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🐺🎁 Wolves are the ultimate gift givers to scavenging species.
At least 12 species (including ravens, eagles, coyotes, and bears) have been observed to rely on wolf kills for food in Yellowstone National Park, especially during winter. With fewer elk dying from harsh weather as the climate changes, wolves are providing a crucial, reliable source of carrion, helping these species survive and thrive.
By maintaining this natural food cycle, wolves are buffering climate impacts, allowing scavengers to adjust over time. What a gift to give!
📸 Ken Canning via Canva Creative Commons
🦌 Did you know that Santa’s reindeer (also known as caribou) are likely all female? Both male and female caribou grow antlers, but they shed those antlers at different times of year. Males typically lose their antlers in late fall and remain “antlerless” until the following spring. In contrast, females typically retain their antlers throughout the winter, shedding them only after giving birth to their calves in the spring. That means, female caribou are typically the only ones with antlers over the holiday season! Dasher, Donner, Dancer… Rudolph — are all likely female!
Woodland caribou (southern mountain caribou) are listed as threatened or endangered in many places in Canada, including British Columbia. Caribou rely on old growth forests for vital habitat and sources of food. Unfortunately this critical habitat continues to be destroyed and fragmented by extractive industries at an alarming rate. Now, more than ever, preserving Canada’s remaining old growth forests and working to restore those that have been lost is of utmost importance for the continued survival of caribou and Canadian wildlife.
Visit Pacificwild.org to learn more about this issue.
📸 @pacificimagery_
#WildlifeConservation #EndangeredSpecies #Caribou #SaveBCWolves #CariboutWolves
❄️ Winter means hibernation for Vancouver Island Marmots!
Vancouver Island Marmots are Canada`s most endangered endemic mammal and one of the rarest mammals in the world. Thanks to recovery efforts, these remarkable rodents have come back from the brink! By 2003, fewer than 30 wild marmots roamed our mountain sides. Today, it is estimated that there are around 300 individuals in the wild.
💤 Marmots avoid the harsh subalpine winter— when food is scarce— by hibernating an average of 210 days of the year. If these guys were in charge of Groundhog Day, winter would never end!
During hibernation the marmot’s heartbeat slows to 3 or 4 beats per minute compared to an average range of 110-200 beats per minute when they are active. Radio-telemetry suggests that family groups cozy up together in a special deep burrow called a hibernaculum, which they return to year after year. Talk about the ultimate family tradition!
📸by @ryantidman via @cangeo. 🖌️by @elenamarkelova_art
#WildlifeConservation #VancouverIslandMarmot #EndangeredSpecies #SpeciesAtRisk
❄️ Canada has more than one white-coloured bear, and they sometimes get confused. Spirit bears are black bears with a rare genetic mutation making their fur white in colour and they are only found in the Great Bear Rainforest on the western coast of Canada, while Polar bears are a different species and live in the Canadian Arctic.
In winter, spirit bears like other black bears, will hibernate. Bears may return to the same dens year after year, especially if the site proved successful in past winters. Cubs are born while females are denning. When we protect bear dens and their surrounding habitats, we’re safeguarding a crucial part of their life cycle—ensuring they have a safe space to give birth, raise their young, and hibernate in peace.
While spirit bears snooze in the winter, our coldest season is prime time for polar bears!
With the return of sea ice, these Arctic giants get the perfect hunting grounds to catch their favorite prey— seals. Unlike the leaner summer months when melting ice limits their range, winter’s frozen expanses give them the upper paw. The sea ice acts like a hunting highway, allowing them to roam far and wide in search of food.
Every successful hunt helps polar bears build up the energy reserves they need to thrive in one of the planet’s harshest environments. 🧊🐾
📸 by @iantmcallister and @rtia
🌘 The winter solstice marks the longest night of the year, and many animals have adapted to thrive in this extended darkness. Great horned owls rely on their exceptional hearing and sharp night vision to locate prey under the cover of night.
🦉Great horned owls are remarkably equipped to survive harsh winters. Their dense, insulating feathers provide excellent protection against sub-zero temperatures. Unlike some birds, great horned owls don’t migrate, maintaining year-round territories where they nest early, often in late winter.
Their primary food sources— small mammals like mice, rabbits, and voles— remain accessible during winter, as the owls use their powerful talons and sharp beaks to capture prey from under snow or in sparse vegetation. Their resilience ensures they remain top predators, even in the coldest months.
🌲 Great horned owls have a wide habitat range across North America, however some owls, like endangered Northern spotted owls, are only found in the southwestern corner of British Columbia. This species relies on healthy old growth forests to survive, and currently there is only one solitary wild-born owl known to exist. Protecting intact ecosystems is key for biodiversity to exist. This holiday season, consider supporting habitat protection and restoration efforts in your local community.
#wintersolstice
🎥 and 📸 by @alxcrzt
❗News❗ This week the B.C. government sent out their latest update on the Caribou Recovery Program that includes the wolf cull.
They state:
“Updated information on wolf populations and distribution is required to better inform our understanding of the current condition of caribou herds and inform caribou recovery planning.”
The last official government estimate of wolf populations in B.C. was published in 2014, the year before the wolf cull began. Without up-to-date and reliable data on wolves, the predator reduction program is shooting first and asking questions later, slaughtering wolves in the absence of a meaningful understanding of their current population dynamics.
Caribou desperately need meaningful habitat protection to survive extinction, and the caribou recovery program agrees stating: “It is imperative to recognize that to achieve long-term caribou population sustainability, habitat protection and habitat restoration measures must continue to be prioritized and implemented.”
And yet…
A 2021 study determined that logging in caribou habitat actually increased by over 250% in B.C. and Alberta since caribou were listed as endangered in 2003.
Hindering the movement of predators along roads and other linear features has been shown to be more than 85% effective in protecting caribou from predation by wolves, yet this government program chooses to fund killing wolves over the decommissioning of old logging roads.
This latest government update, which comes on the brink of the 10-year anniversary of the program says that habitat initiatives for southern mountain caribou is only ongoing in 3 herd ranges and this winter they are going to START the formal planning process for 5 additional herd ranges - 3 of which have been subject to wolf culling for years.
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