Tag: Wildsafe BC

Frank Ritcey – “What’s the connection? How to stay safe while figuring it out”

Mountain Man
– A. Bryant
In many ways, we’ve become disconnected from nature.. This was on a recent bear-watching trip…
– F. Ritcey
Even among the wildlife paparazzi, nobody seemed interested phographing anything other than the bears
– F. Ritcey
Which is a shame. Here’s a delightful robber fly.
– F. Ritcey
Some connections are pretty obvious. This is a Pygmy Owl, with a very impressive catch!
– F. Ritcey
Some connections aren’t. Here are two black bears filmed on different days with a “trail-cam” – both choosing to mark exactly the same spot!
Electric fencing is inexpensive, effective, and easy to install
– F. Ritcey
This alone would dramatically reduce the number of bears killed in BC
– Wildlife Alert Program

Frank Ritcey – “What’s the connection? How to stay safe while figuring it out”
by Andrew Bryant, 12 Oct 2017.

Frank Ritcey grew up in the wilds of Wells Grey Provincial Park, and now divides his time between serving as Provincial Coordinator for WildSafe BC, host for CBC-Radio, and hunting wild creatures with camera.

He returned to Powell River to share more of his wonderful images and stories.  This time his emphasis was on seeking connections in nature, and trust us – he’s found more than a few!

– Did you know that one can predict the likelihood of future bear encounters by looking at soapberries in June?
– Or that bullfrogs and bighorn sheep have much in common?
– Or that the number of chukar partridge is related to the number of cows?

After discussing wildlife encounters, electric fencing, amd the marvellous WARP (Wildlife Alert Reporting Program) Frank ended the evening with a selection of highly amusing videos, a few of which can be seen below.

Thank you Francine Ulmer & Wildsafe BC District of Powell River, for helping set up this unscheduled talk on such short notice!

 

Fun with trail-cams #1:
cougar close – up

Fun with trail-cams #2:
cougars and fawn


Fun with trail-cams #3:
don’t believe everything you see on the internet!

 

A Walk in the woods with Frank Ritcey and Hugh Marshall

Early mushrooms – B. Sherriff
Rule #1 is simple. Most disturbance to wildlife can be minimized by using binoculars, or sporting scopes – A. Bryant
Frank and the Kamloops Naturalists, cleaning up the Dewdrop area. – CBC News
A nurse-stump– B. Sherriff
Black slug on tree mushroom – B. Sherriff
Frank explaining that a bear has pulled up the stump to get at the bugs in the dead wood – B. Sherriff
Frank Ritcey – B. Sherriff
Group discussion – B. Sherriff
Holes drilled by sapsuckers – B. Sherriff
Frank describing the new classification of indian pipes– B. Sherriff

A Walk in the woods with Frank Ritcey and Hugh Marshall
by Barbara Sherriff, 16 September 2016.

Sixteen members of the Malaspina Naturalists joined Frank Ritcey (Wildsafe BC coordinator) and Hugh Marshall (forester) for an interesting and educational walk along the Millennium Trails at the rear of the Recreation Complex.

Things we learnt included:

  • Bear bells attract bears rather than repel them (a.k.a. dinner bells)
  • Whistles can sound like distressed small animals and attract bears
  • Bear spray deters bears, cougars and wolves even if you don’t hit the animal. Do not walk in the woods without a can
  • Bears dig up rotting stumps or mud wasp nests to look for larvae leaving holes in the ground
  • Bears drag garbage bags into a “staging area” in the woods to enjoy it in peace
  • Conifer species vary in their light requirements, which influence the structure of the forest. Hemlock and cedar, for example, tolerate shade and commonly come in under the more light-demanding Douglas fir and broadleaved species.
  • If a bear is huffing and puffing, it is being defensive
  • If a bear is coming towards you quietly (stalking like a cat), it could be considering eating you
  • Cougars only attack weak prey so always fight back if attacked
  • spit bugs should be called fart bugs as the air inside the bubbles does not come from their mouths
  • Slugs have just one asymmetric breathing hole on the right side of their head
  • Trees can control the local water table aggressively pulling up water from a wide area.
  • Cutting down trees will change the water table considerably
  • Sapsuckers feed on both the sap and the bugs that come to feed on the sap oozing out of holes that they have drilled in a tree