Positivity

I'm taking this blog in a different direction this week, there is still very little going on at the shelter right now, other than what I have already talked about previously, so instead I want to discuss something that has been on my mind for a while now, optimism.

Optimism is a topic that I have been thinking a lot about since I saw a quote on tumblr a few months ago that said “There are a tremendous amount of things to be optimistic about”. To my surprise it was a quote by Hank Green, the brother of my favourite author and a vlogger that I regularly watch on Youtube.

I like to think that I am an optimistic person, and I agree with Hank there are a great many things for humans to be optimistic about. I believe, however that the problem is that we are fed so much bad news, we no longer know how to be optimistic. The media likes to focus on the depressing and on the disasters in the world. Disasters can be quantified using statistics. This many people have died in a terrorist attack, this many people have been injured in an explosion, this species will be extinct by this year e.t.c. It is easy to see the negatives when they are presented to us in numbers or easily understandable measurements. However a scientific breakthrough that could lead to the cure for a terrible disease or a new development that could improve the lives of many has no tangible proof of it's overall effects until the finished product has been released in the future. It is all conjecture until that point, and it can be hard for some to get excited about mere speculation. I can understand the reason why society focuses on the identifiable disasters rather than rejoicing in the positives that are yet to occur, because it is simply easier that way.

So even though business at the shelter is pretty slow right now, and the work is repetitive and can get somewhat boring, to echo Hank, I have so much to be positive and happy about. I am in Canada, living in one of the most beautiful areas I have ever seen (I promise, I am working on getting some pictures up!). I get to bottle feed baby moose, stroke a European lynx and work with many other incredible animals. I am living with an extremely lovely and welcoming family who never fail to make me laugh. I am going to be taught how to ride and take care of horses, and go on trail rides and I get to zoom around the countryside on a quad bike, which I don't think I will ever get tired of, it's that much fun. Honestly, right now I feel like the luckiest girl in the world and have no reason to complain about the lack of bears. If they arrive later on in the year, brilliant. If not then I can be happy knowing that they are healthy enough not to need our help, which can only be a good thing.

Falling into a routine

I have completed my first two weeks at the shelter and I'm starting to fall into a routine, which is nice. I'm also finally over the jet lag, so not falling asleep by four in the afternoon, which is extremely helpful when it comes to afternoon feeding. Due to there not being any bears right now, there isn't a whole lot going on at the shelter, so apart from feeding the animals that are currently here, a lot of the work has been clearing out overgrown areas of land for enclosures and hospital pens to be built in, ready for the autumn and winter where there is suspected to be an increase in admitted animals.

I was talking to Angelika earlier in the week about the lack of bears at the shelter. Just a few months ago there was 34 bears ready to be released here. The lack of bears is very bittersweet though. On one hand It is a good sign that there are no bears, as it means that the cubs that did survive the winter and the disease that is circulating B.C right now are currently healthy and with their mothers and aren't in need of the shelter's help. However having no bears around means the shelter is abnormally quiet right now, which seems strange to the people who work here full time as according to them this place is usually extremely busy, and more than a little bit chaotic at times.

There is still plenty to be done though and one of my favourite tasks of the past two weeks has been feeding the baby moose. They are still quite  young so are being bottle fed milk alongside their fruit and vegetables. Although they are only two months old they are already quite big and extremely strong, and can be very pushy if you don't give them their bottles straight away. I had to learn this the hard way when I hesitated and ended up on the receiving end of a very slobbery moose kiss to the cheek!

I have also been learning how to drive the four wheeler, which is like a large quad bike. It isn't difficult, however I have never driven anything before so it was challenging at first and I was a bit terrified of driving into a ditch or crashing into a building. Luckily that hasn't happened yet, and hopefully it never will, although Kim (another volunteer) and I had a close call yesterday when we went on a nature walk. A bear had been spotted up in the hay field so we took the four wheeler up there to have a look. However because the grass was so long it was hard to see where the path was and Kim drove us straight into a ditch and almost turned the quad over, but we managed to save it before that happened. We walked around the forest for around an hour and spotted many field signs of recent bear activity, such as fur tufts on the fences and claw marks on the trees, but no visual on the bear yet.

This weekend has been the annual fall fair in Smithers. It is comparable to the county fairs we have in the UK, however the focus is more on horses. They have many competitions and judges drive in to present ribbons in a whole variety of riding and horsemanship competitions. I got to watch the owners of the shelter and many of the kids here on summer camp show and the shelter won a whole bunch of ribbons, including one champion and one reserve champion, that gives them an extremely good reputation for their horse breeding. I also learnt that once fall fair is over  we will be driving to Prince George to release the black fox that arrived here a little while before I arrived. Prince George is "only four hours away" as Angelika put it. To me four hours is a long drive, it only takes me three to drive to university. However the Province is so large that when they released the bears earlier in the year sometimes they were driving ten to fourteen hours each way to ensure they were released where they were found. So relatively speaking a town four hours away here is local, which I find very weird.

Fears and first days

I have arrived in Smithers safe and sound. However it was not the most enjoyable flight over. I have been on planes plenty of times before. I am no stranger to flying and have never, to my recollection, experienced anxiety inside an aeroplane. This time around however an inexplicable feeling of dread and fear built inside of me as the plane was moving to the runway. During take-off was the worst part, this strange feeling didn't relent and I found myself extremely agitated and upset about the ordeal. However now after having more time to compose myself and really think about what happened, I do not think it was fear. I have been planning this trip for nearly eight months, and I believe the shock of it finally being time to go, as well as the emotional farewell to my family and best friend at the airport had shaken me and what was masquerading as fear during the ascent was actually a mixture of a whole bunch of emotions that I can't begin to describe accurately. Thankfully the second flight on to Smithers was not as bad, and I arrived in what must be one of the smallest airports I have ever seen. It was literally one hall with check in, arrivals, departures and security all in the one room.

Anyway with all of that behind me, I was driven to NLWS. The shelter is deceptively large. What looked at first sight to be a small area with a main house and some cabins, actually extends well into the surrounding areas with the bear and moose pens further away up a hill. I was taken on a tour the morning after I arrived and met all of the animals currently at the shelter and learnt their stories.

The first animal I met was Igor the European lynx. Igor was rescued from a woman who was a collector of big cats. She had tigers and lynx all at her home and when Igor was brought to the shelter he was extremely skinny and emaciated. However looking at him now I would never have known this, he looks healthy and happy. Unfortunately he cannot be released into the wild, so instead of putting down a healthy animal he has been tamed, and lives a very nice life, in his own little area away from the main house. When I went up there today I was able to scratch behind his ears and he wanted to play with my shoes as I was walking! It was very surreal seeing a large lynx playing just like a little kitten.

Also at the shelter now are two foxes, some moose, two owls and Helena (a cougar that also cannot be released, however is not tame) and then all the small mammals such as the guinea pigs, rabbits and rats that are bred for food for the large carnivores. Unfortunately there are no bears at the shelter right now. This is the first time in 13 years they have no bears on the facility. Peter explained to me that there is currently a disease spreading around British Columbia that affects the liver, and it meant that a lot of the bears that went into hibernation last year didn't wake up in the spring. Each year around early summer the owners and volunteers at the shelter drive thousands of miles all over the province releasing the bears they have been caring for, and Peter also explained that is was very unusual this year, in that throughout all their travels, they didn't see one bear in the wild, which is very unnerving as there was a time when they could be seen very often.

The surrounding area is absolutely stunning, the shelter is located away from the town and has amazing views of the surrounding mountains, in fact from my bedroom window I have a clear view of the largest mountain and the glacier on it. I wish I could upload some photos however I have been told that internet usage works very differently here, and that uploading photos can increase the cost. Hopefully I can upload some in the future but for now I don't want to incur any unnecessary costs.

Introductions

Speaking as someone who has never organised any of my own travel plans, never travelled long distances alone, or even flown in an aeroplane by myself before, the thought of moving half way across the world, for a year, all by myself, is pretty terrifying. So why then, did I decide that moving to Canada, leaving all my friends and family behind, would be a good idea?

 Let me first start by introducing myself. My name is Christine and I am currently studying Wildlife Conservation at university and for my placement year I am interning at Northern Lights Wildlife Society in British Columbia, Canada.

 NLWS is a shelter dedicated to giving injured and orphaned wildlife a second chance at life, by rehabilitating them back to health, then re-releasing them back into the wild. Whilst the shelter admits almost all Canadian wildlife, it specialises in the rehabilitation of bears, and has successfully seen the release of over 200 Black, Grizzly and Kermode bears. What makes this feat even more incredible is that the whole organization is run by volunteers and funding comes from generous donations that provide a second chance to a whole variety of different species.

 Animals have always been a passion of mine, and I love to travel so it seemed obvious to me that for my placement year I wanted to work abroad. This will allow me to gain a wider cultural understanding of the world I live in, as well as having the chance to do what I love the most, which is helping and providing for animals. I am hesitant to leave my friends, family and of course, my beloved pet collie Jemma behind. However I know this is the start of what will be an incredible adventure, which will allow me to grow as a person and gain more confidence in my own capabilities.

There is a quote, by my favourite author, John Green, which rings truth with me and describes the effect; we humans are having on this planet,

“The marks humans leave, are too often scars”

 Studying wildlife conservation I see the scars that that humans have left on this world, all the time. I see the damage we have caused to ecosystems, to habitats that belong to an array of vulnerable species that are under constant threat due to human’s ever growing demands on this planet. Like most people I want to leave my mark on this world, but one which isn’t a scar, or even a blemish. I want to see healthy, happy animals returning to their natural habitat, and hopefully working at Northern Lights will allow me to do this.