Wildlife on the Upper Sunshine Coast

MAMMALS

The Sunshine Coast is home to many species of mammal. Black bear, raccoon, white-tailed deer, Roosevelt elk, mountain cougar, beaver and river otters, just to name the most noticeable of the family. Most of the time humans and wildlife coexist quite peacefully (the animals oblige us with excellent photographic opportunity) but with urban cores expanding into the rural areas, conflict between humans and animals is increasing. This conflict can be easily managed by adopting the following guidelines:

• Do not feed wildlife. Once an animal has developed the habit of getting food from humans or urban areas, it usually becomes a "problem" animal that must be either moved or killed, so don't be a part of the problem.
• Do not leave pet food out where wildlife can get at it.
• Keep pets indoors at night. Raccoons and cougars are known for taking cats and even small dogs. Dogs are not effective at keeping raccoons away.
• When camping, cleanliness is paramount. Keep food in airtight containers, locked in vehicles or hung from trees. And don't wipe your hands on your pants after eating - that's enough to draw a bear from quite a distance. Wash up often and keep your site spotless.
• Do not panic when in the presence of wildlife. Raccoons, for instance, are rarely aggressive unless cornered or threatened. And don't be fooled by those cute robber faces and deft little paws - they are not pets and don't take to be being approached too closely. Bears are shy and will try to avoid you as much as you try to avoid them, but be alert in the woods and take care not to surprise one. Be especially careful in the late spring/early summer not to disturb a mother and cubs.
• If you see an apparently abandoned baby animal, DO NOT TOUCH IT OR REMOVE IT. Almost always the mother is nearby waiting for you to depart and the young animal has been taught to remain motionless as a form of defense. Much harm has been done with the best of intentions in this situation.

BIRDS

Welcome to birdwatching heaven. Species include:

• Common Loon
• Horned, Red-necked and Western Grebe
• Great Blue Heron (popularly immortalized in local wildlife art)
• Canada Goose
• Surf Scoter
• Common and Hooded Merganser
• Bald Eagle - SLIAMMON & KLAHANIE, MID-LATE FALL
• Blue Grouse
• Killdeer
• Black Oystercatcher (with amazingly red beak and feet)
• Mew Gull
• Glaucous-winged Gull
• Marbled Murrelet (famed source of clashes between forestry & environmentalists)
• Rufous Hummingbird
• Red-breasted Sapsucker (sounds like a great epithet, doesn't it?)
• Northern Flicker
• Violet-green Swallow
• Barn Swallow
• Common Raven
• Varied Thrush
• Warbling Vireo
• Orange-crowned Warbler
• Song Sparrow
• Spotted Towhee
• Dark-eyed Junco
• Pine Siskin
• Belted Kingfisher

MARINE & AQUATIC:

Well now. We do live on the edge of the Pacific, so there's just so many species we couldn't hope to list even a tenth of them here. Suffice it to say that if you're looking to eyeball marine and aquatic life, this is a great place to do it. We've got harbour seals and killer whales, porpoises and river otters, a wide variety of food fish that are also great to simply observe while diving (salmon, rockfish, ling cod, dungeness crab, for example), and enough miniature life in the tidal pools along the rocky beaches to absorb you and your children for hours on end.

SALMON ENHANCEMENT ON THE UPPER SUNSHINE COAST:

There are two main salmon enhancement facilities:

• Lang Bay Fish Hatchery - Powell River Salmon Society spawning facility and creek walk
  Cross the Lang Creek bridge by Duck Lake; turn right and drive or walk/bike for 1.2 mi.
• Sliammon Band Hatchery - producing over 1 million fish annually. Just over the bridge over Sliammon Creek.