Reading Time: 4 minutes Many rural landowners in their elder years may remember the odd and captivating sound made by greater sage grouse males as they courted females. But the once-common sound — variously described as a soft booming, burbling or popping — has been rarely heard for decades as the greater sage grouse population fell to fewer than […] Read more
Zoo takes steps to save beloved, but highly endangered, Prairie bird
Parasites in coyotes and foxes a threat to people, researchers find
Tapeworm common in Europe is now widespread in Alberta and is a serious health threat
Reading Time: 2 minutes A tiny tapeworm that can make people seriously ill is now common in wildlife throughout Alberta, researchers at the University of Calgary’s faculty of veterinary medicine have found. The parasitic tapeworm called echinococcus multilocularis (E. multilocularis) is common in Europe and was first detected in wildlife in Western Canada in 2012. A year later, the […] Read more
Protect grasslands — and buy range-fed beef — says bird report
Two-thirds of birds that breed and winter in grasslands have been lost, says State of Canada’s Birds report
Reading Time: 2 minutes A new State of Canada’s Birds report shows the beef sector plays a critical role in protecting the country’s highly threatened grassland bird species, says the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. “The CCA has long advocated for enhanced protection of the Great Northern Plains, an endangered grasslands ecosystem, from further encroachment,” the cattle organization said in its […] Read more
PHOTOS: Endangered ferruginous hawks get a helping hand
Reading Time: < 1 minute It looks big on the platform but the true scale of this nest was more apparent when it was being constructed on the ground. This ferruginous hawk nesting platform was installed last month on a conservation site located in the Milk River Ridge. The Nature Conservancy of Canada and FortisAlberta teamed up on the project […] Read more
The bear facts: Farming with grizzly bears in your area
Some simple measures can reduce the odds of bears becoming an issue on your ranch or farm
Reading Time: 3 minutes Jim Duncan has his bear stories, but so do all of his neighbours. The Clearwater County rancher has seen bears in his yard looking in the calf sheds, but has never had a calf taken. Wolves, however, have taken two or three animals while cougars — which are out there but rarely seen — have […] Read more
Too close for comfort: Farmers recount grizzly bear encounter
Bear makes sheep farm its hunting ground and wreaks destruction before being snared
Reading Time: 2 minutes Bears can wreak havoc on a farm — Norm and Irene Korth learned this the hard way. The couple has a sheep farm in Clearwater County and lamb about 200 head. “About four years ago, we had a grizzly here, but we never did catch him,” said Irene Korth But things escalated this April, on […] Read more
Tired of providing a hay lunch for the neighbourhood?
Hay yards are magnets for elk and deer, but 3D fencing can be a lower-cost way to keep them out
Reading Time: 2 minutes A long winter coupled with a late and dry start to spring has stretched feed supplies across Alberta. Which means any loss of hay to wildlife last winter was especially painful. To avoid that grief — or at least lessen it — many producers on the Prairies have turned to three-dimensional fencing. Unlike typical fencing, […] Read more
You can now report poachers online
The 1-800 Report A Poacher hotline is the best option when immediate action is needed
Reading Time: 2 minutes You can now report suspicious hunting or fishing activity online. Until now, the only way to report poaching activity, dangerous wildlife or public land abuse was to phone the Report A Poacher hotline. There is now a Report A Poacher website to fill out a form and submit it online. The report goes to fish […] Read more
Calling Alberta deer hunters
Reading Time: < 1 minute The University of Calgary faculty of veterinary medicine is looking for help from deer hunters. Researchers at the faculty are conducting a study on gastrointestinal parasite diversity in deer. For that, they need fresh feces samples. Hunters who see deer defecate are asked to collect samples and send by courier to the department. Samples can […] Read more
New tapeworm species infecting people in Alberta
There have only been five cases so far but experts are urging dog owners to take precautions
Reading Time: 2 minutes There’s a new parasite in Alberta being spread by coyotes, but there is no reason to be overly alarmed, says an infectious diseases expert. “We’re definitely not trying to encourage wholesale panic,” said Stan Houston, a professor at the University of Alberta’s School of Public Health. The parasite, introduced from Europe, is a potentially lethal […] Read more