Animals

Kailey DeFehr found a praying mantis inside her home, near Country Club Centre in Nanaimo. (Submitted photo)

Cat drags in praying mantis, which actually aren’t that uncommon on the Island

Professor says the insects aren’t native, but also aren’t likely to become invasive

 

West Coast Animal Veterinary Emergency Specialty Hospital (WAVES) has announced it will be pausing its emergency services as of Sept. 1 due to staffing shortages. (Justin Samanski-Langille/News Staff)

Vancouver Island vet clinic closing ER services due to staff shortages

WAVES will only offer specialty care as of Sept. 1

 

A black bear caught in a trap in Port Alice near the end of August. (Brian Grover/Port Alice News and Views Facebook photo)

Four bears killed this month in Vancouver Island village, here’s why

Conservation officers euthanize 4 animals habituated to gorging on village’s overflowing dumpsters

 

Orcas feed amongst the activity of beach-goers at Nanaimo’s Departure Bay on Saturday, Aug. 20. (Photo courtesy Lori Jones)

‘Festival atmosphere’: Orcas feast in Nanaimo’s Departure Bay

Hundreds of people line the beach to watch Bigg’s killer whales

Orcas feed amongst the activity of beach-goers at Nanaimo’s Departure Bay on Saturday, Aug. 20. (Photo courtesy Lori Jones)
Three fawns enjoy an Oak Bay lawn to themselves for breakfast along St. Patrick Street. The Urban Wildlife Stewardship Society’s continues to analyze data from year 3 of its immunocontraception program in the municipality. (Evert Lindquist/News Staff)

Fawns on lawns: Contraceptives removing problem deer from Oak Bay yards

Population dropped 40% in three years but still no silver bullet, researcher says

Three fawns enjoy an Oak Bay lawn to themselves for breakfast along St. Patrick Street. The Urban Wildlife Stewardship Society’s continues to analyze data from year 3 of its immunocontraception program in the municipality. (Evert Lindquist/News Staff)
Department of Fishers and Oceans Canada and people in Nanoose Bay rescued a beached porpoise Aug. 14. (Submitted photo)

Beached porpoise calf rescued from tidal pool in Nanoose Bay

Baby porpoise found thrashing in sand and rocks near Pacific Shores Resort and Spa

Department of Fishers and Oceans Canada and people in Nanoose Bay rescued a beached porpoise Aug. 14. (Submitted photo)
Screenshot from Fraser Valley Rose Farm Youtube video.

VIDEO: Lonely B.C. duck follows humans around after coyotes kill her friends

Duck was recently rehomed to Pender Island to live with other birds

Screenshot from Fraser Valley Rose Farm Youtube video.
Eli Gagne holds up his phone on Aug. 12, 2021 with a photo of his miniature pot-bellied pig Hamson who had to be re-homed as Fraser Valley Regional District bylaws do not permit livestock as pets within a residence or on real property. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress file)

Pigs as pets: B.C. man starts petition following death of illegal pet pig Hamson

Eli Gagne wants to change FVRD bylaw after pet pig was re-homed and died 4 hours later

Eli Gagne holds up his phone on Aug. 12, 2021 with a photo of his miniature pot-bellied pig Hamson who had to be re-homed as Fraser Valley Regional District bylaws do not permit livestock as pets within a residence or on real property. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress file)
A blonde raccoon out and about with its family on Saysutshun north of Midden Bay on Wednesday, July 27. (Photo courtesy Marian Stewart)

Island-dwelling blonde raccoon hits the beach on hot summer day in B.C.

Boater gets up close to blonde mother raccoon and kits on island off Nanaimo

A blonde raccoon out and about with its family on Saysutshun north of Midden Bay on Wednesday, July 27. (Photo courtesy Marian Stewart)
Two lovebirds were rescued separately in Hope over the weekend, and are likely a bonded pair. The two rescuers are each hoping to hear from the rightful owners of the birds.

Pair of lovebirds, lost and separated in Hope, still without their owner

1 flew into restaurant and 1 was saved in a grocery store parking lot; but they remain apart

Two lovebirds were rescued separately in Hope over the weekend, and are likely a bonded pair. The two rescuers are each hoping to hear from the rightful owners of the birds.
Nun cho ga, the mummified baby woolly mammoth shortly after discovery. (Yukon Government/Submitted)

Mummified baby woolly mammoth discovered in Yukon was likely weeks old when she died

Nun cho ga being preserved in freezer storage while next steps are determined

Nun cho ga, the mummified baby woolly mammoth shortly after discovery. (Yukon Government/Submitted)
One of the four Vancouver Island marmots released on Mount Washington July 6 pokes its head out of the burrow for the first time after its release. Photo by Erin Haluschak

Threatened Vancouver Island marmots continue to re-emerge from the brink

4 captive-bred marmots released on Mount Washington, population up to 258

One of the four Vancouver Island marmots released on Mount Washington July 6 pokes its head out of the burrow for the first time after its release. Photo by Erin Haluschak
Nanaimo Fire Rescue crews were able to rescue a beagle from a drain pipe Friday, July 1. (Photos courtesy Nanaimo Fire Rescue)

B.C. firefighters rescue dog trapped in drain pipe after ‘yelp for help’

Firefighters fasten blanket to fire hose to create ‘Q-tip’ to pull out panicked pooch

Nanaimo Fire Rescue crews were able to rescue a beagle from a drain pipe Friday, July 1. (Photos courtesy Nanaimo Fire Rescue)
RAPS Animal Hospital is making it easier for Vancouver pet parents to access animal care (photo by Mikhail Nilov/pexels.com).

Vancouver Island pet owners offered free Lower Mainland hotel for $2K+ vet treatments

RAPS Animal Hospital hopes to combat wait times, cost and availability of animal care on the Island

RAPS Animal Hospital is making it easier for Vancouver pet parents to access animal care (photo by Mikhail Nilov/pexels.com).
A baby red-tailed hawk, right, originally captured as live food for an eaglet, left, has become part of a family of eagles on Gabriola Island. The eagles are feeding and caring for it after the eaglet wouldn’t kill it when it was brought to the nest in early June. (Photo courtesy Sharron Palmer-Hunt)

From food to family member: Baby B.C. hawk goes from eagle bait to roommate

Red-tailed hawklet brought to the nest as food instead gets adopted by eagles near Nanaimo

A baby red-tailed hawk, right, originally captured as live food for an eaglet, left, has become part of a family of eagles on Gabriola Island. The eagles are feeding and caring for it after the eaglet wouldn’t kill it when it was brought to the nest in early June. (Photo courtesy Sharron Palmer-Hunt)
BC SPCA is seeing cat hoarder situations become more common, leading to crowding in the society’s shelters. (Black Press Media file)

BC SPCA halves cat adoption fees to ease shelter crowding

Society says it’s seen a spike in massive donations from hoarder situations

BC SPCA is seeing cat hoarder situations become more common, leading to crowding in the society’s shelters. (Black Press Media file)
A Vancouver Aquarium staff member gently moves harbour seal pup ‘Cupcake’ (inset) from a log floe to the safety of a kennel for transport to Vancouver. Harrison residents worked together to rescue the pup, who was discovered floating on a log, crying beside its dead mother. (Photos/Brooke Kirkham and Deanna Boudreau)

VIDEO: A B.C. community is banding together to save ‘Cupcake,’ an orphaned baby seal

‘Cupcake’ was transported to Vancouver Aquarium

A Vancouver Aquarium staff member gently moves harbour seal pup ‘Cupcake’ (inset) from a log floe to the safety of a kennel for transport to Vancouver. Harrison residents worked together to rescue the pup, who was discovered floating on a log, crying beside its dead mother. (Photos/Brooke Kirkham and Deanna Boudreau)
Campbell Riverite Chelsea Cheeba was attacked by an eagle in Campbell River. Photo courtesy Chelsea Cheeba

B.C. eagle lover ‘dive bombed’ by bald eagle on Vancouver Island

Woman sustained injuries to her head in incident

Campbell Riverite Chelsea Cheeba was attacked by an eagle in Campbell River. Photo courtesy Chelsea Cheeba
Necrotizing fasciitis, a disease that is difficult and expensive to treat and often fatal, has cropped up in six dogs in Nanaimo, Parksville and Qualicum Beach since October. (Stock photo)

Veterinarian issues alert about flesh-eating disease in dogs in Nanaimo and Parksville

Six cases of necrotizing fasciitis reported on central Island since the fall

Necrotizing fasciitis, a disease that is difficult and expensive to treat and often fatal, has cropped up in six dogs in Nanaimo, Parksville and Qualicum Beach since October. (Stock photo)
This Feb. 10, 2022, image released by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance shows Msituni, a giraffe calf born with an unusual disorder that caused her legs to bend the wrong way, at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido, north of San Diego. (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance via AP)

Bracing for her future: Human medicine rescues giraffe

Calf was born with her front limb bending the wrong way

This Feb. 10, 2022, image released by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance shows Msituni, a giraffe calf born with an unusual disorder that caused her legs to bend the wrong way, at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in Escondido, north of San Diego. (San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance via AP)
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