(December 20, 2019)   -   Addressing the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss has left many of our political leaders and institutions floundering. At WCS Canada, we continue to deliver science-driven solutions for addressing these problems, from identifying key wild areas for protection to developing new ways to help wildlife survive specific impacts, like rising temperatures. While it is easy to lose hope in these challenging times, we think there have been some important signs of progress this year.

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(December 02, 2019)   -   Far from being a vast untouched wild landscape, Canada’s northern expanses are being relentlessly exploited for resources. Add the effects of climate change to the impact of human activities and you have what could be called a “threat cocktail” – a wicked combination of impacts that often reinforce and amplify each other. If we act now, future generations may still have a chance to experience “wild Canada” firsthand.

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(October 21, 2019) By Jacob Seguin Lake sturgeon used to be so plentiful in the Great Lakes that steamboats crossing the waters would burn their dried carcasses in their boilers to supplement their coal supplies. Then, because of caviar’s sudden popularity, lake sturgeon were fished out of much of the Great Lakes watersheds in a matter of decades –  less than the lifespan of an individual fish. When the fish you are catching only spawns once every four to six years, and even then only maybe 1...

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(May 10, 2019) By Justina Ray A UN scientific report detailing the growing global biodiversity crisis says that the Earth could lose one million species over the decades ahead. It confirms that we are in the midst of the sixth great wave of extinctions to have swept the Earth, but this time, the wave is the result of human activities and will require a major change in direction from human societies to save species.The Ontario Government chose this inauspicious moment to introduce major revisions...

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(February 18, 2019) I have been going out into the field for more than 20 years, starting in Cuba, and now in Canada. Coming to WCS Canada to work on lake sturgeon telemetry – tracking tagged fish remotely using receivers – was a dream job for me. What would I need to do?  Everything that I love. First, work with (and be part of) a great team of diverse people. Second, uncover the mysterious movements of lake sturgeon, that ancient fish that has managed to survive for millennia while swim...

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(September 21, 2018) One of the reasons that I like fieldwork is that it always involves learning new skills, and often these are obscure skills that I never expected I would need in my career as a biologist. As an example, this summer I found myself sitting on a grassy riverbank near the shores of James Bay, wearing my full rain gear on a sunny day as protection against the relentless blackflies, learning to splice rope. Splicing rope involves braiding strands of rope together to join two ropes or to form a loop at...

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(July 16, 2018) You hear them long before you see them: a raspy, gurgling call builds on the horizon. Sandhill cranes. Hundreds, even thousands, flying in endless branching formations or circling on a rising thermal. Over a period of less than two weeks in early May, an estimated 250,000 will follow Yukon’s Tintina Trench, traveling from wintering sites in the southern U.S. toward breeding sites in western Alaska and Siberia.     Sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) migrate in large ...

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(July 06, 2018) Did you know that the majority of the roughly 4,000 North American bee species live alone, can’t sting you, and nest in the ground?It is more than likely that you have crossed paths with a bee already this summer. They are everywhere, but many of them don’t look anything like the classic black-and-yellow bee on your bottle of honey or box of Cheerios. Some are much larger and more colourful. Many are similar in size to flies and lack distinctive colouration. Others are the size of a ...

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(May 11, 2018) By: Hilary Cooke It’s our fourth week monitoring spring migration in Yukon’s Tintina Trench. Since mid-April we’ve been travelling between Watson Lake in southeast Yukon to Faro in the heart of the Trench, tracking the migration of swans, geese, ducks, and cranes.  Sandhill cranes and the smaller snow geese migrating through Yukon’s Tintina Trench in spring. Credit Hilary CookeIt’s been a slow spring – by early May the lakes were still frozen, t...

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(March 05, 2018) By: Rosana SoaresMy journey to becoming a wildlife conservation biologist did not follow a long-planned career path – it was really something I stumbled into.  But that “stumble” is what led me to the Amazon, and to where I am today.   Ever since I was young I have been fascinated by all things animal. And while I always imagined I’d have a career dedicated to helping animals, I thought my only career option was to become a veterinarian, which for me w...

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