Wilder in the News

Two Vancouver Island University (VIU) Technicians working in collaboration with the Wilder Institute have spent almost two years building an electronic weigh scale to provide valuable research data on marmots in the wild. Engineering Technician Devin Ayotte and Resource Management and Protection Technician Michael Lester are working on a tool to help researchers investigate how body weight affects survival during hibernation and the number of pups female marmots wean in the spring.

CTV News: Dr. James Glasier, an ecologist at the Wilder Institute, explains how to get started with ant-keeping. While ants are often small and overlooked — sometimes even stepped on — they are now marching into more than just backyards. As the trend of ant-keeping gains popularity in Canada, these tiny insects are making their way into homes as well.

CBC Radio One: Explore this insightful interview with Brian Keating, where he discusses his collaborative efforts with Donna Sheppard, a Community Conservation Specialist from the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo. He highlights their shared commitment to wildlife conservation and the impactful projects that have emerged from their partnership.

CBC Newfoundland: The Long's Braya is a small, endangered plant, native to a few areas along the Northern Peninsula. Some students from Canon Richards Memorial Academy in Flower's Cove helped researchers recently to protect the plant species. The researchers were from a non-profit group called Intervale. Together, they removed Long's Braya plants from Sandy Cove beach and planted them in a safer location nearby. The CBC's Sanuda Ranawake spoke with some students and their teacher.

Recently, members of our team at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo had a conversation with a content writer from Twinkl. Twinkl has been providing educators worldwide with high-quality teaching and learning resources for over a decade. This Q&A blog post aims to offer insights for animal lovers and anyone curious about careers in animal care and conservation. Explore the world of wildlife conservation through this engaging Q&A with experts from The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo. 

The recent sighting of a banded bird by a wildlife biologist in his field office sparked an extraordinary instance of inter-agency collaboration. Upon investigation, researchers determined that the owl had been banded in 2022, by Conservation & Science team members working for the Wilder Institute in Alberta. The distance between the burrow in Montana where the blue-banded adult female was most-recently sighted is about 185 miles (as the owl flies) from its natal burrow where it was banded.