392 replies to this topic

[todd]

How a roadside zoo unleashed a lizard invasion on Victoria
Known as Rudy’s Pet Park, the 60s-era attraction was singularly responsible for the now-ubiquitous common wall lizards swarming the Capital Region

https://www.capitald...et-park-saanich

This has been a news story again in the last week. Was at a pet store recently looking at the lizards if you want a pet why not just take one save a couple bucks?

Edited by todd, 31 May 2021 - 11:18 AM.

[lanforod]

I have dozens of these by my place. They poo everywhere

[todd]

I have dozens of these by my place. They poo everywhere

Yeah but I bet the plants grow great... minus the bees



“Surprise: Lizard Feeds Its Babies Feces”: https://blog.nationa...s-babies-feces/

Edited by todd, 31 May 2021 - 11:48 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

this is a great video.  woman shoves a bear off a concrete wall.

 

https://vancouverisl...istId=1.5451638

[todd]

“Provincial bat count to monitor for impacts of white-nose syndrome”: https://www.oakbayne...-nose-syndrome/

[Victoria Watcher]

I like how he says the sticky pads are inhumane. But freezing them (alive) is fine.

https://www.timescol...sion-1.24327207

can’t we just live with the lizards? they are less damaging than deer.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 June 2021 - 05:23 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

I like how he says the sticky pads are inhumane. But freezing them (alive) is fine.

https://www.timescol...sion-1.24327207

can’t we just live with the lizards? they are less damaging than deer.

 

 

 

 

How you kill them after capture is up to you. A crushing blow with a rock or brick is a quick end. Others bag and freeze them and later dispose of the bodies.

 

 

 

“Sticky traps are shockingly inhumane, with animals stuck for a week in the blazing sun and cold at night,” said Hanke. “The traps are an attractant to predators who also get stuck. There also is too much collateral damage from other animals — snakes, native lizards and small birds, which will be attracted to insects and other animals in the sticky trap.”

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 June 2021 - 06:54 AM.

[todd]

^
“Supercooling and freeze-tolerance in the European wall lizard” “..Eleven super-cooled lizards were removed from the cooling chamber prior to crystallization after between 15 min and 26 h at body temperatures ranging from -2.2 to -5.9 °C. With the exception of one individual supercooled to-5.0 °C, all lizards recovered fully…”:

https://link.springe...1007/BF00300945


By the way that was front page TC with a robin eating a lizard photographed.

Edited by todd, 06 June 2021 - 05:53 PM.

[todd]

Cat versus lizard: https://youtu.be/LWj7Gr1HwYA

[Sparky]

Bob the backyard black bear has returned to the neighbourhood. The neighbour spotted him strolling down Wallace on his way to Todd Inlet perhaps.

 

Probably going for a dip and a snack.

 

[Victoria Watcher]

how do local bears hibernate for the winter?

[Sparky]

They stay at the Prairie Inn.

[Victoria Watcher]

Bears hibernate. They spend all year eating salmon, blueberries, and picnic baskets and then, sometime around baseball playoffs, they all wander off to a cave full of treasure and explorers’ skulls where they curl up in a big furry ball and snore away the winter.


https://slate.com/te...and-torpor.html

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 30 July 2021 - 03:17 PM.

[Mike K.]

A fellow had a pretty close daytime encounter with a cougar atop the Goldstream Trestle over the weekend. Watch: https://www.facebook...388784574856002

[Redd42]

NPR Fresh Air had an episode recently about animals doing not what we want them to do. My favourite bits were the bears in Aspen who have figured out how to get in certain types of doors, the fact that forensic folks know if you have been killed by a cougar or bear because they attack differently and a large number of people in India are killed every year by elephants - because to an elephant us humans are just an annoying bug.

[Victoria Watcher]

Windstorm, falls from trees leave 10 baby squirrels in care at West Shore rehab

 

Fundraiser launched for 3 infant squirrels with broken legs at Wild ARC

 

https://www.vicnews....st-shore-rehab/

 

 

​Really.  Squirrels are just rats that take advantage of their good looks to get a pass on extermination.  I treat all rodents the same.  Beaver, gopher, rat, mouse, squirrel, kangaroo, cat.  If they come into my yard they meet the barrel of my shotgun, and are rapidly dispatched back to their maker.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 21 April 2022 - 06:33 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Warren Dingman calls them "chicken wars" — paltry poultry disputes that crop up on B.C.'s Gulf Islands each year as dependably as a cockerel's crow.

Ground zero for 2022 is Salt Spring Island, where concerns about rooster noise have led to bylaw tickets, spreads in the local newspaper and even a pro-rooster petition.

As Islands Trust head bylaw officer, Dingman's bailiwick only extends to land use. Noise complaints are the Capital Regional District's business. But that doesn't mean residents don't complain to him. Or that he doesn't have sympathy for both sides of the debate.


https://www.cbc.ca/n...noise-1.6455268

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 17 May 2022 - 04:48 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Bear destroys Vancouver Island van after getting trapped inside

RCMP officer frees black bear, but not before it obliterates the vehicle’s interior

https://www.vicnews....trapped-inside/

She added that along with raising her anxiety, the incident has also brought a financial hit as the vehicle was not insured due to confusion with her insurance provider.

“Really, it’s a comedy of errors and we’re left with a car that is dismantled inside and no insurance,” she said. “I’m screwed financially, but more important than that, a bear is going to lose his life.”

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 17 May 2022 - 02:43 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Canada’s avian flu outbreak: Should the bird feeders go?

 

BCSPCA says feeders and baths pose risk, others prioritize poultry

 

https://www.vicnews....ird-feeders-go/

[aastra]

 

Asked how long this outbreak might last, Wallace replied, “that’s the million-dollar question and we really don’t know.”

 

Just long enough to push through some new regulations or restrictions?