Luck is a strange concept for me to get my head around. Is there really an overbearing force of nature that determines whether or not you will have a lucky day? Whether something amazing or disastrous happens? Or do you indeed make your own luck like the late Ernest Hemingway once proclaimed. Some theories state that those people who consider themselves 'lucky', are actually just better at spotting and taking opportunities that are presented to them. While those who are 'unlucky' are generally more tense and prone to missing things. This does make a lot of sense to me. Some say that I am extremely lucky in that I get to live and work with wildlife in Canada. I say that it is just an outcome of hard work and determination. I wanted to find a placement that allows me to do what I love the most, so I searched for hours online, finally finding NLWS. I saw an opportunity and I took a chance at it.
Others claim there is a strong link between superstition and luck. Break a mirror? That's 7 years bad luck right there. Find a four leaf clover? It will be a lucky day for you. One of the most superstitious beliefs that seems to engage even the non-superstitious is Friday the 13th. Many people believe this to be a truly unlucky day and anything and everything that goes wrong on this date is blamed on poor timing. In fact some people have such a fear of this day that they alter their normal routines, meaning that in some parts of the world disasters such a traffic collisions and work accidents are actually reduced because people are being extra careful, or in extreme cases not going outside.
What does all this mean to me though? Well the past week or so has been one of the unluckiest weeks of my entire life. Everything seemed to be going wrong. I have been in a number of accidents(thankfully nothing too serious) including being headbutted by Jasper the Burmese mountain dog, spilling hot milk on myself, dropping a frying pan on my foot and taking a spectacular tumble down a hill, leaving me with bruised ribs and arms, a selection of cuts on my hip and hands and unable to work for 2 days. I also managed to knock a cup of tea on my laptop that left it broken for four days (it is now working again though). The fact that the week all this happened to me was also the week that had Friday the 13th in it didn't even cross my mind until a few days ago. Is there really some truth behind superstition? Or is it just a strange coincidence that this happened even when I don't consider myself a naturally unlucky person. Either way everything is turning out okay, my injuries have healed, my laptop is fixed and just today I had a brilliant time releasing a fox that has been one of the highlights of my six weeks here so far. Whether it was just coincidence or if whatever supernatural being it is that grants luck was just angry with me doesn't matter anymore, it's all behind me now and I am ready to move on and do what I came here to do.
Tuesday, 24 September 2013
Monday, 16 September 2013
The problem with 'problem bears'
BREAKING NEWS, THE SHELTER HAS BEARS!!
The whole shelter has been in an extremely happy and positive mood recently, on September 12th, we received the first black bear of the season from Prince George. Unfortunately the mother was hit by a car and left behind one cub which is now safely in our care. He is very healthy, has a large appetite and has settled into his enclosure extremely well. Later on the same day we received word that three more bears were on their way from a town called Kamloops and they also arrived here safely on the 14th. Their story is just as heartbreaking as the first bear's. Their mother was shot by a resident who believed she was approaching him. After the arrival of each bear I feel a bout of sadness as I learn of their backgrounds, and seeing them in the enclosures only reinforces the fact to me that they are orphaned. I know that they will be well looked after here though and I am greatly looking forward to watching them grow and be released next year.
The arrival of these bears does not just mean more work for the shelter though, it is also a much needed drive for donations. The shelter runs almost entirely on donations, and without any bears this important funding just hasn't been coming in. General maintenance of the shelter has huge costs, as well as the new enclosures that need to be built and preparing the already standing buildings for the winter also incurs large fees. Hopefully the arrival of the four cubs will boost donations and the work can continue.
Through working at the shelter I have learnt that many of the cubs we receive are orphaned as a result of their mother being killed after being deemed 'problem bears'. The issue with this however, is that problem bears are most often created by human ignorance and carelessness. Problem bears are not born with conflict on the brain, they are simply looking for food and a way to feed their cubs, and as bear and human territory is overlapping more and more with the ever increasing human population, these so called 'problem bears' are also on the rise as we continue to encroach on their feeding areas. Walking around town I have been shown areas that aren't 'bear aware'. Apples left lying on the ground by back gates, bins that are left open and are not bear proof. It is things like this that causes bears to approach towns, they are not looking for trouble, just food. Just last week, for example, I was shown a picture of two grizzlies 'raiding' a truck used by campers. Food was left out in the open in the back of the truck and they were parked under apple trees in known bear territory. This is not the fault of the bears, who were incidentally later euthanised for being 'problem bears', this is the carelessness of humans that has caused the death of two beautiful animals. I implore anyone reading this blog that lives in known bear habitat to learn how to reduce the availability of bear attractants to your property. It could save the lives of many bears.
On a final note the four bear cubs have yet to be named, and we are drawing a blank here at the shelter so if anyone has any ideas for names please let me know and I shall pass them on. Thank you :)
The whole shelter has been in an extremely happy and positive mood recently, on September 12th, we received the first black bear of the season from Prince George. Unfortunately the mother was hit by a car and left behind one cub which is now safely in our care. He is very healthy, has a large appetite and has settled into his enclosure extremely well. Later on the same day we received word that three more bears were on their way from a town called Kamloops and they also arrived here safely on the 14th. Their story is just as heartbreaking as the first bear's. Their mother was shot by a resident who believed she was approaching him. After the arrival of each bear I feel a bout of sadness as I learn of their backgrounds, and seeing them in the enclosures only reinforces the fact to me that they are orphaned. I know that they will be well looked after here though and I am greatly looking forward to watching them grow and be released next year.
The arrival of these bears does not just mean more work for the shelter though, it is also a much needed drive for donations. The shelter runs almost entirely on donations, and without any bears this important funding just hasn't been coming in. General maintenance of the shelter has huge costs, as well as the new enclosures that need to be built and preparing the already standing buildings for the winter also incurs large fees. Hopefully the arrival of the four cubs will boost donations and the work can continue.
Through working at the shelter I have learnt that many of the cubs we receive are orphaned as a result of their mother being killed after being deemed 'problem bears'. The issue with this however, is that problem bears are most often created by human ignorance and carelessness. Problem bears are not born with conflict on the brain, they are simply looking for food and a way to feed their cubs, and as bear and human territory is overlapping more and more with the ever increasing human population, these so called 'problem bears' are also on the rise as we continue to encroach on their feeding areas. Walking around town I have been shown areas that aren't 'bear aware'. Apples left lying on the ground by back gates, bins that are left open and are not bear proof. It is things like this that causes bears to approach towns, they are not looking for trouble, just food. Just last week, for example, I was shown a picture of two grizzlies 'raiding' a truck used by campers. Food was left out in the open in the back of the truck and they were parked under apple trees in known bear territory. This is not the fault of the bears, who were incidentally later euthanised for being 'problem bears', this is the carelessness of humans that has caused the death of two beautiful animals. I implore anyone reading this blog that lives in known bear habitat to learn how to reduce the availability of bear attractants to your property. It could save the lives of many bears.
On a final note the four bear cubs have yet to be named, and we are drawing a blank here at the shelter so if anyone has any ideas for names please let me know and I shall pass them on. Thank you :)
Saturday, 7 September 2013
Highs and lows
It's been a week of highs and lows, so I shall start with the bad news, just to get it out of the way. At the shelter there was an adorable little owl named Henry. Henry came to the shelter before I arrived so I do not know his entire back story, all I know is that he suffered from some light brain damage and had vision trouble. Despite his problems he was very cute, and had quite a personality. Whenever I would clean his water bowl or give him his food, he would look around and make cute little faces at me. I always smiled when looking after Henry and visiting his enclosure would always brighten my day a little bit, it was hard not to fall in love with the little guy. Unfortunatley when I was conducting my morning feeding and cleaning routine I went to his cage only to find him on the floor, dead. I don't yet know exactly what happened to him , however it is thought that maybe with his vision he flew into the door and that was enough to kill him as he was so small. I knew Henry was never going to be releasable but I watched him improve so much during my time here. When I first arrived he would only hop around the bottom of his cage but recently he had been flying around from branch to branch and it was a joy to watch.
The untimely death of animals is something I knew I would have to face when coming here. Sometimes animals arrive in such a bad state that euthanasia is the only kind option. Sometimes luck is just not on their side and they won't make it. I have to accept that not every animal that I look after will get it's second chance, but I didn't expect the death of such a small animal to affect me so much. It may seem silly to some that I am getting emotional over an owl but I did genuinely enjoy looking after him and the fact that I won't get to see him flying around his cage anymore has saddened me.
Onto the good news, I won't allow this post to be completely depressing. There was a lot of worry earlier in the week about a black bear that the shelter had previously released. It was sent out with a radio collar so it could be tracked, however when the readings were coming through it showed that the bear had not moved in over 24 hours and had recently been walking along train tracks. It's only natural to fear the worst in a situation like that, and I confess, despite not working with this bear or knowing anything about it I also began to worry for it's safety. A biologist was sent out to search for the bear and the news that came back to us was certainly cause for celebration. Apparently the bear had found a luscious patch of berries, and the area was so big that it had no reason to move, hence the stationary collar readings. The biologist also reported that the bear looked extremely healthy, so good news all around.
Peter also took me and the other Volunteer, Sally, up to the viewpoint. We drove the quads up half way, Peter leading with Sally and I following behind. I have only been driving the quad for a few weeks and have no previous driving experience so to say I was a bit terrified taking the vehicle on a real off road trail would be putting it lightly! On the upside learning to drive on London roads when I get home will be a piece of cake after this. The view from the top of the hill was breathtaking though, and we got to hear stories about previous years when Peter has taken volunteers up to the viewpoint and ended up face to face with grizzlies! He also said that last year there was around eight to ten feet of snowfall up on the hill and the dangers surrounding that much snow, so definitely no hikes by myself during the snowy months.
The untimely death of animals is something I knew I would have to face when coming here. Sometimes animals arrive in such a bad state that euthanasia is the only kind option. Sometimes luck is just not on their side and they won't make it. I have to accept that not every animal that I look after will get it's second chance, but I didn't expect the death of such a small animal to affect me so much. It may seem silly to some that I am getting emotional over an owl but I did genuinely enjoy looking after him and the fact that I won't get to see him flying around his cage anymore has saddened me.
Onto the good news, I won't allow this post to be completely depressing. There was a lot of worry earlier in the week about a black bear that the shelter had previously released. It was sent out with a radio collar so it could be tracked, however when the readings were coming through it showed that the bear had not moved in over 24 hours and had recently been walking along train tracks. It's only natural to fear the worst in a situation like that, and I confess, despite not working with this bear or knowing anything about it I also began to worry for it's safety. A biologist was sent out to search for the bear and the news that came back to us was certainly cause for celebration. Apparently the bear had found a luscious patch of berries, and the area was so big that it had no reason to move, hence the stationary collar readings. The biologist also reported that the bear looked extremely healthy, so good news all around.
Peter also took me and the other Volunteer, Sally, up to the viewpoint. We drove the quads up half way, Peter leading with Sally and I following behind. I have only been driving the quad for a few weeks and have no previous driving experience so to say I was a bit terrified taking the vehicle on a real off road trail would be putting it lightly! On the upside learning to drive on London roads when I get home will be a piece of cake after this. The view from the top of the hill was breathtaking though, and we got to hear stories about previous years when Peter has taken volunteers up to the viewpoint and ended up face to face with grizzlies! He also said that last year there was around eight to ten feet of snowfall up on the hill and the dangers surrounding that much snow, so definitely no hikes by myself during the snowy months.