Nunavut Considers Limiting Polar Bear Hunt

Nunavut's territorial government has suggested cutting the annual polar bear hunting quota nearly in half -- from 105 bears to 64 -- because "under the current harvest conditions...there is a 100 percent chance of population decline."

According to the Canadian Press, Environment Minister Daniel Shewchuk warned Nunavut's Wildlife Management Review Board, which makes decisions on hunting quotas, that the international community is watching, and that limiting the hunt is necessary to avoid damaging economic sanctions. (Full story).

Limiting the hunt is a contentious issue. On the one hand, local hunters insist that computer models, which suggest the Baffin Bay polar bear population has been reduced to 1,500, are wrong. They point to models that inaccurately reported the decline of the bowhead whale as evidence that such models are not to be trusted.

I am more inclined to trust the computer models, however, than the hunters apparently do, and I'm inclined to trust those who use them.

I am inclined to trust the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which predicts a 30% decline in population for the polar bear within three generations (about 45 years).

And I trust the Center for Biological Diversity, who forecast that, if current warming trends continue to wipe out the polar bear's traditional, sea ice hunting grounds, two-thirds of all polar bears could be extinct by 2050.

And I trust the US Geological Survey, who estimate as many as two thirds of the 20-25,000 polar bears that roam the Arctic could disappear by the middle of this century.

In 2009, the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG) cited climate change as the greatest challenge to the conservation of polar bears. While much work remains to address the climate change threat, reducing hunting quotas on an increasingly vulnerable species would be a welcome development.

Margaret Atwood has fun with Nature Canada bookmarks

I'm back from Toronto, where I attended Margaret Atwood's Year of the Flood performance Thursday night -- another packed house, this time in the beautiful St. James Anglican church, where 1,100 people enjoyed Atwood's innovative "hybrid" book reading: part theatre, part musical, part narration.

The Year of the Flood performances have been a terrific opportunity to raise awareness about Nature Canada and our bird conservation work. Margaret has been eager to encourage others to learn more about us -- singling us out from the stage at the beginning of each performance, and even personally inserting a brochure and bookmark into every copy of her book during the book-signing.

Here are a few (fuzzy) pictures of Margaret and I holding the Nature Canada bookmarks -- they were a big hit among her fans!

Here's Margaret Atwood having fun with one of our bookmarks... And here's the packed house inside St. James, waiting for the show to start.

We also had a chance to pass out fact sheets about our Important Bird Area Program, and some of the local projects we support. Margaret, who has been maintaining a blog and a twitter account during her tour, was kind enough to post them online here.

The tour arrives in Calgary on Tuesday, and continues on to Vancouver October 1. Both stops are fundraisers for Nature Canada. Her tour wraps up in Sudbury November 19.

Visiting Women Organic Farmers in Paraguay

In March 2009, Nature Canada began implementing a 2-year project to support women in 4 rural communities in Paraguay to produce organic vegetables, improve their health and strengthen their awareness of their democratic rights. Last week my colleague Mohamed Niang from our project partner Place aux agricultrices : nourricieres du monde and I were in Paraguay to visit the project. Our local partners in this project are Fortaleser and our BirdLife Partner Guyra Paraguay. The project is funded mainly by the Government of Canada, through the Canadian International Development Agency.

On Tuesday, we visited Isla Pucu and Caaguazu which lie approximately 2 and half hours west of Asuncion. We were greeted by a large group of women who are participating in the project.

We were amazed at the progress they have achieved in their vegetable gardens. One woman is so excited that she expanded her garden by about twenty-fold! It was also a great opportunity for them to see each other's work, as many had never visited their neighbors' gardens.

On Wednesday we traveled over 6 hours southwest of Asunción to the Department of Itapua wherein lies the San Rafael National Park. We met with the head of the municipal government of Alto Vera, who confirmed that the municipality will soon install a water provision system for the community of Santa Ana, one of our project sites. This will enable the women farmers in the community to grow a wider range of vegetables in their gardens.

We stayed that night at Guyra Paraguay's monitoring station in Kanguery, the reserve Guyra owns within the park. We marvelled at the beauty of San Rafael and were reminded of the many threats this remaining area of Atlantic Forest faces and of the urgent need to ensure its conservation.

The following morning, we met with women farmers from Santa Ana and from Libertad del Sur in the latter community. As in Isla Pucu, for many of the women it was an opportunity to visit a new place, and share experiences. The women from Santa Ana remarked on the differences in the soil: Libertad del Sur enjoying a much more fertile land than rockier Santa Ana.

Mohamed and I witnessed the commitment and enthusiasm of the project staff in Fortaleser (Aurora, Gladys, Liz and Perla) and in Guyra (Eli, Marcelo, Gabriel and Pepe). They are doing great work and have established trust and a good working relationship with the women in the communities. They shared with us their experience and knowledge and it was a real joy to spend the week with them.

With this project we aim to improve the nutrition, health, equality and income of the women farmers in these four rural communities, while also raising their awareness of the importance of conserving biodiversity for their benefit and that of their children and grandchildren. These are no doubt ambitious goals, but we are making modest visible progress!

Reporting from Quito on Birds and People

Bird conservation is as much about people as it is about birds.

Last week, BirdLife Partners from the Americas met in Quito, Ecuador to discuss the work we do with people that live in or near Important Bird Areas (IBAs). We call these very diverse partners "Local Conservation Groups" or "LCGs". I shared Nature Canada's experiences working with groups in IBAs across Canada, while my colleagues from Belize, Mexico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay shared the experiences of their organizations: a youth-owned and operated radio station in Paraguay; primary education and agroforestry in a Haitian community; indigenous sustainable forest management in Chiapas, Mexico...It was an extremely interesting exchange in which we learned about different approaches depending on different circumstances. The discussion focused mostly on our experiences working with people who depend on the natural resources of IBAs for their livelihoods. We talked about how we started these relationships, the successes we have had, the challenges we have faced and the different roles we play in each partnership. We talked about building capacity, respecting local values and cultures, and promoting sustainability. Even though many of the partners only started working with Local Conservation Groups a few years ago, our collective experience is surprisingly rich. This doesn't mean we don't have much to learn. We also identified topics for further discussion in relation to our work with local actors, including equity, gender and climate change.

The case studies presented at the workshop and the lessons learnt will be published by the BirdLife Americas Secretariat this winter. This should be an interesting and helpful guide for BirdLife Partners and other organizations that are beginning to work on conservation with local people. And it will also be the foundation of futher collaboration and discussion amongst the Americas Partnership and beyond to deepen our understanding of the linkages between livelihoods and biodivesity and to improve our practices and multiply our successes.

As a bonus, we enjoyed the warm hospitality of the Americas Secretariat staff and our colleagues from Aves y Conservación (BirdLife in Ecuador), stunning views of the Andes around Quito and great food.

My colleague Guillaume from Pronatura (BirdLife in Mexico) and I also had the privilege of exploring the wonderfully diverse habitats in the Mindo and Bancos IBAs

near Quito, where two local guides (Rolando and

Teófilo) and nine-year-old (Eduardo) who are part of a LCG, shared with us their knowledge and passion of the local biodiversity.

Photos: Workshop participants at the Quito BirdLife Americas office; view from the Alaspungo comune; Teófilo, Rolando, Eduardo and myself.

Countdown to Copenhagen Climate Talks

The countdown to Copenhagen continues, as world leaders prepare to hammer out a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, and citizens from countries around the world are demanding credible action on climate change.

The Climate Action Network has released this video, narrated by Canadian recording artist Sarah Harmer, to encourage people to sign the KYOTOplus petition:



Nature Canada is one of over 60 groups to join the KYOTOplus campaign.

We're asking Canadian politicians to support these goals:

• Set a national target to cut greenhouse gas emissions at least 25 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020.
• Implement an effective national plan to reach this target and help developing countries to reduce their emissions and adapt to climate change.
• Adopt a bold, strengthened second phase of the Kyoto Protocol at the pivotal United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, December 2009.

Learn more about the KYOTOplus campaign here.

Dead Duck Saga Drags On

On Tuesday, the Globe and Mail reported that Syncrude has pleaded “not guilty” to charges in relation to the deaths of 1,600 migrating waterfowl in one of the large toxic tailings ponds near Fort McMurray Alberta. The charges were laid under the Federal Migratory Birds Convention Act and provincial wildlife legislation. While the plea is disappointing, it is perhaps expected from an industry that appears to operate largely with its own rules and criteria that do not appear to be the same by which others are judged. There is no arguing that Syncrude provides thousands of jobs and pays significant taxes. That is not the point. The point is that this fact does not give a company the right to operate outside the standards and laws that apply to others.

In the Globe article, Robert White, Syncrude's lawyer, was quoted as saying that his company has “spent a tremendous amount of money” to ensure a similar incident doesn’t happen again. White added “to now charge us and bring us to court is not going to bring back 1,603 ducks.” The Syncrude lawyer also suggested that the courts have “recognized for a long time that when people do their best to avoid something, then that isn’t a matter for charges, that’s a matter for fix-up.”

Certainly the Syncrude lawyer’s logic is faulty here. You break the law, normally there is a price to pay, not just in restitution, but also in terms of a punishment. Otherwise, our laws will be used as a mechanism for adaptive management rather than protecting societal values such as the protection of migratory birds, clean water or clean air.

Let’s consider the J.D. Irving Ltd decision with regard to the destruction of a few heron nests in New Brunswick in 2008. Irving eventually pleaded guilty to the charges, after contesting the legislation, and was fined $10,000 and ordered to pay $50,000 contribution to Bird Studies Canada for bird research and conservation. Irving has reportedly been in contact with some conservation NGOs about input into their forestry operations, suggesting that they are moving toward a more best-practices mode of operations to avoid destroying nests.

Whatever measures Syncrude deployed subsequent to the incident, this matter really should be irrelevant before the courts. What matters is what took place at the time of the incident and prior to it. Were they liable for the unnecessary deaths of over 1,600 ducks or not? Could it have been avoided? This is where the liability lies. Kudos to Syncrude for investing in better protection since the bird deaths, but surely these amends should not be a reason to let them off the hook.

Irving could well have argued that they have reformed their forestry practices, that they would conduct assessments for heronries or other multiple season single nesting birds, and that this was good enough for the few nests that were destroyed. However, they were contrite and paid their fine and made the donation. Perhaps Syncrude can learn from this and take the high road by pleading guilty, facing the consequences and stop acting like they are above the law.

Rare Opportunity to See Labrador Duck

Have you ever heard of a Labrador Duck? I hadn't, until a unique event to be held this weekend at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto was brought to my attention.

The Labrador Duck once inhabited the eastern coast of North America and was a common breeder in the area of Cartwright, Labrador over 300 years ago. It has been extinct for more than 100 years, with only 55 known stuffed specimens in collections, both public and private, around the world.

The ROM has one of these specimens - previously locked in a fireproof safe for decades - that is recognized as the world's best preserved. They will be bringing it out of the vault on the afternoon of Sunday, September 20 for public viewing from 1:00-3:00 p.m. in conjunction with the release of Dr. Glen Chilton's new book, The Curse of the Labrador Duck.

Dr. Chilton is a Canadian ornithologist and behavioral biologist who is the world's leading expert on the Labrador Duck. He has traveled around the globe in search of specimens and stories about this elusive species.

If you're in the Toronto area, this event is a rare opportunity to learn more about Canada's natural history.

Small fish makes big splash for Species at Risk Act

This week has brought another precedent-setting legal victory for species protected under Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA). In 2007, environmental groups filed a lawsuit regarding the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' SARA recovery strategy for the Nooksack Dace, an endangered minnow that is found in Canada in only four streams in British Columbia. The recovery strategy did not include an identification of the species' critical habitat, despite NGOs including Nature Canada telling them that it could be identified. This was backed up by a scientist on the recovery team, whose maps and descriptions of critical habitat for the fish were stripped out of the recovery strategy by DFO before it was finalized.

On Wednesday, the federal court judge ruled in favour of the environmental groups and the fish. The judge found that the Fisheries Minister was using an unlawful policy direction for recovery strategies in BC, choosing to not identify critical habitat in recovery strategies even though SARA states that there is an obligation to do so to the extent possible using the best available information. This unlawful policy was applied not only to Nooksack Dace, but to at least 20 other endangered or threatened aquatic species in BC. The judge also determined that critical habitat for a species at risk is not merely an area on a map, but the suite of biophysical attributes that are critical to the species. This will help to ensure that the identification and protection of critical habitat will encompass all of the characteristics necessary to ensure the survival and recovery of a species.

The repercussions of this ruling extend far beyond just the identification of critical habitat for these 20 species. The case sets a strong precedent for the obligation to identify critical habitat in all SARA recovery strategies. It also comes close on the heels of another important court decision where a federal judge ruled that the federal government acted unreasonably by not identifying critical habitat in a recovery plan for the endangered Greater Sage Grouse.

This fall, Canadian Parliament will resume its legislative review of the Species at Risk Act. Nature Canada, the David Suzuki Foundation, Ecojustice and Environmental Defence will be there to ensure that the inadequacies in SARA implementation that have been highlighted by these court cases are thoroughly examined and acted on.

Read about the Nooksack Dace court decision here and here.

photo: Nooksack Dace

Ecotourism and Endangered Species in Nova Scotia

Brennan Caverhill, a biologist with the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute, sent us information about the upcoming "Mersey Turtle Tour" that will take place later this month in the Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve, near Kejimkujik National Park, Nova Scotia. From the press release:

This September, from the evening of 16th until the afternoon of the 18th, endangered species biologists from the research institute will be providing participants with a 2-day and 2-night adventure into the heart of the habitat of the endangered Blanding's turtle. The team of travelers will learn about the plight of the turtle and its kin during vivid evening slideshows, then adventure to wetland habitat and nesting sites during the day where they may have the opportunity to not only witness the miracle of life, a hatchling turtle emerging from its egg underground, but also engage in the research process of marking, measuring, and releasing the hatchlings themselves.

The options for accommodations at the Mersey River Chalets vary from personal teepees to luxury cabins, situated right alongside the mercilessly beautiful Mersey River. Participants will also have the opportunity to dine at the Cascades Restaurant, which overlooks with a stunning panoramic view the rapids along the river.

To learn more about this package, visit www.merseyriverchalets.com. You can also check out www.merseytobeatic.ca to learn more about the research institute and the work that is taking place in the the Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve to help look after nature, the environment, and all its inhabitants - including the turtles.

This adventure sounds like a great opportunity to experience the wonders of nature in Nova Scotia firsthand, Brennan. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Some boreal to be protected from tarsands industry

In early August 2009, the provincial government of Alberta unveiled the “Terms of Reference for Developing the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan.” This important document is supposed to guide the future protection of nature in this ecologically rich section of the boreal forest underlain extensively with bitumen which the hungry power shovels and steam drills are anxious to exploit.

In this document, a goal of 20 percent conservation land (boreal forest) will be protected with consideration of increasing that goal. According to the document, six percent “currently contributes to conservation objectives”[1] whereas 10 percent does not conflict with “mineral tenure” totalling 16 percent. That would mean four percent would have to be removed from active oil, gas or mineral claims, likely meaning compensation for the claimants.

The plan is based on increased bitumen exploitation by about 20 percent per year to move from current production of approximately 1.3 million barrels per day to about 4 million barrels per day. The plan alludes to exploring “the feasibility of meeting a conservation scenario higher than 20 percent, while achieving the stated economic objectives” (with respect to production).

As with all planning initiatives, the ‘devil will be in the details.’ For example, it is unclear how the expansive Wood Buffalo National Park – a large area of the lower Athabasca that is already protected – fits into the calculations. Wood Buffalo Park is the only natural breeding area for Whooping Cranes in the world.

Nor is it apparent how aboriginal interests and land claims will be considered and incorporated. Judging from an article in The Ecologist, at least one First Nations band, the Beaver Lake Cree, is still opposing the conversion of the boreal forest to an industrial landscape.

However, after several years of apparent inaction, it appears at last that the Alberta government is poised to protect some of this intensely threatened section of the boreal forest. This deserves some credit in a province where the oil and gas industry has a strangle-hold on power.

For organizations and agencies within Alberta trying to protect nature, it is a David versus Goliath scenario at best. That said, it is certainly time that progress be made as more foreign capital is poised to flow into the region and the oil and gas companies start tooling up for the next phase of stripping the boreal forest away to get at more bitumen. We cannot protect something once it is gone.

Photograph: Carnivous pitcher plant grows in boreal bogs in northern Alberta by Ted Cheskey

[1] P.14, Terms of Reference for Developing the Lower Athabasca Regional Plan, Government of Alberta, 2009

Canada's Largest Snake in Peril

The Gray Ratsnake, sometimes called the Eastern Ratsnake or Black Ratsnake, is Canada's largest snake, reaching a length of up to 190 cm. Their colouring differs from region to region, but they are generally a shiny black or gray with a white chin and throat.

In Canada, this snake is only found in two distinct parts of Ontario: the Carolinian forest region of Lake Erie, and the St. Lawrence region in counties such as Lanark, Leeds and Grenville, and Frontenac.

The Gray Ratsnake is a constrictor, mainly preying on small mammals and, since it is an efficient arboreal hunter, birds and their nests. Its natural predators include Red-tailed Hawk, Osprey, Raccoon, Fisher and Mink.

Major threats to the species include being run over by vehicles - given their length and tendency to move slowly across roadways – or agricultural machinery, deliberate slaughter by humans and habitat loss due to increased development.

One of the key measures identified for this species' conservation is identification and protection of their hibernacula.

What You Can Do

• Share what you've learned about the Gray Ratsnake with others. Knowledge helps us to understand our wild neighbours and the natural environments they need to survive.
• Stay alert when driving. Wildlife can cross human-made boundaries such as roads in unexpected places, so we need to take care not to endanger the animals or our own safety.
  

Read more of the Gray Ratsnake's story, including interesting species facts and additional actions you can take, in our endangered species profile.

Photo by John C. Murphy (http://www.jcmnaturalhistory.com/).

Braeside Alvar near Arnprior Ontario under threat

Do you know what an alvar is? Most people don’t, and I certainly didn’t until three and a half years ago when we heard a quarry expansion would probably destroy the alvar ridge we live on. Alvar is a Scandinavian word for a geological formation of flat, open areas of limestone bedrock where the soil is either shallow or absent. Due to extreme environmental conditions such as alternating flood and drought, unique and often rare plant, insect and bird habitats are formed.

Alvars are globally rare; most are centred around the Great Lakes of North America with a very few in Europe. Many alvars have already been destroyed by aggregate quarrying as the limestone is at or close to the surface and easy to access.

Overlooking the Ottawa River near Arnprior is the Braeside ridge, a little gem of an alvar, much of it in pristine, undisturbed condition. This alvar has a very rich plant community, much of which is at risk with either endangered, imperilled, vulnerable, regionally significant, or uncommon status. In fact the study of the alvar has only started recently, and been confined to a small area suggesting that there is much left to discover.

In addition to the rare plant community, this limestone ridge is a groundwater recharge area for regional aquifers, contains a deer wintering year, includes significant woodlands and supports significant wetlands!

Just to give you a taste of this alvar, lets talk about orchids. There’s something of a cachet about orchids, isn’t there? Well this is the home of rare orchids. In fact there are simply thousands of the vulnerable Ram’s-head Lady’s-slipper, Cypripedium arietinum, possibly one of the largest single population of this orchid on the globe. Then there’s the Hooker’s Orchid, Platanthera hookeri, (named for the man, not the noun), another vulnerable species and one I had the thrill of being the first to find on this alvar.

We want this alvar designated as Provincial Significant Wildlife Habitat to protect it for future generations rather than scraped off so the underlying rock can be turned into more roads and more buildings.

Contributed by Norma Moore of Arnprior Ontario

Photograph of Ram's Head Lady's Slipper by Norma Moore

A Greener Way To Cool

Even though we've just passed the Labour Day weekend, there are still a couple of weeks of summer left. September can have some of the hottest days of the year; stay cool with our top tips for your home:

Create a stir. Circulating air keeps you cooler, and fans use 90% less energy than air conditioners. If you can, set up a cross-current with window fans.

Invest in low-E. Windows with low-E films keep out the summer heat. As a bonus, they'll also keep heat inside during the winter. Make sure all windows are properly sealed to avoid drafts.

Go green – from the top down. Consider a green roof that will not only cool your home, but can provide habitat for wildlife if you plant native, drought-tolerant species. Environment Canada research shows that a typical one-storey building with about 10 cm of grass and growth medium on its roof cuts its cooling needs by 25%.

Read more hot home tips for cool summer living on our website.

Featured Photo: Perfect Indian Pipes

Judith Blakeley shared this photo of Indian Pipes with us. She writes:

One doesn't often see indian pipes in perfect condition. This group was
photographed in the deep woods near Torbay, Newfoundland last August, soon after
they emerged from the sphagnum moss.

You may remember that one of our staff members snapped a photo of this exceptional, non-photosynthetic plant a couple of weeks ago.

Have you run across any interesting or unusual plants in the woods? Let us know in the comments below!

CIDA highlights our Paraguay Project

Through its international program, Nature Canada works to promote biodiversity conservation for people and birds in the Americas.

In Paraguay, we are working with our Canadian partner Place aux agricultrices : nourricieres du monde and our local partners Guyra Paraguay and Fortaleser, to improve the livelihoods of women farmers and increase their awareness of biodiversity.

The Canadian International Development Agency, our primary funder, has highlighted our project in a recent communique. Visit our website for more information about this project and our international program.

Also, stay tuned for an update in October, as I return from a visit to our project partners and the women farmers we are working with in Paraguay.

Photo: Vulnerable Pipile jacutinga by Jose Luis Cartes

On the road with the wild life.

As a cross country ski racer we get to take part in a sport that is not only very demanding, but also requires year-round training even though it is a winter sport. Because of this we get to put some incredible workouts in, workouts which are very unique to the sport which require special equipment and must appear odd to someone who is not familiar with non-winter cross-country ski training. Whether it is long runs in the mountains, or big days on the road rollerskiing, or biking. most of this training is in nature and we get to see some extremely incredible stuff. This is one aspect which has made me love the sport so much, being outside and seeing things which most people only hear about.

This photo, taken by Lee Churchill of Dan Roycroft, Thomsen D'hont, Julian Locke, me on our roller skies approaching a small herd of Dall Sheep. was from one of my recent Training Camps in Canmore Alberta. We were on a classic rollerski up Highwood Pass in the Peter Laugheed Provincial Park, in Kananaskis Country when we had this encounter. Watching these sheep bolt across as we got closer and closer definitely proved to be one of the highlights of this training camp. Another highlight (without a photo) was encountering a herd of Caribou crossing the Bow River in Canmore one morning with my teammate Thomsen.

Contributed by Camille Cheskey of the Callaghan Valley Training Center in Whistler BC. Photo by Lee Churchill.

Order Your Get To Know Nature Calendar

The 2010 Robert Bateman Get to Know Contest Calendar features winning artwork and writing by youth from this year's contest. In addition to regular Canadian holidays and noteworthy environmental dates, it also includes descriptions of what your wild neighbours are doing.

Read more about the contest winners or order your calendar today!

I smell a rat

The Norway Rat Rattus norvegicus has made it to the news recently as Alberta (which claim to be rat-free), watches a rat population explosion in Swift Current Saskatchewan, little over 100 kilometres from the Alberta border. This is an interesting story as it raises the profile of the much hated and much maligned rodent that some predict will survive long after humans have perished. While the Disney-Pixar movie Ratatouille may have persuaded some that rats are in fact interesting creatures, human repulsion to rats seems as strong as ever, based on the media coming out of western Canada.

Rats are rarely seen, but omnipresent in our settled landscapes. This is probably the most adaptable mammal on the planet which in many ways mirrors humans in our food preference, social structure and perhaps intelligence. The success of rats as a species is legend. They can reproduce at 3 months, they live in tight colonies of up to 200 or more individuals, females can produce litters of as many as 8 young as frequently as 8 times a years and young are independent after a month. They are opportunistic omnivores like us, eating everything, but with definite preferences for a good steak or filet. They are as tough as nails, can fit through tiny spaces as big as a loonie, yet hold their own against a domestic cat. Rats have non-stop growing incisors and very strong jaws. They are also largely nocturnal, one of the reasons why we don’t see them often. If you feed birds, particularly with platform feeders or ground feeders, chances are that you might have a rat or two visiting during the night.

Rats are considered such a scourge for two reasons – they cause large amounts of damage to food, grains, structures, buildings, electrical wiring, and other objects that we value. Rats have been know to cause floods by burrowing through dams, and fires by biting into matches or short-circuiting electrical wiring. Rats are always gnawing, always digging, and require large amounts of food daily, perhaps as much as 15 grams. Secondly they are carriers of several very serious diseases that can easily spread to humans such as bubonic plague, leptospirosis, typhus, spotted fever and tularaemia.

The Swift Current situation is certainly unnerving for the residents, who are looking both for an explanation and a solution with reports of some people even being bitten in their homes. Rat colonies are often underground in burrows, sewers or other dark and obscure spaces common in derelict buildings and factories. The cause of the rat explosion has been attributed to several factors that may have disturbed some colonies or led to a migration including a fire at the local landfill site, the demolition of a feed mill, drought and local construction.

This brings me to my final point. I predict that other Canadian cities and towns will experience rat issues in the next year as an indirect consequence of the federal stimulus package. Let me explain. The federal government is pouring money into infrastructure upgrading and replacing in municipalities. This means disturbing those aged sewer systems, canalizations and viaducts that harbor rat colonies. Demolition and construction activities will lead to more reports of rats on the streets, and more frenzy. Share your rat observations or stories with us at Nature Canada.