Are we tired of summer yet? Not likely.
For many the past few months have been a whirl of hot, sunny weather and the fun activities associated with hot, sunny weather. The drought conditions and terrible forest fires, however, together with suffering creatures in the wild have been on the opposite side of the balance sheet.
As members of our communities we bear a share of the responsibility to keep the community whole and healthy, and the wild creatures are a part of our community. While bear, coyote, deer, cougar, skunk and raccoon can threaten our enjoyment of our outdoor resources they do have the natural right to exist here in our city, and in the nearby wild where we play and work.
We have seen a great many stories recently of animals in our communities. The Granville Street deer; Cougars lounging in back yards and entering homes; back yard bears; odorous skunks and arrogant raccoons. Lately there have been more stories of whales in Burrard Inlet, sea birds and fish suffering effects of malnutrition and injured seals otters.
It seems the warmer ocean temperatures are affecting many of these critters and their routines, and sometimes their efforts to survive and thrive bring them into closer contact with us. The results are not always good for the critters, and in some instances the contacts result in injury and death to our pets and ourselves.
So what can we do? We are the creatures who have the intelligence to learn and adapt and I believe it is our responsibility to make the effort to mitigate injury to ourselves and wildlife.
Below are some links to knowledge and information to assist our efforts. I hope you benefit from any of this. Our lives are richer, happier and healthier when our fellow creatures are healthier.
Best wishes for a continued great summer in and about our communities and neighbourhoods.