As the new year approaches, it is around this time that many people reflect on the year just passed and look forward to a fresh start, I am no exception.
There is a lot of sentiment going around at the moment that 2013 would be a year best forgot. For the wildlife shelter and sister trail riding business I am currently working at especially. The combined efforts of a fatal liver disease in black bears and multiple, expensive and damaging horse injuries, means that this year has been pretty rough for the people here. For the rest of the world it has not fared much better. The devastating effects of Typhoon Haiyan, the ice storm that has ravaged eastern Canada, ruining Christmas for thousands, and a frankly indescribable attack on a soldier in my home town of London are just a few of the atrocities that have left the world shaken and full of negativity.
However so much has happened this year to be happy or to be proud about, that has gone unreported on international news, and thus unnoticed by millions of people who don't actively search out this information. For example a 3 year old girl born with HIV has been functionally cured of the virus, speed limits have been put in place for boats travelling along migratory routes of whales in order to protect them, dozens of new species have been discovered all over the globe and the world has a pope that doesn't support the judgement of homosexuality, questions the church for it's outrageous spending and even sneaks out at night to feed the homeless. Despite being an atheist, and generally opposed to the church, I think this is at least a step in the right direction, therefore a positive on my list.
Finally a little closer to home for me, you may remember that a few weeks ago I made a post about a fundraiser at the shelter that had the potential to raise CAN$20,000 thanks to an anonymous donator. Well thanks to the generosity and support of people all across the world we hit our goal, and the Christmas tree in Smithers, B.C is glowing with the light of 800 bulbs that were bought to raise the money. The Christmas period not only gave us a beautiful tree here at the shelter but the arrival of a new little bear, aptly named Tinsel. It was found living harmoniously with a bunch of chickens in a coop, around 30-50lbs underweight and sent to us on Christmas eve. It is so small that the chickens it was sharing food with were bigger than the bear itself.
In some ways 2013 was a difficult year but no-one said life was easy and that bad things wouldn't happen. The key is to embrace it and know that there is always good news out there, even if you have to do a little searching.
Monday, 30 December 2013
Tuesday, 17 December 2013
Traditions
Christmas traditions don't seem to be a big thing in my family. At least not compared to others. Every Boxing day we gather at my aunts house to exchange presents, eat good food, play cards and generally catch up with family members we don't necessarily see all the time, but this is about as far as yearly Christmas traditions go for me.
Here it is a completely different story altogether. Christmas for my host family is a BIG thing. The family I'm staying with are originally from Germany so for us Christmas actually started way back on December 6th. I went up to the main house to have breakfast only to open the door and find my boot filled with chocolate and presents. Having no idea what this was about I stared for a few minutes with a mixture of joy and confusion on my face that I can only assume looked quite silly from the laughter I heard in front of me. It was later explained that on December 6th each year Saint Nicholas visits houses and leaves presents in your boot if you've been good and coal if you've been bad. Needless to say I was very grateful to receive presents!
While at home Christmas Day and Boxing Day are the main days of celebration, here Christmas Eve is actually the main day. I've been told that the living room is shut off all day while Peter decorates the tree. No one is allowed to peek so the room is off limits to everyone. In the evening we will all get dressed up to have a big dinner and afterwards the tree is unveiled. This is very different to back at home where for me the tree would have been up since early December and Christmas Eve would have usually been spent frantically looking for or making last minute gifts.
I am very excited to spend Christmas here, by the sounds of it, it will be something completely different to what i'm used to at home. I will however be calling home on December 26th keeping up with the one tradition I do have of speaking to and spending time with my family on Boxing Day.
Here it is a completely different story altogether. Christmas for my host family is a BIG thing. The family I'm staying with are originally from Germany so for us Christmas actually started way back on December 6th. I went up to the main house to have breakfast only to open the door and find my boot filled with chocolate and presents. Having no idea what this was about I stared for a few minutes with a mixture of joy and confusion on my face that I can only assume looked quite silly from the laughter I heard in front of me. It was later explained that on December 6th each year Saint Nicholas visits houses and leaves presents in your boot if you've been good and coal if you've been bad. Needless to say I was very grateful to receive presents!
While at home Christmas Day and Boxing Day are the main days of celebration, here Christmas Eve is actually the main day. I've been told that the living room is shut off all day while Peter decorates the tree. No one is allowed to peek so the room is off limits to everyone. In the evening we will all get dressed up to have a big dinner and afterwards the tree is unveiled. This is very different to back at home where for me the tree would have been up since early December and Christmas Eve would have usually been spent frantically looking for or making last minute gifts.
I am very excited to spend Christmas here, by the sounds of it, it will be something completely different to what i'm used to at home. I will however be calling home on December 26th keeping up with the one tradition I do have of speaking to and spending time with my family on Boxing Day.
Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Dawson's Lights
Fundraising is extremely important here at the shelter. The whole organisation is run off the donations of generous people and companies, and without them it is likely that NLWS wouldn't exist and the animals that we care for wouldn't have a place to go when they needed help.
As I have mentioned in a previous post, this has been a very slow year for the shelter. We didn't get our first bear until September and the lack of animals sadly means that donations have been at an all time low. Despite having fewer animals than in previous years, costs are still high as general maintenance of the site and enclosures as well as the feeding and caring of the animals we do have and the permanent residents is not cheap.
Every year, in December, NLWS holds a special fundraiser called Dawson's Lights. We have a large Christmas tree in town and we sell coloured light bulbs for CAN$25 each. The idea is to light up the Christmas tree by December 24th, Christmas Eve, through the sales of bulbs. However this year something truly incredible has happened. An anonymous donor has pledged that if we can raise CAN$10,000 through selling light bulbs, they will match it meaning we have the potential to raise CAN$20,000 in one month. There are no words to describe just how much this money would mean to everyone at the shelter. So much can be done with this amount, and we are all incredibly thankful to this donor and to everyone who buys bulbs.
If anyone reading this would like to buy a light bulb you can donate here https://www.canadahelps.org/dn/10649. If you can't buy a bulb, which I completely understand as most people reading this are students after all, you could always share it and tell others. Every bulb counts.
Thank you!
As I have mentioned in a previous post, this has been a very slow year for the shelter. We didn't get our first bear until September and the lack of animals sadly means that donations have been at an all time low. Despite having fewer animals than in previous years, costs are still high as general maintenance of the site and enclosures as well as the feeding and caring of the animals we do have and the permanent residents is not cheap.
Every year, in December, NLWS holds a special fundraiser called Dawson's Lights. We have a large Christmas tree in town and we sell coloured light bulbs for CAN$25 each. The idea is to light up the Christmas tree by December 24th, Christmas Eve, through the sales of bulbs. However this year something truly incredible has happened. An anonymous donor has pledged that if we can raise CAN$10,000 through selling light bulbs, they will match it meaning we have the potential to raise CAN$20,000 in one month. There are no words to describe just how much this money would mean to everyone at the shelter. So much can be done with this amount, and we are all incredibly thankful to this donor and to everyone who buys bulbs.
If anyone reading this would like to buy a light bulb you can donate here https://www.canadahelps.org/dn/10649. If you can't buy a bulb, which I completely understand as most people reading this are students after all, you could always share it and tell others. Every bulb counts.
Thank you!
Thursday, 5 December 2013
Meet (some of) the animals
As I have limited internet access at the shelter, and limited time in town to devote hours to uploading photos, I haven't yet been able to deliver on my promise, made four months ago, of having lots of pictures of cute animal on this blog. This, however, is all about to change. I had some spare time today and the other volunteer was nice enough to drive me into town and I had a little bit of time to upload some pictures of the animals I am currently looking after. This is only a selection of those animals, hopefully in the future I will be able to share with you the rest of them.
First off Belle and Baby, the seven month old moose that I have been helping to raise since my first day here. They are now much bigger than in this photo. So much so that I struggle to give them their milk bottles now as I'm not the tallest of people.
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| Belle and Baby when they were still small enough to feed without standing on tippy toes |
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| Belle being silly |
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| Baby striking a pose |
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| Waiting for his daily scratch behind the ears |
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| Patrolling his territory |
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| Just a little camera shy |
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| Am I beautiful? |
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| Looking like the saddest dog in the world in the first snowfall |
In the kitchen lives Felix. A previously feral cat that the shelter took in after finding him at the vets surgery, Whilst he normally looks sullen and moody, he is actually quite playful and loves toys. His claws are pretty sharp though, as I have found out on many occasions.
The shelter also has a sister company in the form of a trail riding and summer camp business. They have approximately forty horses used for trail rides and horse summer camps for kids and teenagers. As well as volunteering for the shelter I also help with the trail riding side. During the summer I would help walk horses in, groom and get them prepared for the rides. I also feed the horses that need extra food every day. Here are just a few of the horses that I have come to know, however with forty on site, learning their names is proving to be quite a challenge.
This is Tonka who is, in my opinion, one of the prettiest horses here. I also got to ride him on my second trail ride.
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| Do I blend in? |
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| Tonka and Ghost |
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| Pixi and Orion (another one of my favourites) |
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| Pixi |
Now onto the bears. This past week we had another new bear arrive at the shelter from the island of Haida Gwaii. The island bears are known for being slightly larger than the mainland bears, so I am expecting her to grow up to be very big, as right now she is pretty tiny. She was found roaming around the airport with no mama bear in sight, so was caught and eventually sent to us. While she was waiting for the ferry over she managed to escape four times, earning her the name Zippy. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of her to upload, or of Trouble, Berwyn or Karhu. However I do have some rather cute pictures, all taken from the NLWS facebook page, of the other five
This is Benny, the first black bear of the season who arrived back in September. We gave the bears a bunch of cardboard as enrichment and they went crazy for it!
Polaris, a brown black bear, was rescued after getting stuck up a twenty five foot hydro pole for 2 days. She was a famous bear for a while, appearing in local news as people desperately tried to help, fearful that she might electrocute herself on the wires on the pole. Thankfully the power company shut of all the electricity and the conservation officer was able to get her down.
The next three are Pumpkin, Rascal and Shawn, triplets from Kamloops. Shawn was named before we had time to assess their genders, it turned out she was a girl, but we decided to keep the name as we thought it was kind of funny. As can be seen from the photos they each have quite a personality and love to have fun, however they, along with Benny, are hibernating right now so won't require our care again until they wake up next year.
Tuesday, 19 November 2013
Lost in translation
One of the factors influencing my decision to look for work experience in Canada for my placement year, was that I would have a language barrier to contend with. I could have gone to a whole host of countries closer to home, but not knowing a second language really hindered my options. Canada had the wildlife that I wanted to work with and the added bonus that everyone speaks English.
However, as it turns out, nothing is quite as simple as it seems. Despite not having a language barrier, things like pronunciation and colloquialisms have caused a few issues that I didn't really think about before coming here. Firstly there are a lot of Coyotes here, however for about a month I didn't know what everyone was talking about as they don't pronounce the 'e' like we do in the UK. This lead to a lot of confusion and for a while I thought I would get to see this whole new species, that I had never head about, until I realised that it was just Coyotes.
Another issue I have found is that words don't necessarily mean the same in Canada as they do in the UK. For example the word knackered to me means tired, exhausted. Here it does not mean that. It means drunk. This caused much hilarity when me and the other volunteer were babysitting Angelika's three year old granddaughter and when asked to take her outside to tire her out we responded with "we'll make her knackered". We were met with some very shocked looks and confused expressions followed by "What are you doing to my daughter!?". So lesson learnt, don't assume words mean the same in different countries, even if they speak the same language.
However, as it turns out, nothing is quite as simple as it seems. Despite not having a language barrier, things like pronunciation and colloquialisms have caused a few issues that I didn't really think about before coming here. Firstly there are a lot of Coyotes here, however for about a month I didn't know what everyone was talking about as they don't pronounce the 'e' like we do in the UK. This lead to a lot of confusion and for a while I thought I would get to see this whole new species, that I had never head about, until I realised that it was just Coyotes.
Another issue I have found is that words don't necessarily mean the same in Canada as they do in the UK. For example the word knackered to me means tired, exhausted. Here it does not mean that. It means drunk. This caused much hilarity when me and the other volunteer were babysitting Angelika's three year old granddaughter and when asked to take her outside to tire her out we responded with "we'll make her knackered". We were met with some very shocked looks and confused expressions followed by "What are you doing to my daughter!?". So lesson learnt, don't assume words mean the same in different countries, even if they speak the same language.
Tuesday, 12 November 2013
Cause for celebration
This past weekend we had a group of university students from Prince George come and stay and help with the final outside clearance before winter comes. One guy knew how to use a chainsaw so we gave him the spare and together we all cleared the dead longs and branches out of the horse field. We then collected all of the waxed cardboard, that can't be recycled, and burnt the lot in three big fires, which I think more than makes up for the fact that I missed bonfire night.
Also while the uni group were here, we got the surprise of our lives as, while up on the hill, a large male moose, with shovel antlers, approached the feeding station. I was told earlier on in the year that as it gets closer to winter the older moose will start showing up, and that we will feed them as food can become scarce as the leaves fall and it turns colder. So far two females have shown up. Mona who was raised here in 2007 and Nikki from 2008. I was down in the kitchen when the male showed up and Angelika came driving down on the quad, shouting to get a bucket of food ready and from there it was all a blur, I grabbed a bucket of food, jumped on the quad and we shot up the hill hoping he was still there. The moose was huge! I learnt later on that it was another shelter moose, Bully, who was raised here in 2011. Apparently when he first arrived he had to be put on an IV drip so seeing him so big and healthy was definitely cause for celebration. It was also incredible news to find out that he had survived another hunting season, as sad as it is, male moose with shovels are 'prime' hunting targets.
Finally, we have another bear bringing the total up to eight. She only weighed 29lbs when she arrived, compared to Bennie, the first bear we got back in September, who weighed over 60lbs when he got here. Angelika said that as we get further along in the year the bears generally get smaller due to the limited food sources in the winter and bears that come in after the hibernation period tend to be extremely tiny! She is currently being kept in the hospital as she is so small, but despite her size she is very feisty. A few days ago I went into the hospital to clean and as I walked past her pen, she bluff charged me. Usually this is meant to be scary and intimidating, however being the tiny furball she is it was more adorable than anything, and the confused look she gave me when I just laughed instead of recoiling in fear was priceless.
Also while the uni group were here, we got the surprise of our lives as, while up on the hill, a large male moose, with shovel antlers, approached the feeding station. I was told earlier on in the year that as it gets closer to winter the older moose will start showing up, and that we will feed them as food can become scarce as the leaves fall and it turns colder. So far two females have shown up. Mona who was raised here in 2007 and Nikki from 2008. I was down in the kitchen when the male showed up and Angelika came driving down on the quad, shouting to get a bucket of food ready and from there it was all a blur, I grabbed a bucket of food, jumped on the quad and we shot up the hill hoping he was still there. The moose was huge! I learnt later on that it was another shelter moose, Bully, who was raised here in 2011. Apparently when he first arrived he had to be put on an IV drip so seeing him so big and healthy was definitely cause for celebration. It was also incredible news to find out that he had survived another hunting season, as sad as it is, male moose with shovels are 'prime' hunting targets.
Finally, we have another bear bringing the total up to eight. She only weighed 29lbs when she arrived, compared to Bennie, the first bear we got back in September, who weighed over 60lbs when he got here. Angelika said that as we get further along in the year the bears generally get smaller due to the limited food sources in the winter and bears that come in after the hibernation period tend to be extremely tiny! She is currently being kept in the hospital as she is so small, but despite her size she is very feisty. A few days ago I went into the hospital to clean and as I walked past her pen, she bluff charged me. Usually this is meant to be scary and intimidating, however being the tiny furball she is it was more adorable than anything, and the confused look she gave me when I just laughed instead of recoiling in fear was priceless.
Tuesday, 5 November 2013
A grand miscalculation
I woke up today with absolutely no idea what I wanted to write about. Inspiration has been lacking all week, and while I usually have planned out what my blog post will be days in advance, this week I honestly had no clue. So with that in mind, in true British style, if all else fails - talk about the weather.
I knew that coming here for a year I would face extreme temperatures. I arrived in mid-August and on some days it went up to thirty degrees Celsius and I found myself thinking that this wasn't what I signed up for when moving to Canada. Canada is meant to be cold, snowy and everyone gets around using snow mobiles and dog sleds. That's the stereotype right? Wrong. Summer actually got pretty hot, so hot that on some days I thought it was unbearable, however I now find myself wishing more than anything that summer would return and heat up my frosty fingers. It isn't even officially winter yet, but it already drops to minus six at night and doesn't go above zero during the day. Everything freezes and the thick layer of frost in the morning makes even walking across the bridge hazardous. The worst part of all though, I think, is going from a twenty degree heated room back into the cold, those first ten minutes outside, experiencing the huge temperature drop is pure torture!
Unfortunately for me it's only set to get colder from now on. I'm told that minus thirty is not uncommon at the height of winter and seeing as I am already wearing two pairs of leggings under my jeans now, I think an urgent shopping trip will be required pretty soon. otherwise I'm not entirely sure how I will survive. I greatly underestimated just how cold it gets here and am now paying the price. My only saving grace is that my snow boots (which have got a great deal of use despite only getting the first snowfall yesterday) keep my feet warm enough, so that's one less things I have to worry about at least.
I knew that coming here for a year I would face extreme temperatures. I arrived in mid-August and on some days it went up to thirty degrees Celsius and I found myself thinking that this wasn't what I signed up for when moving to Canada. Canada is meant to be cold, snowy and everyone gets around using snow mobiles and dog sleds. That's the stereotype right? Wrong. Summer actually got pretty hot, so hot that on some days I thought it was unbearable, however I now find myself wishing more than anything that summer would return and heat up my frosty fingers. It isn't even officially winter yet, but it already drops to minus six at night and doesn't go above zero during the day. Everything freezes and the thick layer of frost in the morning makes even walking across the bridge hazardous. The worst part of all though, I think, is going from a twenty degree heated room back into the cold, those first ten minutes outside, experiencing the huge temperature drop is pure torture!
Unfortunately for me it's only set to get colder from now on. I'm told that minus thirty is not uncommon at the height of winter and seeing as I am already wearing two pairs of leggings under my jeans now, I think an urgent shopping trip will be required pretty soon. otherwise I'm not entirely sure how I will survive. I greatly underestimated just how cold it gets here and am now paying the price. My only saving grace is that my snow boots (which have got a great deal of use despite only getting the first snowfall yesterday) keep my feet warm enough, so that's one less things I have to worry about at least.
Tuesday, 29 October 2013
What my days are really like
After last weeks post about tranquilizing bears I had a lot of people tell me that my job sounds cool/amazing/awesome/dangerous e.t.c. I will admit that getting to work so intimately with the bears was pretty cool, however that sort of work only occurs every now and then. It is definitely not representative of what a day working in a wildlife shelter is really like. I thought it would only be fair to explain what a typical day working here is actually like.
8-8.30 am - I have to be in the kitchen between these times to start the morning feeds and prepare the buckets of food for the morning bear feed. What time I have to be up depends on how many buckets I have to make as well as how long it will take to feed all the guinea pigs, rabbits, rats, owls (Cricket especially likes to fly on to my head whenever I go into her enclosure so I normally factor in an extra 10 minutes just for this, as getting her back on a perch can be a mission in itself), the cat and the dog.
9am - Breakfast for me :D
9.30am - Back down to the kitchen to make the bear buckets for the evening, the moose feed bucket and to prepare the meat to feed the big cats. Even though we don't feed until much later on in the evening it is important that the buckets are made as early as possible because we never really know what could happen in a day. We could be called out to a bear rescue at any moment and if the buckets aren't done then by the time we get back we could end up rushing around to feed the animals. The buckets are made by chopping up fruit and vegetables that are donated by the local supermarkets. The moose bucket takes an especially long time as the food has to be chopped much smaller. After the buckets are prepared the whole kitchen needs to be cleaned so it is spotless and all the washing up done. The shelter is open for inspection at any time so this is extremely important. All food donations need to be separated and put away.
11 am - Cleaning of any animal enclosures that need to be done. With 39 guinea pigs, 9 rabbits, dozens of rats and 2 owls this can take a long time so they are managed throughout the week each being cleaned once or twice a week as needed.
1pm - Lunchtime :D
2pm - Depending on whether or not we got all the cleaning done in the morning the afternoon could be spent doing a range of things. More cleaning of the storage room or the hospital might happen. We could work on some enrichment for the permanent resident animals here. Yesterday we made pumpkins for the big cats, filled them with meat and carved small openings into it and watched Igor, the lynx, play football with it and have a great time. We could also clear land of overgrown weeds, feed horses or sometimes help get horses in and brush them if there is a trail ride booked for the afternoon.
3pm - Drive into town to pick up food donations from the supermarkets. Occasionally (almost always) stopping at Dairy Queen for a cookie dough blizzard. Some days the donations are brought in by a family member who works in town, so this isn't a daily job for us.
5pm - Evening feeds for the animals downstairs. More washing up of all the buckets that have been used.
6pm - Evening feeds for the animals up on the hill. This includes bottle feeding the moose, cleaning out and feeding the bears, and feeding Igor and Helena, the cougar. Back in the kitchen the buckets we just used now need to be washed up.
7pm - Dinner :D
8pm - Back downstairs to put extra straw in to the guinea pig hutch to keep them warm as it is going below zero degrees every night now. Extra hay needs to be put in each rabbit hutch and all the water bottles from each cage need to be removed so they don't freeze and burst. One final sweep and clean of the kitchen to ensure it is ready for the next morning.
9pm - If all the animals are fed and everything is clean we can finish the day and spend the rest of the evening just relaxing before bed.
This is just an overview of what a typical day is like. However typical days here aren't always a common occurrence and if we plan to do something often the schedule has changed completely by lunchtime. Adaptability is an extremely important trait to have when working at a shelter. For instance next weekend we are going to a crafts fair in Kitimat, so any spare time at the moment is spent making 'shelter charms' out of horseshoes, beads and wire to sell to raise funds. Animals could also come in at any time and we could be sent out to a rescue as soon as a call comes in. Some days around here can be very hectic, while some can be eerily calm. Autumn and Winter are also the quieter months at the shelter. With Spring comes a lot of baby animals that need constant care and attention, and in Summer the bears are released so we drive all over B.C doing that. Some days can feel long and the work can get repetitive, however the days where I get to work closely with the bears or bottle feed the moose and the inevitable day when I get to see the animals I have been caring for return to the wild, more than make up for those less than exciting days.
8-8.30 am - I have to be in the kitchen between these times to start the morning feeds and prepare the buckets of food for the morning bear feed. What time I have to be up depends on how many buckets I have to make as well as how long it will take to feed all the guinea pigs, rabbits, rats, owls (Cricket especially likes to fly on to my head whenever I go into her enclosure so I normally factor in an extra 10 minutes just for this, as getting her back on a perch can be a mission in itself), the cat and the dog.
9am - Breakfast for me :D
9.30am - Back down to the kitchen to make the bear buckets for the evening, the moose feed bucket and to prepare the meat to feed the big cats. Even though we don't feed until much later on in the evening it is important that the buckets are made as early as possible because we never really know what could happen in a day. We could be called out to a bear rescue at any moment and if the buckets aren't done then by the time we get back we could end up rushing around to feed the animals. The buckets are made by chopping up fruit and vegetables that are donated by the local supermarkets. The moose bucket takes an especially long time as the food has to be chopped much smaller. After the buckets are prepared the whole kitchen needs to be cleaned so it is spotless and all the washing up done. The shelter is open for inspection at any time so this is extremely important. All food donations need to be separated and put away.
11 am - Cleaning of any animal enclosures that need to be done. With 39 guinea pigs, 9 rabbits, dozens of rats and 2 owls this can take a long time so they are managed throughout the week each being cleaned once or twice a week as needed.
1pm - Lunchtime :D
2pm - Depending on whether or not we got all the cleaning done in the morning the afternoon could be spent doing a range of things. More cleaning of the storage room or the hospital might happen. We could work on some enrichment for the permanent resident animals here. Yesterday we made pumpkins for the big cats, filled them with meat and carved small openings into it and watched Igor, the lynx, play football with it and have a great time. We could also clear land of overgrown weeds, feed horses or sometimes help get horses in and brush them if there is a trail ride booked for the afternoon.
3pm - Drive into town to pick up food donations from the supermarkets. Occasionally (almost always) stopping at Dairy Queen for a cookie dough blizzard. Some days the donations are brought in by a family member who works in town, so this isn't a daily job for us.
5pm - Evening feeds for the animals downstairs. More washing up of all the buckets that have been used.
6pm - Evening feeds for the animals up on the hill. This includes bottle feeding the moose, cleaning out and feeding the bears, and feeding Igor and Helena, the cougar. Back in the kitchen the buckets we just used now need to be washed up.
7pm - Dinner :D
8pm - Back downstairs to put extra straw in to the guinea pig hutch to keep them warm as it is going below zero degrees every night now. Extra hay needs to be put in each rabbit hutch and all the water bottles from each cage need to be removed so they don't freeze and burst. One final sweep and clean of the kitchen to ensure it is ready for the next morning.
9pm - If all the animals are fed and everything is clean we can finish the day and spend the rest of the evening just relaxing before bed.
This is just an overview of what a typical day is like. However typical days here aren't always a common occurrence and if we plan to do something often the schedule has changed completely by lunchtime. Adaptability is an extremely important trait to have when working at a shelter. For instance next weekend we are going to a crafts fair in Kitimat, so any spare time at the moment is spent making 'shelter charms' out of horseshoes, beads and wire to sell to raise funds. Animals could also come in at any time and we could be sent out to a rescue as soon as a call comes in. Some days around here can be very hectic, while some can be eerily calm. Autumn and Winter are also the quieter months at the shelter. With Spring comes a lot of baby animals that need constant care and attention, and in Summer the bears are released so we drive all over B.C doing that. Some days can feel long and the work can get repetitive, however the days where I get to work closely with the bears or bottle feed the moose and the inevitable day when I get to see the animals I have been caring for return to the wild, more than make up for those less than exciting days.
Tuesday, 22 October 2013
The process of knocking out a bear
We have a new arrival at the shelter in the form of a teeny, tiny, 39 lb bear we named Trouble after all the hassle she gave the conservation officer trying to catch her. He was out in the field for four hours trying to get her but she kept evading. This brings the total number of bears here up to seven now. Three boys: Bennie, Rascal and Berwyn, and four girls, Shawn, Pumpkin, Polaris and Trouble.
Whenever we get a new bear they are first put into a separate enclosure from the main group. This is to quarantine them, in case they have any infections or diseases that they could pass onto the others. After a few weeks of quarantine, if they are healthy enough they will be moved into the large enclosure with the other bears. First though we have to do an overall check on the bear, take measurements and do a few other things before they are ready to be moved, and to do all this the bear has to be knocked out.
Angelika will prepare the correct amount of tranquilizer and administer it to the bear, while a volunteer will keep track of the time. The tranquilizer can take around 15-20 minutes to take effect so timekeeping is very important. Once the bear is out they will be carried to the entrance and placed into a net and weighed. Bennie, the first bear to arrive here weighed in at over 70lbs when I did this, so carrying him required a lot of strength and some help. The bear is then moved over to a work table and it is a big group effort to get everything done before the bear starts to wake. Angelika will administer eye drops, de-worm the bear, clean the government ear tag and give the bear a shelter ear tag. Meanwhile Kim (another volunteer) and I clean the paws and take paw prints, using paint. I have discovered that I have a real talent for getting pretty paw prints, so I really enjoy doing this. We then take fur for DNA as well as some to use during fundraisers. We bottle some fur and turn some into necklaces, which always raise a lot of money. Finally the bear is micro-chipped so there is another form of identification incase the bear loses the ear tag, then they are put back into the main enclosure if they are of a healthy enough weight. Someone has to keep watch over them while they re-awake from the tranquilizer as the other bears, curious as they are, might come over and start hassling the drowsy bear, especially if they are smaller.
The whole process can go very quickly and everyone is doing something, whether recording or working on the actual bear, it can be quite stressful with so many people around so we try and do this in groups, working on the bears one after the other to minimise the amount of times we go up to the pen. Just before release we will do this all over again to ensure they are healthy enough to be released, only this time it will require many more people as the bears should hopefully weigh over 100lbs.
Whenever we get a new bear they are first put into a separate enclosure from the main group. This is to quarantine them, in case they have any infections or diseases that they could pass onto the others. After a few weeks of quarantine, if they are healthy enough they will be moved into the large enclosure with the other bears. First though we have to do an overall check on the bear, take measurements and do a few other things before they are ready to be moved, and to do all this the bear has to be knocked out.
Angelika will prepare the correct amount of tranquilizer and administer it to the bear, while a volunteer will keep track of the time. The tranquilizer can take around 15-20 minutes to take effect so timekeeping is very important. Once the bear is out they will be carried to the entrance and placed into a net and weighed. Bennie, the first bear to arrive here weighed in at over 70lbs when I did this, so carrying him required a lot of strength and some help. The bear is then moved over to a work table and it is a big group effort to get everything done before the bear starts to wake. Angelika will administer eye drops, de-worm the bear, clean the government ear tag and give the bear a shelter ear tag. Meanwhile Kim (another volunteer) and I clean the paws and take paw prints, using paint. I have discovered that I have a real talent for getting pretty paw prints, so I really enjoy doing this. We then take fur for DNA as well as some to use during fundraisers. We bottle some fur and turn some into necklaces, which always raise a lot of money. Finally the bear is micro-chipped so there is another form of identification incase the bear loses the ear tag, then they are put back into the main enclosure if they are of a healthy enough weight. Someone has to keep watch over them while they re-awake from the tranquilizer as the other bears, curious as they are, might come over and start hassling the drowsy bear, especially if they are smaller.
The whole process can go very quickly and everyone is doing something, whether recording or working on the actual bear, it can be quite stressful with so many people around so we try and do this in groups, working on the bears one after the other to minimise the amount of times we go up to the pen. Just before release we will do this all over again to ensure they are healthy enough to be released, only this time it will require many more people as the bears should hopefully weigh over 100lbs.
Tuesday, 8 October 2013
Matters of the heart
Why wildlife rehabilitation? Wildlife rehabilitation is a job that I know many people would love to do. The idea of spending each day working with cute little animals is very appealing to people who don't realise the whole ton of different, confusing and somewhat conflicting emotions that come alongside working with wild animals. Emotions ranging from joy and elation when you see a healthy animal released back into the wild, to sadness and despair when an animal you have been caring for doesn't make it.
Many think that my job involves cuddling baby animals each day and getting to feed and watch them grow up. Honestly, it involves more cleaning cages, picking up poop and chopping endless amounts of apples. But I don't care, I honestly can say that I love my job, and the reason why I love it so much? Simple, I love animals. Wildlife rehabilitation is very much a profession lead by the heart. People with big hearts who just want to help what matters most to them. The late Stephen J Gould summarised this perfectly when he said "We cannot win this battle to save species and environments without forging an emotional bond between ourselves and nature as well - for we will not fight to save what we do not love."
This is one of the main reasons why I am completely in favour of zoos. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding zoos. Many people say it is cruel to keep animals locked up, they say the animals aren't happy at the zoos. I agree that some zoos are not fit to support animals. Some zoos keep animals in enclosures that are simply too small for the species within them. This I do not agree with. However when done correctly I firmly believe that zoos play an important role in the conservation of species across the globe. I know that I personally wouldn't have the love for animals that I do now, and the desire to protect them, if my parents hadn't taken me to zoos and wildlife parks when I was a child. Zoos also offer a refuge for some of the world's most endangered species. Many zoos now have breeding programs and re-introduction programmes to release animals back into the wild. So I can understand that some people firmly oppose the keeping of animals in enclosures, but I personally see the benefits that zoos have to offer.
Many think that my job involves cuddling baby animals each day and getting to feed and watch them grow up. Honestly, it involves more cleaning cages, picking up poop and chopping endless amounts of apples. But I don't care, I honestly can say that I love my job, and the reason why I love it so much? Simple, I love animals. Wildlife rehabilitation is very much a profession lead by the heart. People with big hearts who just want to help what matters most to them. The late Stephen J Gould summarised this perfectly when he said "We cannot win this battle to save species and environments without forging an emotional bond between ourselves and nature as well - for we will not fight to save what we do not love."
This is one of the main reasons why I am completely in favour of zoos. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding zoos. Many people say it is cruel to keep animals locked up, they say the animals aren't happy at the zoos. I agree that some zoos are not fit to support animals. Some zoos keep animals in enclosures that are simply too small for the species within them. This I do not agree with. However when done correctly I firmly believe that zoos play an important role in the conservation of species across the globe. I know that I personally wouldn't have the love for animals that I do now, and the desire to protect them, if my parents hadn't taken me to zoos and wildlife parks when I was a child. Zoos also offer a refuge for some of the world's most endangered species. Many zoos now have breeding programs and re-introduction programmes to release animals back into the wild. So I can understand that some people firmly oppose the keeping of animals in enclosures, but I personally see the benefits that zoos have to offer.
Tuesday, 1 October 2013
The difference between travel and tourism
The shelter has fallen into a bit of a lull again, this isn't surprising as Autumn and Winter are the quieter months for the shelter. The four bears currently here are all settling in well and have been moved into the same pen, they have also been named. The single bear is now Bennie while the triplets are Pumpkin, Rascal and Shawn. Only Shawn turned out to actually be a girl, we've kept the name however as Angelika's son-in-law is also called Shawn and we find it quite hilarious that his namesake turned out to be a shy, female bear. The two moose are growing at an alarming rate, I have to stand on tip toes to give them their bottles now. The cats are doing well and Cricket the owl is as demonic as ever so everything is normal and work continues at a steady rate. With this in mind coming up with a topic to write about has been quite difficult and I turned to the conversations I have had with the other people here for inspiration and quite conveniently I was presented with the perfect topic earlier on in the week.
I was asked this week if I have travelled a lot in my life. I had to really think about my answer to this question as in a technical sense, yes I have been to a fair few countries, mostly in Europe, but also to Africa and now Canada. However I went to a lot of these countries as a tourist and to me personally there is a huge difference between travel and tourism. My definition of tourism is going to a place or country to see the tourist sights, to do the touristy things that everyone does when visiting that particular country. Travel is going to a destination to see the country for what it is. For example going to Paris to see the Eiffel tower - Tourist. Going to Paris to explore the city and find those hidden little gems of places - traveller. There is often a lot of crossover and don't get me wrong I very much enjoy being a tourist, when it's something new and different, but my real passion is travel. I want to see and experience the world. I want to see the beauty that each country has to offer. Beauty that comes in many different forms. In nature, in buildings, in people and in the history of the destination. I want adventures that only come from going off the beaten path. So to answer the original question, have I travelled a lot in my life? Not yet. But ask me again in twenty years time and I am sure that answer will have changed.
I was asked this week if I have travelled a lot in my life. I had to really think about my answer to this question as in a technical sense, yes I have been to a fair few countries, mostly in Europe, but also to Africa and now Canada. However I went to a lot of these countries as a tourist and to me personally there is a huge difference between travel and tourism. My definition of tourism is going to a place or country to see the tourist sights, to do the touristy things that everyone does when visiting that particular country. Travel is going to a destination to see the country for what it is. For example going to Paris to see the Eiffel tower - Tourist. Going to Paris to explore the city and find those hidden little gems of places - traveller. There is often a lot of crossover and don't get me wrong I very much enjoy being a tourist, when it's something new and different, but my real passion is travel. I want to see and experience the world. I want to see the beauty that each country has to offer. Beauty that comes in many different forms. In nature, in buildings, in people and in the history of the destination. I want adventures that only come from going off the beaten path. So to answer the original question, have I travelled a lot in my life? Not yet. But ask me again in twenty years time and I am sure that answer will have changed.
Tuesday, 24 September 2013
Unluckiest week ever? Or just Friday the 13th
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.
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.
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.
Saturday, 31 August 2013
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.
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.
Sunday, 25 August 2013
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.
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.
Tuesday, 13 August 2013
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.
Friday, 2 August 2013
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.