Climate change affecting fish in Ontario lakes

Date:  March 22, 2019

Source:  University of Guelph

Warmer temperatures are having a ripple effect on food webs in Ontario lakes, according to a new University of Guelph study.

Researchers have found warmer average temperatures over the past decade have forced fish to forage in deeper water. There they hunt different prey species, causing a climate-induced "rewiring" of food webs, altering the flow of energy and nutrients in the lake.

Monitoring the movement of generalist species like lake trout may offer an early warning system for impacts of climate change on ecosystems.

"We can harness the natural capacity of species to detect and respond to changes in their environment," said Tim Bartley, a post-doc in the Department of Integrative Biology and study lead author. "As species are changing their behaviour, they are telling us about what's happening around them in their environment. We can use this information. The behavioural changes we see imply major reorganization of ecosystems."

Published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, the study entailed tracking lake trout movement and feeding in hundreds of lakes in northwestern Ontario.

Bartley caught fish to analyze their tissues to see what they ate. The team also used similar data about fish feeding habits and locations across the province from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

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State of emergency declared for Ontario's turtles - Almost 600 injured turtles have been treated by Ontario Turtle Trauma Centre this year- via Herp Digest

Marina von Stackelberg , CBC News.com, 7/10/17 

Ontario's major turtle trauma centre is declaring a state of emergency after taking in nearly 600 injured turtles this year.

The hospital at the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre is bursting with the number of turtles it's trying to rehabilitate.

Turtle surgeon Sue Carstairs spends most of her days operating on dozens of turtle shells that have been crushed by cars.

"We are beyond maximum caring capacity ... we've never seen it this busy," said the veterinarian and executive director of the centre, based in the Kawartha area in central Ontario.

"We've had double the number of admissions. We're not sure why.”

It could be because the rainy weather across Ontario is ideal for the cold-blooded creatures, according to Carstairs.

"This year we're seeing the turtles on the move more than last year," she said, adding that the centre will continue to keep taking in turtles despite the influx.

In addition to habitat destruction, Carstairs said vehicles are a top threat to the province's turtles.

"Most of the ones that come into our hospital are injured on the road," Carstairs said.

"Most have very severe fractures of their shell. There is a lot of head trauma too, especially in species like snapping turtles that can't hide in their shell."

The high number of turtle injuries is concerning for Carstairs, since seven of Ontario's eight species of turtles are considered species at risk. 

"Every adult is vital," she said.

"They take up to 20 years to reach maturity. So they need to live a long, long time to even have a chance of replacing themselves in the population."

“Highway shoulders perfect for turtle nurseries”

New road developments may also be contributing to turtle injuries, according to Amy Henson, a biologist with Science North in Sudbury, Ont.

"Right now is the time of year we're going to see a lot of turtles. They're out there laying eggs," she said.

"Coincidentally, highway shoulders are one of the best place for turtles to lay their eggs, because they're soft, gravelly, and very warm.”

Henson said turtles have been around for millions of years, which means they aren't going to quickly adapt to new roadways.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has set up turtle underpasses in new road developments, including Highway 69, south of Sudbury.

Henson said it's likely there aren't more turtles being injured, but that more people are helping them.

"The conservation centres are getting a lot of turtles because people care about them so much. And I think that's a real win on conservation behalf," she said.

Move turtle, then take selfie

If it's safe to do so, you can "absolutely" help a turtle cross the road, Henson said.

"Just make sure you're pointing him in the same direction as when he started, and take him off the road two metres.”

Henson added that people should move the turtle quickly, rather than picking it up and posing for a photo op.

"That can confuse the turtle and get him all turned around," she said.

Ontario asked to ban hunting for snapping turtles- People can kill two turtles each day and many places across the province allow the hunt year-round - via Herp Digest

CBC News-Jan 26, 2017

People in Ontario are allowed to kill two snapping turtles each day, a practice area conservationists and politicians in Essex want stopped.

 

Members of the public have until Jan. 30 to tell Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry whether they want to end the hunt once and for all, versus accepting a government proposal to continuing the hunt with restrictions.

Scott Gillingwater from the Upper Thames Conservation Authority said he is writing to the province to support an end to hunting the prehistoric-looking turtles.

"It sends a confusing message to the public to be able to hunt an animal that many people spend a lot of time and a lot of money to protect wetlands and protect these species, so it seems kind of in vain when these animals are lost due to a legal hunt," he said.

Snapping turtles are listed as a "species of special concern" in Ontario and are the only turtle that can legally be hunted, he added.

In 2012 the Town of Essex led a local effort to halt the hunt, but Coun. Sherry Bondy said they were unsuccessful.

This year the town is trying again and has re-sent their 2012 motion to the ministry.

Unlike other animals, female turtles take a long time to become sexually mature which means they don't lay eggs when they're young, said Bondy.

"Snapping turtles already have so many things coming after them. There are developments and they're dying on the road," she explained. "But they're bottom-feeders that are really important to the food chain."

Snakes prevent grass cutting at Windsor park – via Herp Digest

'We have to do what we have to do to follow the law,' councillor says

CBC News Jul 29, 2016

According to Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources, the only place in the world where Butler’s garter snake is found is in the lower Great Lakes region.

According to Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources, the only place in the world where Butler’s garter snake is found is in the lower Great Lakes region. (Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources)

A city park in Windsor, Ont., is overgrown and there's nothing the city can do about it because the park is now home to an endangered species.

Despite dozens of calls from upset residents who say they can no longer enjoy the green space, Coun. Fred Francis says the city can't cut the grass at Seven Sisters Park because Butler's gartersnakes call the park home.

Being labelled an endangered species in Ontario means the species lives in the wild but is facing imminent extinction or extirpation.

"We have to do what we have to do to follow the law," Francis said. "I think all the residents understand that but the onus is on us now to figure out the solution that makes the residents happy. I work for the residents so I have to find solutions that make them happy and that they agree with."

According to Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources, the only place in the world where Butler's garter snake is found is in the lower Great Lakes region.

The snake is concentrated in two areas:

within 10 kilometres of the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair River, and Lake Huron from Amherst Point to Errol, in Essex and Lambton counties

Luther Marsh, Dufferin and Wellington counties.

Francis said there are two possible solutions; either move the park or move the snakes. Both will take time.

No one from the City of Windsor was available to answer the question of why the snakes showed up at Seven Sisters Park in the first place.

Seven Sisters Park

Neighbours say grass was being cut on an eight-day cycle at Seven Sisters Park, until endangered snakes were found there. (Stacey Janzer/CBC)

Some residents want a decision made sooner, rather than later.

Lisa Baggio lives directly behind Seven Sisters Park.

"I want one or the other. Either a fully naturalized space with the jungle gym and the swings gone or I want them to manicure it," Baggio said. "Like they had for close to a decade before this all happened."

It's not the first time the city has had to accommodate the species of snake.

In April 2014, consultants hired by the city found a rare plant species and the Butler's gartersnake living in the area.

The snakes delayed the project for years. It's still not finished.

Ontario wind farm halted by endangered turtles crossing the road - via Herp Digest

Sean Fine & Ivan Semeiuk, The Globe and Mail, Published Monday, 4/20/15,

The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled on Monday that a 324-hectare, nine-turbine wind farm proposed for the south shore of Prince Edward County puts a population of endangered Blanding’s turtles at risk of dying out in that region’s wetland. The risk is posed not by the wind farm itself but by 5.4 kilometres of roads to and from the site. Experts said the turtles, which range widely as part of their natural life cycle, would inevitably try to cross those roads, exposing them to vehicles, predators and human poachers. The ruling restores an environmental tribunal’s 2013 decision that the wind farm, while not posing a serious risk to human health, would cause “serious and irreversible” harm to the Blanding’s turtle. That ruling had been rejected by Ontario Divisional Court partly because the tribunal did not know how many turtles live in the provincially significant wetland. But the Ontario Court of Appeal said the number of turtles at risk does not matter. “The number of Blanding’s turtles, no matter what that number is, satisfies the criteria” for being deemed threatened and endangered, the court said in a 3-0 ruling written by Justice Russell Juriansz. It cited testimony from Frédéric Beaudry, a wildlife ecologist at Alfred University in New York State, that the number is “likely small.”

The Court of Appeal ruling means the case now goes back to the environmental tribunal to decide what should happen with the project, including whether an alternative plan can be permitted that takes the turtles into account. The company involved, Ostrander Point Wind Energy LP, had proposed at an earlier stage to close the road to public access.

The ruling is a setback for Ontario’s multibillion-dollar wind energy business. “It will mean that, in future, wind companies are going to have to pay attention to some of these environmental effects,” said Stephen Hazell, director of conservation and a lawyer with Nature Canada, which supported the suit launched by the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists, a local conservancy group. Mr. Hazell added that other groups with concerns about the impact of wind projects in their own jurisdictions now have “a legal test that in some cases they may be able to meet.” During the initial hearing, conservationists argued that the wind project would have adverse effects on a number of species, including migratory birds, but the final decision came down to the Blanding’s turtle alone because of its extreme sensitivity to human activity, particularly roads.

With a bright yellow throat, a gentle disposition and an expression that resembles a perpetual smile, the species makes a tempting target for poaching, even by well-meaning individuals looking for an unusual pet. But Blanding’s turtles usually die once they are captured or released in a different location. Ponderously slow to grow and mature, females of the species generally do not reproduce until they reach 18 years of age. Even then, they may only lay eggs every other year. The turtle’s long life span offsets its slow replacement rate – adults may live 90 years or more – but only in places when individuals have a good chance of avoiding lethal encounters along the way.

“Losing a couple of females can, in the long run, do a population in,” said Dr. Beaudry, a world expert on the species. He added that he had no doubt the turtles would be crossing the roads if the wind project went ahead, as they typically travel for kilometres from the places where they hatch in search of food or mates.

Blanding’s turtles are considered globally endangered. Small populations are found in scattered pockets from the American Midwest to Nova Scotia.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario-wind-farm-halted-by-endangered-turtles-crossing-the-road/article24040374/

Three-foot-long alligator killed on Ont. highway

THOROLD, Ont. - Why did the alligator cross the road?

The mystery remains, after a vehicle struck and killed a three-foot-long alligator in Thorold, Ont., early Saturday morning.

Niagara Regional Police say the three-foot reptile was hit at about 2:15 a.m. at Merrittville Hwy. near Hwy. 20.

"This is something I've never seen in my career," said aid NRP spokesperson Derek Watson later on Saturday.

The Lincoln County Humane Society took possession of the reptile, and the vehicle involved was reportedly not badly damaged.

Todd Menard, an Inspector with the LCHS, said they know who the owner is, but are not disclosing it at this time. "A person has called in to report his alligator missing," he said.

Menard said as the City of Thorold does not have an exotic animal bylaw ban, the humane society cannot lay charges in this area.

"Right now, in the City of Thorold, you can actually own an alligator," he said.

Menard said the carcass would be held at the shelter for the time being.

He added the provincial natural resources ministry and Canadian wildlife authorities will be contacted.

"We want to know how it entered the country, they are no native to Ontario," he said.

http://www.torontosun.com/2013/08/31/three-foot-long-alligator-killed-on-ont-highway

I’m not growing pot, I’m searching for Bigfoot: Sasquatch hunter says he was wrongly arrested in Durham forest

A Toronto man claims he was harassed for walking through thick brush in Durham region by a police officer who accused him of being a pot grower.

Tim Marczenko denies the claim, saying he wasn’t growing dope, he was investigating sightings of Bigfoot.

“He asked me, ‘What are you doing out here?’ I told him I was investigating a Bigfoot report and he said, ‘Wow, you’re a terrible liar,’ ” said Mr. Marczenko. ” ‘I know it sounds crazy but I’m not lying about it,’ I said. He kept telling me I was lying about the situation.”

The site was under police surveillance after nearby residents complained about groups of young men flocking to the forest armed with shovels in weeks past. Three men were later arrested after several marijuana plants were found deep in the woods. Their cover was to tell the locals they were searching for Bigfoot.

Last August, Mr. Marczenko said he was on assignment for the Ontario Wildlife Field Research investigation into numerous reports of Bigfoot-sized tracks in the Township of Brockton.

Continued

Butler’s garter snake snarling spit lands development – via Herp Digest

By Cathy Dobson, Sarnia Observer, Sunday, December 9, 2012 

It could be a hissss...torical agreement with far-reaching implications for waterfront development in Point Edward.

City councillors will be asked Monday to allow Sarnia’s Canatara Park to play host to a number of endangered snakes currently populating the village’s “spit lands.”

The presence of the endangered Butler’s garter snake on the undeveloped peninsula that juts into the St. Clair River south of Purdy’s Fisheries is an impediment to future growth.

Cantaqleigh Investments owns the spit lands and announced a housing/retail/hotel complex development seven years ago.

But plans for the 40-acre site stalled when the rare Butler’s garter snake was discovered there. They are found in fewer than 50 Ontario sites and their habitat is protected under the Endangered Species Act of 2007. Butler’s are relatively small, growing up to 20 inches long, and feed on worms.

Cantaqleigh hired consulting firm Aecom and worked with the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) to find a solution.

The MNR is now recommending the spit land snakes be relocated to Canatara Park where a population of Butler’s already exists.

City staff have written a report saying they like the idea and that all costs associated with moving and keeping the snakes at Canatara will be borne by Cantaqleigh.

The report says the MNR believes relocation to Canatara is a viable option that will protect the species in the longterm.

A large portion of Canatara Park south of Cathcart Boulevard is suitable habitat for the snakes. The proposal also calls for conversion of 1.4 hectares of the park into a meadow habitat.

If approves by council, Cantaqleigh would pay for enhancements to the park that include: control of invasive plant species, creation of a low meadow habitat, construction of a two-metre hole filled with logs and old wood for snake hibernation, and brush piles.

Mayor Mike Bradley said he’s in favour of the snake relocation.

“Council should co-operate and allow the development in Point Edward to proceed,” he said. “It’s a reasonable request.”

As recently as June, Cantaqleigh director Gerry Lee said his company is still committed to the spit lands project “with some minor adjustments.”

Hochfest for Reptile and Amphibian Enthusiasts at Toronto Zoo – via Herp Digest

Digital  Journal, Ontario12/6/12  Hochfest for reptile and amphibian enthusiasts at Toronto Zoo (Bart B. Van Bockstaele)

Toronto Zoo is the central hub for nature conservancy in Ontario. On Saturday, 3 November, the Zoo invited people who are active in its Turtle Tally and FrogWatch programmes for a day of fellowship and information. 

Toronto Zoo is not just a minor two-hour Sunday afternoon attraction for people with young children, far from it. Toronto Zoo is a centre of practical biological knowledge and science, and the central hub for nature education and conservancy in Ontario. Its people are very active in the field, both as a part of their jobs and as volunteers. 

Adopt-A-Pond is one of the many programmes run by Toronto Zoo. It consists of several different parts, two of which are FrogWatch Ontario and Ontario Turtle Tally. 

These are essentially scientific crowdsourcing programmes designed to help with collecting data paid scientists and employees can't collect because the contents of the public purse are too small to hire more, and because one person can only do so much. 

Once a year, Toronto Zoo organises a FrogWatch and Turtle Tally Participant Appreciation Day as a thank you to the people who volunteer their time for the programmes. It is a great occasion for people who share the same interest to meet and talk about their own experiences and to share ideas. 

This year took on a more-than-usual significance for me because Julia Phillips, Adopt-A-Pond co-ordinator and organiser of the event, had asked me to give a talk as well. 

Bob Johnson, the Toronto Zoo's curator for reptiles and amphibians and very active in conservation of reptiles and amphibians, started the event and introduced Julia Philips. 

Julia Phillips presented a summary of the observations of turtles, frogs and toads that had been sent in this year. This was an unusual year for Frogwatch, because the frogs became active a lot earlier than usual, the spring peepers even as early as the first week of February. 

Crystal Robertson, Adopt-A-Pond's Stewardship and Social Marketing Coordinator, talked about what Adopt-A-Pond is doing in Ontario's lake communities, such as helping people understand why every single turtle is important and why the death of even a single turtle can deliver a significant blow to a population, the installation of nesting beaches, distributing information and more. 

Jeff Howard, an avid environmentalist and community volunteer, talked about his passion for all living things, in particular about how he worked with a local developer who was about to fill-in a wetland, in order to save as many Blanding's turtles he could. 

After this came Lyn Garrah, M.E.S. Graduate, Queen's University. She talked about the work she did for her university thesis, studying amphibian and reptile road mortality on the 1000 Islands Parkway, the goal being to gather data and possibly finding way to reduce it. 

Lyn's talk was of particular significance for me, since I also study amphibian and reptile road mortality, but in Toronto. What surprised me however, is that some of what we do is not just similar, but even identical. We both use a bicycle to do our work, for some of the same reasons (snakes can be easily missed when using a car), and even the distance we bike is almost the same: between 34 and 38 km. Her conclusions are also similar, namely that predicting and protecting amphibians and snakes is a far more complicated matter than is often assumed. 

Paul Prior, a fauna biologist with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, gave a talk titled "No Frog (or Toad) Left Behind – Pre-empting Rarity". His view on things is that conservation tends to jump in when it is already (almost) too late. He pleads for pre-emptive conservation, i.e. starting to take care of things before an animal - or a plant for that matter - has become almost extinct. 

In order to make this possible, he proposes a system in which levels of rarity are assigned to each organism. This system relies a lot on trends over relatively long periods of time, 10 to 20 years or so, and it requires careful collection of data in a grid that covers the entire region. The advantage of such a system is that it makes it possible to be proactive and act before the situation becomes desperate. 

After a 30 minute break, it was Massimo Giammarco's turn. Although this pint-sized conservationist is only 8 years old, he is the driving force behind turtle conservation efforts in his community, as he showed with his talk "Helping Students to Help Turtles". While children are often seen as unimportant and merely "endearing" or "cute", they can indeed be quite important. I witnessed that myself only a few weeks ago, when a girl managed to convince her parents to put their dog back on the leash in order to protect a snapping turtle. I had been unable to convince her parents, but she was, and she may well have saved the life of that turtle in the process. 

"Completing the Hatch: A Fighting Chance for Ontario's Turtles" was a talk by Matt Thomson who devised a simple cage-type protection to prevent predators from raiding turtle nests. It can be hard to measure the effectiveness of such a system, but he is working on it, and the design certainly looks promising. 

Bob Johnson, curator of the Toronto Zoo herptile collection, promised him some help. Bob does not waste words. Last year, I had a conversation with him that lasted mere seconds, but in that time he predicted the results of my research and he was spot on. 

With "Amphibians and Reptiles in the Urban Wilderness" came my attempt at informing and entertaining my fellow reptile and amphibian conservationists. I had made a selection among the tens of thousands of pictures I have taken over the years. 

My take on photography is somewhat different than that of many nature photographers. It is not my goal to make "beautiful" pictures. It is my goal to make pictures that document what is really there. As such, I do not carry a lot of "gear", nor do I use any tricks to attract wildlife or to make superb pictures. I take pictures of what is there when it is there. They are a record of what is true, rather than of what I would like to be true. I hoped - and hope - that people seeing these pictures will realise that Toronto is a unique city with a unique natural heritage. 

I must admit to having been a bit naughty, since I did overstep my allotted time quite a bit as I was showing the pictures I had selected. Fortunately for me, no one pulled a gun or a knife to silence me. I am very grateful for that much unexpected courtesy. 

Karine Bériault was the last speaker of the day. She is a Species at Risk Biologist with the Ministry of Natural Resources. One of her activities is trying to help the threatened wood turtle population back to healthy levels. I hope her initiatives work out, for I have never seen a wood turtle before. 

After the presentations, we were treated to a mountain of pizza, an excellent opportunity for me to fight weight loss, as well as a wonderful occasion to intermingle. 

Julia Phillips also treated the speakers to a copy of Brennan Caverhill's Blanding's turtle plastron poster and a properly camouflaged metal drinking bottle, Toronto Zoo edition. My poster is destined to replace a satellite picture of Toronto, and the bottle is ready to be used on my regular expeditions in the parks of Toronto. 

When the programme was finished, we were "released" into the zoo for an enjoyable walk in this unique collection of animals and plants implanted in what is poised to become Canada's first urban national park: the uniquely beautiful Rouge Valley, a great end to a wonderful day. 

Trainer says Marineland whale has been bleeding since July

The tail of a killer whale at Marineland has been bleeding since July and is getting progressively worse.

That's what one of the trainers at the Niagara Falls, Ont., attraction tells the Toronto Star.

Reporters Linda Diebel and Liam Caseyreport that the Star has obtained recent video of the whale, Kiska, with a blood trail emanating from her tail.

They write that Marineland officials did not provide any "alternative information."

The Star has published several stories about alleged animal abuse at Marineland in recent months.

http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/blog/morning_roundup/2012/10/trainer-says-marineland-whale-has-been.html?ana=RSS&s=article_search&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bizj_buffalo+%28Business+First+of+Buffalo%29

13,000 Ontario horses could be euthanized, says report

FORT ERIE - With 17 racetracks in Ontario expected to close by 2013 due to the end of the Slots-at-Racetracks program, the Horse Racing Transition (HRT) Panel created by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs is predicting 13,000 horses could be euthanized.

The number of horses expected to be euthanized is concerning to local horse trainer Bill Warner, who said “the numbers just don’t make sense.”

The horse racing industry “is just like any other business,” so it doesn’t seem right to destroy these animals when they can be sold to other trainers in the U.S. or used recreationally, the trainer, who has been in the business for more than 40 years, said.

Warner said some horses who can no longer race and are not suitable for other uses are sold at public auction and can be used for meat — but the lives of many horses don’t have to end, he said.

Although he did admit “more horses will be slaughtered than in the past” because of the number of racetracks closing.

MPP Monte McNaughton, of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, who has spoken out against Dalton McGuinty’s decision to end the Slots-at-Racetracks program on March 31 of next year, said the program provided annual payments to the horse racing industry.

One of the racetracks affected by this decision includes Fort Erie’s border oval, which will close its doors on Dec. 31 this year.

McNaughton said the HRT panel was created to work with the horse racing industry as it transitions to life after the Slots-at-Racetrack program as well as provide recommendations to the government on how to allocate transition funding and assist the industry in becoming more self-sufficient.

The panel consists of former cabinet ministers Elmer Buchanan, John Snobelen and John Wilkinson.

In an interim report, the HRT panel predicted the government’s decision to pull the plug on the Slots-at-Racetracks program will put 60,000 jobs at risk, along with the lives of 26,000 horses involved in the industry, said McNaughton.

He added that the panel predicted 13,000 of those horses will be euthanized — the panel arrived at that number by consulting with professionals in the horse-racing industry.

McNaughton said he has toured racing facilities across Ontario — making stops at Racetracks in Windsor, Sarnia and Fort Erie — and spoke with horse-racing professionals and the public.

One of the concerns raised by trainers he spoke with was that the monetary value of horses have decreased because they aren’t in high demand for racing. This decrease in value could possibly lead to the euthanization of many horses, he said.

McNaughton said he expects to see a final report from the HRT panel by the end of this month.



About the Slots-at-Racetracks program

Since 1998, Ontario Lottery and Gaming has provided $3.7 billion to the horse racing industry in Ontario through the Slots-at-Racetracks program.

About $50 million over three years in transition funding will be given to support to the industry.

The Slots-at-Racetracks program gives 20% of gross slot revenue, shared equally by the track operator and those involved with running horses at the respective tracks. The program will end on March 31, 2013.

http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/2012/09/07/thousands-of-race-horses-face-slaughter-says-mpp

Two Ontario seals die during transport to U.S. zoo

Two harbour seals from a London, Ont. theme park died as they were being transported to the Saint Louis Zoo, where they were expected to live their final years in a new, state-of-the-art exhibit, city officials announced Sunday.

The seals, named Nunavut and Atlantis, died as they were being driven in an air-conditioned trailer equipped specifically for marine mammal transport.

They were on their way from Storybook Gardens in London, which is in the process of transferring all of its zoo animals -- including a beaver, otter, lynx and birds of prey -- to sanctuaries in Canada and the United States.

A third seal, named Cri Cri, had to be taken to the Indianapolis Zoo, where she remains for treatment, after falling ill during the trip.

A fourth seal, named Peanut, arrived safely at the St. Louis facility on Saturday and will remain in quarantine for the required 30-day period.

"This is a deeply sad day for Londoners and all those people who knew and loved our Storybook seals," London Mayor Joe Fontana said in a statement issued on Sunday. "No one could have foreseen this terrible tragedy."

Fontana went on to say that veterinarians from both London and St. Louis inspected the animals earlier this year and found "no significant health issues."

Fontana said the cause of the animals' distress is not yet known.

"It is a sad day especially for Storybook staff who have loved and cared for these seals for years," Fontana said. "We were trying to do what was best for the seals: find them a more appropriate place to live out their years."

Storybook Gardens is a family oriented theme park that offers rides, games, a water park and other entertainment geared to children. A trail that runs through the park is called "Storybook Valley," and features landmarks from popular children's stories.

According to a timeline of events provided in Fontana's statement, a curator with the Saint Louis Zoo who was travelling with the seals observed that the animals seemed fine around the time they passed through U.S. Customs around 1 p.m. on Friday. At that time, they were also inspected by the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife Service.

The animals also seemed fine during another check two hours later.

But during another check one hour and 45 minutes after that, one of the seals was not responsive. The curator contacted the nearest zoo, the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo, where officials confirmed one seal had died and another was showing signs of distress. After attempts were made to save its life, the second seal also died.

At the same time, the third seal, Cri Cri, began showing distress symptoms, and was treated, stabilized and monitored through the night. However, she had to be left at the Indianapolis Zoo when she began exhibiting behavioural changes as the transport continued toward St. Louis.

Peanut, the fourth seal, arrived in St. Louis appearing "healthy and alert," Fontana's statement said.

Dr. Jeffrey Bonner, president and CEO of the Saint Louis Zoo, offered his condolences to the Storybook Gardens staff.

"When Storybook Gardens asked us to provide a home for four harbour seals, we were happy to step forward and provide an opportunity for these animals to live out their golden years in our new, state-of-the-art exhibit," Bonner said. "We do everything we can when transporting animals to ensure their safety and comfort, but there is always some risk inherent in any animal transport."

A veterinary pathologist will perform a necropsy on both animals. The animals' cause of death will not be known until all testing is complete, which may take several weeks.

Florine Morrison, a director of Zoocheck Canada, an agency that helped co-ordinate and pay for the seals' transfer, said "we only learned about the seals deaths Sunday morning. We were shocked by the news and we look forward to answers from the Saint Louis Zoo as to the cause of death and to understand if protocols were carefully followed during the transport."

Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20120610/london-ontario-seals-120610/#ixzz1xVMuVi00

Small town council calls for snapping turtle protection - via Herp Digest

 CBC (Toronto, Ontario) 5/8/12 A small bedroom community southeast of Windsor, Ont., has started a campaign to save snapping turtles from being hunted.

Essex town council will send a motion to the provincial Ministries of Natural Resources and Environment, requesting a ban on hunting the reptiles.

Coun. Sherry Bondy is behind the campaign.

"Snapping turtles are important to our local eco-system. They cleanse our marshes; they eat all the dead carcasses; they provide, as they go through the marshes, many habitats for smaller little insects and animals," Bondy said. "Their eggs are food for other animals. They're really fragile. They have so much to offer."

The snapping turtle is a "special concern species" under Ontario’s Endangered Species Act. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, the snapping turtle has also been assessed nationally as a special concern species by the federal Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.

"Because they have such a long time before they become sexually mature,they really don't have eggs when they're young, so we have to protect the older ones," Bondy sail.

In April, naturalist group Ontario Nature submitted a petition to the provincial government — signed by 11,000 people — calling for an end to the hunt.

John Urquhart, a conservation science manager with Ontario Nature, said fewer than seven of 10,000 snapping turtle eggs reaches adulthood, so every single turtle is crucial to the continuation of the species. 

If they do survive, Urquhart said they can live longer than most humans.

“For a creature to have been walking around since before the first world war to be killed, whether it’s on a road or by hunting or habitat loss, it's just a shame,” Urquhart said.

Ministry of Natural Resources policy allows anyone with a provincial game or fishing licence to "bag" up to two snapping turtles a day.

Much ado about toads - Bay Beach civil suit dismissed but toad permit presents final hurdle (James Culic) {Excerpt} - via Herp Digest

 NIAGRA THIS WEEK (Ontario) 5/8/12  Much ado about toads. The developers behind a condo project for Bay Beach may have cleared a major hurdle in having a civil suit against it dismissed, but there’s still the issue of a Ministry of Natural Resources permit for a plan to ensure the well being of the at-risk Fowler’s Toad. Although a judge’s dismissal of a civil suit against the Bay Beach condo was seen as one of the final hurdles hurdles for the project, the lingering issue of the Fowler’s Toad has kept council from putting the topic behind them, as evident by an hours long debate at Town Hall on Monday.

Since the toad is considered an at-risk species in Ontario, the condo developers, the Molinaros, must obtain a permit from the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) which guarantees an overall net benefit to the toads as a result of the construction.

To accomplish an overall benefit to the toad while still building the condo, a roped-off habitat for the toads will be built in the area.

A draft copy of the overall benefit conditions was submitted to council for information purposes Monday, and Ward 5 Coun. Don Lubberts spoke at length about how he believed it was going to cost the taxpayer money, and accused staff of omitting his concerns from previous Bay Beach discussions in the report. 

“I don’t think that we should be putting this to the taxpayer, and allowing the taxpayer to take the burden of paying for the toad habitat, the maintenance and the repair of the toad habitat,” said Lubberts.

“We have given the Molinaro’s $2.7 million worth of property and we’ve made an agreement that they are going to give us community benefits in return for that, now we just gave them the rest of this property to use for free, and now they come back, and staff comes back and asks council to approve to allow the Molinaro’s and us to enter into a cost sharing agreement, but this isn’t us, this is the taxpayer that has to pay this, they’ve paid enough, the Molinaro’s have got a pretty good deal here,” he continued.

After Lubberts repeatedly asserted that costs for the toad habitat were going to end up on the backs of taxpayers, even Ward 3 Coun. Bob Steckley began to doubt himself.

“I was under impression they were costs to the Molinaro’s, but hearing councillor Lubberts, he seems pretty convinced that’s not the case, perhaps you could clear that up,” Steckley asked staff.

Richard Brady, the town’s director of community and development services, explained the Molinaro’s are the ones holding and the permit and would be responsible for the costs, but Lubberts remained unconvinced, and discussion continued back and forth until acting CAO Ron Tripp stepped in to try and put the matter to rest.

“With respect to cost I think councillor Lubberts has made the assumption several times that anything in addition, specifically with the toad habitat, is going to be to the taxpayers, and that is fundamentally incorrect, or at least is not in line with the philosophy of all the other agreements, and what the objective is of the maintenance cost sharing agreement,” said Tripp.

Satisfied with the explanation, Lubberts moved on to his second point of contention with the report.

Thousands of dead birds to be removed from Ontario shore

Thousands of dead birds will be collected from an Ontario shoreline on Monday as the province's Ministry of Natural Resources tries to determine what killed the waterfowl.

Officials estimate as many as 6,000 dead birds have washed up on the Georgian Bay's shoreline. The carcasses are scattered along a nearly three-kilometre stretch near Wasaga Beach.

"You just want to cry," resident Faye Ego told CTV Toronto on Saturday.

Authorities speculate that the birds may have been killed by a form of botulism after eating dead fish.
Locals said they noticed some dead fish on the beach a few weeks ago and a few dead birds earlier in September.

Read more ...

Is there an alligator in this Ontario creek?

An alligator is cruising through the murky waters of an eastern Ontario pond. The reptile has eluded capture for almost three weeks.

The local police chief is warning area residents to be cautious when fishing near the Mill Pond near Mill St. in Stirling, a town 30 minutes northwest of Belleville.

“Someone called in and said there was an alligator in the pond,” said Stirling-Rawdon police chief Brian T. Foley. “Um, yeah, OK.”

He scrambled Sgt. James Orr to the pond. The officer scoured the area for days but saw nothing. Word quickly spread through the small community and morphed into an urban legend — the area’s own Loch Ness Monster.

Ron Main, intrigued by the story, figured the alligator would swim for warmer, shallower waters from the deep part where it was first spotted. He was correct. A three-foot long alligator swam through the pond.

But Main didn’t have his camera. He went back last Friday night and found the alligator in the same area once again. That time, he snapped a blurry photo and posted it to his Facebook page.

While swimming in the pond is rare, many people fish the waters from the shoreline and walk their dogs on the water’s edge.

“It’s big enough to take ducklings, goslings or even small dogs like a chihuahua,” Foley said.

The alligator hasn’t been seen since Friday. The police have relinquished the hunt to the Ministry of Natural Resources, which is currently investigating.

Anyone who spots the reptile is urged to call police or the provincial ministry.

Liam Casey

Staff Reporter
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1026907--is-there-an-alligator-in-this-ontario-creek

Woman annoyed by deer ringing her doorbell

By Mike Aiken, QMI Agency

KENORA, Ont. — Rose Allin has had enough.

It's one thing for the deer to scrounge around in her yard, eating all her flowers.

It's quite another for them to come up to the front step and ring her doorbell.

“I just wish they'd stop," she said, looking very cross.

She's tried modifying her doorbell in order to make it harder for them to press, but to no avail. Once, they rang it in the early morning. So, she came out with her cane and cursed them.

However, when the doe started to snort and scratch the ground, she figured that was enough.

“Auntie, don't do that," her nephew warned. “Don't you know they could put a hoof right through you?"

Well, still, she thought, there's got to be a better answer. The deer fence hasn't worked, nor has the special spray from the nursery.

In 2008, Kenora council approved a $500 fine for anyone feeding wildlife, except birds, to discourage residents from contributing to the problem of excess deer in town. The Ministry of Natural Resources has also made additional deer tags available to hunters in recent years.

Municipal bylaws prohibit deer hunting in urban and developed rural areas within city boundaries where discharging firearms isn't allowed.

Last winter, MNR biologists estimated the Kenora area's deer population was continuing to decline, following a peak in 2006-07.