Featured Species
Ticked Off
As you get ready for bed, your mind wanders and you think, “Did I lock the door? Did I turn off the stove? Did I blow out that candle…?” But did you remember to check for unwanted guests that may have hitched a ride home with you on your afternoon hike? It could be that tiny pests are ready to dig in for a feast!
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The Swift Fox: A Canadian Conservation Success Story
BY LU CARBYN, NIKKI PASKAR, KRISTY BLY, AND RICHARD SCHNEIDER
The swift fox reintroduction program successfully brought the fastest member of the wild dog family’s population from Extirpated to Endangered, and finally to Threatened. Although it began with an illegal publicity stunt by a game farm, structured efforts soon followed. Habitat conservation continues to be a key issue for swift fox populations.
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Where Beavers Go, Surprises Follow
BY GLYNNIS HOOD
It’s an usually warm day in January and my snowshoes are only partially necessary on the frozen ponds that aid my route through the Ministik Game Bird Sanctuary. As I rest against a beaver lodge to have my tea, I realize that after all these years, there is still so much more to learn about these rodents, which can engineer entire landscapes unlike any other mammal, other than humans.
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Tiger Salamanders
BY CHERYL TEBBY
I was seven years old when I first saw Alberta’s elusive tiger salamander. Nearly six inches long and smooth, I can still remember its richly colored body: black stripes and splotches contrasted against olive green.
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Birding the Badlands
BY RYAN WILKES WITH HEATHER BLANCHETTE
Despite the barren landscape that is often associated with the badlands, the valley accommodates a lively riparian forest. This ecosystem makes the river valley a popular birding spot for local naturalists and visiting birders alike.
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Why Are Common Loon Chicks Becoming Less Common?
BY KRISTIN BIANCHINI
Measuring loon productivity is also an excellent indicator of lake health. As top predators, loons are sensitive to damage at lower levels of the food chain. For example, processes that decrease the number of fish in a lake can cause food shortages, especially for young loons. Being a top predator also makes loons more vulnerable to pollutants, like acid rain and mercury.
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Keep Those Wily Urban Coyotes Wild!
BY COLLEEN CASSADY ST. CLAIR
I began studying urban coyotes a little over a decade ago because Alberta’s cities, like virtually every city in North America, have seen a steady increase in reports of urban coyotes over time.
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Underground Life
BY GAIL MICHENER
Richardson’s ground squirrels are regularly seen above ground during daylight hours for seven to eight months of the year, but rarely from late October through late February, generating the perception that they hibernate for a four-month period encompassing winter. Winter does not last that long, so what accounts for such extraordinarily long hibernation seasons?
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Rabbits and Hares
BY MYRNA PEARMAN
It has been my good fortune to have spent, over the past few years, some quality time in the company of each of Alberta’s three native “bunny” species. All three species — which include two hares and one rabbit — have adapted well to human habitation, taking up residence in farmyards, towns, and cities across the province.
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Alberta’s Bull Trout Need Our Respect — and Our Help
BY JENNIFER EARLE
Bull trout seem to be the Rodney Dangerfield of fish — they get no respect. They are the official provincial fish of Alberta, yet this distinction hasn’t served them particularly well. They are listed as Threatened under both provincial and federal legislation. So how did we get here?
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