Latest news with #AllPointsWest
CBC
01-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Bobcat sisters released into wild near Powell River, B.C., 10 months after being found
Two orphaned bobcat sisters were released into the wild near Powell River, B.C., on Friday, 10 months after they were found malnourished near a logging road. Last July, Merrilee Prior from the Powell River Orphaned Wildlife Society (PROWLS) says she got a call about two kittens being found by someone driving up a logging road near the Sunshine Coast city. Prior says the kittens were perhaps two weeks old, and their mother had been killed a day or two prior. Their eyes had just opened, and the two bobcats were "very, very hungry." "You should have heard them roar as we tried to put food in their cage," she told Jason D'Souza, host of CBC's All Points West. "They snarled and sounded like something from a sci-fi movie." After the kittens were put into a crate, the rescue society president then called up Angelika Langen — who runs the large Northern Lights Wildlife Society in Smithers, B.C. Over the next 10 months, Northern Lights put them in an enclosure where they couldn't see other humans for the most part, in order to prepare them for going back into the wild. "Food would be dropped down a chute," Prior said. "So, they never associated food with humans, and they were just left to their own devices. "And they snuggled and snarled and bickered and, you know, fought each other for food and grew up as young bobcats would." Langen says that her society always aims to return any beasts that they take care of to their natural homes, in order not to mess with genetics or population numbers. "It was a lot of fun and quite an honour to be caring for them for that time," she told CBC News. Last week, Langen and the bobcats made a lengthy trip over three days — from Smithers to Prince Rupert, a ferry to Port Hardy, and then another ferry to Powell River. Watch 2 bobcat sisters being released into the wild 11 hours ago Duration 0:46 Ten months ago, two orphaned bobcat kittens were found dehydrated and malnourished near Powell River, B.C. After being taken care of and raised to fend for themselves, they were released into the wild once again on Friday. "They came down in separate crates," Prior said. "Because they squabbled a lot, and Angelika didn't want them going out with bloody noses." When the time came for the release, Prior and her volunteers opened up the crates — and the two bobcats hesitated for a second before scurrying off. "All I did was pick them up and ship them to someone who could raise them," Prior said. "But it just, it felt wonderful." The exact number of bobcats in B.C. is unknown, but the small feline predators generally keep to themselves. The Squamish-Lilooet Regional District advises residents of the province to cut back on wildlife attractants to avoid having them come inside people's homes, and also be aware of claw marks on trails.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
From Canadianos to freedom fries, there's a long history of renaming foods amid political tensions
Amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Canada, some Canadian coffee shops have changed the name of the Americano to the Canadiano. Among them is Mugz 2.0 Coffee House in Port McNeill, B.C. Owner Boni Sharpe says the menu switch at the café on northern Vancouver Island was meant to poke fun at a serious situation and highlight the value of buying local. "Port McNeill is a small little community that relies heavily on other small communities, and I'm spreading the word to the best that I can," Sharpe told CBC's All Points West last month. "And I think when you add that little bit of humorous spin on it, it really sparked some good conversation." Anelyse Weiler, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Victoria, says renaming the espresso-based drink is a sign that many Canadians are "mad as a stirred-up hornet's nest" about the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump. "It's meant to be a coy, symbolic way to assert Canadian national identity," Weiler told CBC's On The Island. Sharpe said the switch to Canadiano aims to add a little humour to the "craziness" of current events, but in the past there have been less light-hearted efforts to change the names of food. In 2003, U.S. politicians moved to rename French fries served in the House to "freedom fries" amid strained relations with France over the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. That year, the maker of French's mustard, worried that some Americans would boycott its product because of the French-led campaign against the Iraq war, issued a news release saying it's not French. As American soldiers battled Germany and its Central Powers allies in the First World War, there was an effort in the U.S. to rebrand sauerkraut as "liberty cabbage" to rid the fermented vegetable of its "pro-German stigma," The New York Times reported in 1918. In 2006, Iran renamed Danish pastries "Roses of the Prophet Muhammad" after a newspaper in Denmark published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, according to a BBC report. Weiler hopes that renaming efforts and the push to buy local can spark deeper conversations around food-related issues, such as the rights of agricultural workers, the removal of interprovincial trade barriers, the impact of real estate speculation on farmland, and Canada's National School Food Program, which was announced last year. While she praises the push toward buying local, she encourages consumers to think critically about efforts by large supermarket chains to market Canadian-made products, noting that not long ago, grocery giant Loblaw agreed to pay $500 million to settle a class-action lawsuit regarding their involvement in a bread price-fixing scheme. Weiler calls the Canadiano a nice spin on the Americano and said more renaming efforts may be on the way, although some may be more successful than others. "In our household, we eat a lot of Buffalo sauce," she said of the hot sauce that shares its name with the Western New York city. "So to be petty, we started calling it 'bison sauce,' but it just doesn't have the same ring."
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Yahoo
Fatal parking lot crash involving modified truck leads to RCMP warning
RCMP are warning drivers with modified vehicles to check they're within legal limits, after a dangerous driving charge was laid against a Nanaimo, B.C. woman following a fatal parking lot crash. On Tuesday, Nanaimo RCMP said they had charged a 24-year-old woman with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, after an 85-year-old woman was killed following a crash on March 21, 2024. Police say the crash, in the Woodgrove Centre parking lot, came about after the senior parked her vehicle next to the woman's pickup truck and began walking toward the mall. The suspect in the case then exited her parking spot and turned left with her pickup truck, and the senior was knocked to the ground and subsequently died. Police say the modifications made to the truck, including a raised suspension, oversized tires and tinted windows contributed to the fatal crash. They say the modifications made driving in the crowded parking lot unsafe, and weren't part of the original truck design. "The charge of Dangerous Operation Causing Death is a serious one," Nanaimo RCMP wrote in a statement. "It signifies that the person operating a vehicle, considering all the circumstances, poses a significant danger to the public." RCMP say that if drivers' vehicle modifications aren't within legal limits, they could be ticketed or have their vehicles towed. (Ben Nelms/CBC) Const. Sherri Wade with Nanaimo RCMP said the pickup truck was taken for inspection after the crash, and police determined the modifications weren't within legal limits. "You can certainly make modifications, the Motor Vehicle Regulations make it so that you are allowed to have modifications," she told Jason D'Souza, host of CBC's All Points West. "They just give you pretty specific instructions." LISTEN | Vehicle modifications were considered to be a factor in the fatal crash Wade says that a vehicle's suspension height cannot be altered by more than 10 centimetres, and any tint on the windshield cannot be lower than 75 millimetres below the top. The officer says that if police find that vehicle modifications aren't within legal limits, drivers could be ticketed or their vehicles towed, and the owner must then pay the towing fees and modify it as per regulations.
CBC
13-02-2025
- CBC
Fatal parking lot crash involving modified truck leads to RCMP warning
RCMP are warning drivers with modified vehicles to check they're within legal limits, after a dangerous driving charge was laid against a Nanaimo, B.C. woman following a fatal parking lot crash. On Tuesday, Nanaimo RCMP said they had charged a 24-year-old woman with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, after an 85-year-old woman was killed following a crash on March 21, 2024. Police say the crash, in the Woodgrove Centre parking lot, came about after the senior parked her vehicle next to the woman's pickup truck and began walking toward the mall. The suspect in the case then exited her parking spot and turned left with her pickup truck, and the senior was knocked to the ground and subsequently died. Police say the modifications made to the truck, including a raised suspension, oversized tires and tinted windows contributed to the fatal crash. They say the modifications made driving in the crowded parking lot unsafe, and weren't part of the original truck design. "The charge of Dangerous Operation Causing Death is a serious one," Nanaimo RCMP wrote in a statement. "It signifies that the person operating a vehicle, considering all the circumstances, poses a significant danger to the public." Const. Sherri Wade with Nanaimo RCMP said the pickup truck was taken for inspection after the crash, and police determined the modifications weren't within legal limits. "You can certainly make modifications, the Motor Vehicle Regulations make it so that you are allowed to have modifications," she told Jason D'Souza, host of CBC's All Points West. "They just give you pretty specific instructions." Wade says that a vehicle's suspension height cannot be altered by more than 10 centimetres, and any tint on the windshield cannot be lower than 75 millimetres below the top. The officer says that if police find that vehicle modifications aren't within legal limits, drivers could be ticketed or their vehicles towed, and the owner must then pay the towing fees and modify it as per regulations.
CBC
08-02-2025
- Science
- CBC
New remote scale helps weigh biscuit-eating endangered marmots
Social Sharing For Vancouver Island's wild marmots, having more junk in the trunk may be the difference between life and death. And the research that involves feeding them biscuits just got an upgrade: technicians have created a scale to weigh the marmots remotely. The study, a partnership between the Marmot Recovery Foundation and the Wilder Institute, looks at the benefits of providing supplemental food to the Vancouver Island Marmot — Canada's most endangered mammal. The researchers are hoping to assess how the marmot's body weight affects its survival during hibernation and whether it increases the number of pups female marmots have. Technicians at Vancouver Island University (VIU) have now developed a scale that can weigh the marmots remotely, a project they've been working on since 2022. "Having reliable weight data is gold for the researcher," said VIU technician Michael Lester on CBC's All Points West. "That will give them confidence that … supplemental feeding is actually working or not." WATCH | A marmot gets weighed in the wild: Raw footage: Chubby marmot scrambles over scale 16 hours ago Duration 0:17 Previously, the researchers would capture marmots once or twice throughout the summer season to weigh them. But having a remote scale allows marmot weight to be measured continuously throughout the season and is less stressful for the marmots than being captured and weighed. Lester said the biggest challenge was building a scale that was lightweight enough to carry up a mountain but durable enough to withstand rugged conditions. The scale they designed is about the size of a laptop with a plywood surface. The scales are placed in areas that marmots frequent. In 2003, less than 30 of these marmots remained in the wild. The Marmot Recovery Foundation has been working to recover them since and recorded a population of over 300 in 2023. The Vancouver Island marmot is a hearty animal, which has adapted to survive harsh conditions, according to the Marmot Recovery Foundation. While it is not entirely known why marmots declined so rapidly, the organization says research suggests ongoing landscape changes as well as abnormally high levels of predators and fewer prey. Seasonal weight gain is critical to their survival as they can lose up to one-third of their body mass during hibernation—which is why researchers believe accessing calorie and nutrient-dense biscuits right after hibernation could be beneficial. Risk it for the biscuit Adam Taylor, executive director of the foundation, says the marmots love the biscuits — which are made from pressed dry leaves and placed in feeding tubes outside of hibernation dens. Taylor says their organization has noticed anecdotally the biscuits have had a positive impact on marmot health over the past 10 years that they have been providing them. "We're seeing females breed more often than we expected them to," said Taylor. But with the new scale technology, he hopes they will be able to concretely determine whether supplemental feeding is helping them. Watch this endangered marmot play with a wildlife camera 5 months ago Duration 0:41 Vancouver Island marmots are among the country's most endangered species. Adam Taylor, executive director of the Marmot Recovery Foundation, and his team have been monitoring their numbers and caught this curious yearling on film in July. Taylor said Vancouver Island marmots are unique — they are endemic to Canada, meaning they don't exist anywhere else. "This is what makes life on this planet special; it's the biodiversity that we have around us, and Vancouver island marmots are a part of that. "If we don't save them, nobody will."
