouver Sun: Scientists unlock mystery of cougar diet. When researchers in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve started collecting cougar scat samples, they [...]
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Tags: cougar
Filed in wildlife
Gabriolan on 19 Feb 2012
I’m not a hunter, so I don’t usually read hunting-related articles. I’m a hiker, and the closest I get to hunting is wearing bright colours when it’s deer-hunting season on Gabriola. But this… this is an interesting perspective. From The Atlantic: Hunters Are People Too. Like many vegans and vegetarians, I abstained from animal-derived foods [...]
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Tags: hunting
Filed in food,wildlife
Gabriolan on 23 Jan 2012
A cougar crossed in front of my car on Daniel Way on Saturday morning. Handsome with blackish grey fur. This was an adult with round head and a tail, about 2 1/2 to 3 feet long, healthy-looking and presumably quite happy on a diet of venison and rabbits and quail. I reported the sighting. The [...]
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Tags: cougar, Daniel Way
Filed in Gabriola Island,wildlife
Gabriolan on 22 Jan 2012
I meant to ask yesterday, after seeing this in the Gabriola woods. Who left this print, do you think? Rabbit? Squirrel? (Length is about 1.5 inches/4cm.)
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Filed in Gabriola Island,wildlife
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