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Phone: 250-380-0547

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Lək̓ʷəŋən Territory
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Today is the autumn equinox, a moment in time where night and day are exactly the same length, signifying the beginning of fall. As ecosystems change in anticipation for the winter months, so too do the species that live within them. ⁠
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Salmon begin their long journeys from the ocean to their spawning grounds. Bears consume as much food as they can in preparation for hibernation, a process called hyperphagia. Wolves will also ingest greater amounts of food to store extra body fat for the winter months. Gray and humpback whales prepare to migrate south to warmer waters for their breeding season. Pacific herring migrate from offshore areas to inshore waters where they will remain, before spawning in the late winter or early spring. ⁠
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As seasons change and cycle, all flora and fauna have adapted methods to survive the more severe winter conditions, and most use this autumn period to the fullest. How does your lifestyle change during the fall? ⁠
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Photo credit: @iantmcallister⁠
#fallequinox #autumnanimals #conservation⁠

We are hosting another Grizzly Bear Stewardship Letter Writing Party! ⁠
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If you couldn’t attend our last letter writing event but still want to write to the provincial government with your thoughts on the proposed Grizzly Bear Stewardship Framework, or you just want to learn more about the subject, now’s your chance!⁠
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Let us help you help bears!⁠
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When: Wednesday, October 4th - 7pm-8:30pm PST⁠
Where: Attend in person at the Pacific Wild office in downtown Victoria, or virtually on Zoom!⁠
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In person attendants will be provided with all the necessary stationary and light refreshments. We will take care of mailing your letter for you! We also will provide talking points as needed. ⁠
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Please RSVP as soon as possible at the link in our bio! We can’t wait to see you there!⁠
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Photo credit: @iantmcallister⁠
#savebcbears #grizzlybears #savebcgrizzlies #grizzlystewardshipframework⁠

Wildfires have not been the only devastating effect of climate change that has impacted British Columbia ecosystems this year. The Cowichan watershed, an ecologically important area for Chinook salmon, continues to face extreme drought, causing dangerously low flow rates in the Cowichan river. To combat this low flow rate, pumps may be required to move water out of the Cowichan lake (which is already experiencing low water levels), into the river. This prolonged drought has also contributed to the first significant fish kill in the Cowichan river in mid-July, where hundreds of salmon and trout were discovered dead due to environmental stress induced by climate change. ⁠
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A weir was built in 1957 to control the flow of water through the Cowichan river, but over the last 20 years with the increase in droughts, the weir has failed 15 times to deliver the flow of water required to sustain the ecology of the river (7 cubic meters per second). In preparation for the heat predicted for 2023, the flow was reduced in June to just 4.5 cubic meters per second, the minimum flow rate necessary to sustain river life. Despite this precaution, the drought has lasted long enough that pumping water from Cowichan lake may be the only option left. ⁠
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Tom Rutherford, a fisheries biologist and a member of the Cowichan Watershed Board dives further into the risks of pumping water from Cowichan lake, and the consequences of climate change on the Cowichan river in his interview on cbc news radio's On The Island with Gregor Craigie.⁠
Follow us for more #SalmonStories this fall. ⁠
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Photo credit: @iantmcallister ⁠
#marinemonday #bcsalmon #worldwatermonitoringday

It’s world clean-up day! 🌎️♻️⁠
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Keeping our environment free of garbage and pollution is critical for healthy ecosystems. Polluting our natural spaces has dire consequences for both wildlife and people. Non-biodegradable substances, like plastics, can last in an ecosystem for hundreds of years, leading to its consumption by all types of wildlife and bioaccumulation in the food chain. ⁠
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On a recent visit to the Great Bear Rainforest, our staff spent some time each day removing refuse of all kinds from the beach - most of which was plastic water bottles and discarded fishing gear. GreenPeace recently reported that fishing gear accounts for approximately 70% of plastics over 20 cm in size that float on the ocean’s surface, and 86% of the plastic waste on the seafloor.And plastic bottles can take up to 450 years to degrade! ⁠
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Biomagnification (the process in which chemical substances gradually accumulate and transfer up trophic levels, leading to increased amounts in apex predators), poses threats to humans as well as wild animals. In humans, microplastic consumption has been shown to stimulate the release of endocrine disruptors. Microplastics often also carry other chemicals toxic to the body like heavy metals and organic pollutants. ⁠
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The good news is that there are lots of initiatives around the globe to help clean up the pollution in our wild spaces, and you can help too! Find out more about how you can participate in World Clean Up Day at worldcleanupday.org.⁠
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Photo credit: Pacific Wild⁠
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#worldcleanupday #keepoceansclean #restoration

Old growth caribou habitat destruction is disastrous for both caribou and wolves. 🐺🦌⁠
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Caribou rely on lichen grown in old growth forests as their main food source, the loss of which leads to nutritional inadequacies and disease. The destruction and fragmentation of caribou habitat has changed the landscape to a more open land feature preferred by moose, elk, and deer - the main prey of wolves. Because these other ungulates have moved into what was previously caribou territory, the wolves have followed, and now have increased predatory interactions with caribou. This has led to the ineffective, unethical, and expensive wolf cull in B.C., while critical habitat continues to be destroyed. ⁠
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There are non-lethal ways to help caribou recover - starting with immediate habitat protection, and adding obstacles to access roads and linear pathways to prevent the ease with which wolves come into contact with caribou. ⁠
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Learn more about the science behind caribou recovery and keeping caribou and wolves on our landscape on our website by visiting CariboutWolves.org!⁠
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Photo credit: @iantmcallister ⁠
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#savebcwolves #cariboutwolves #habitatconservation #wildlifeconservation⁠

Jonah Keim, a biologist and research scientist published a recent study showing that placing obstacles such as trees and logs on access roads and other human-made paths can reduce encounters between endangered caribou and wolves in northern British Columbia.⁠
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After placing cameras in caribou habitat and capturing more than 500,000 photographs over the last decade, Keim’s team was able to study the movements of the animals, and used that data to inform how they could interrupt the path of wolves. They found that after blocking the most highly used access points, caribou-wolf encounters decreased by 85%.⁠
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This is an innovative, ethical, and non-lethal solution to predation pressure on caribou while the herds are in recovery. However, for caribou to survive and population numbers to meaningfully increase, there must be immediate protections for critical old growth habitat. ⁠
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Find out more about our discussion with Jonah Keim, and read his study in the links in our bio. ⁠
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Animal photography credit: @iantmcallister ⁠
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#carnivorecoexistence #coexistwithwolves #savebcwolves #cariboutwolves⁠

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