Sky watching

Things are pretty quiet around here. Internationally, people are on alert. A Russian, Belgian, and a Dane walk into a bar... There is a joke there, except when there isn't. They are on alert and patrolling. 

PM Carney: 

US President Reagan adopted the slogan: to 'trust but verify.' 

PM Carney says we "must deter and fortify." He said that Putin is not Gorbachev. Those who read history know whereof he speaks. 

There is lots of action across the pond. The reason is Russian drone and jet incursions. Poland shot down three drones two weeks ago. 

US Navy plane circling near Lithuania. 

The RAF is out over Poland.

 The Italians are out there, as well.

The BBC reports there've been drone incursion over Denmark, Germany, Sweden, closing airports. 

From a BBC article

These are military planes and drones, the app lets you weed out regular air flights. There is a lot of action.

There are laws governing the use of drones in Canada. Ontario Forest Fires posted a message: 

It is illegal to fly a drone within 9 km of an active forest fire. Doing so could interfere with low flying waterbombers or helicopters and endangers the lives of pilots, firefighters and emergency personnel."

Fires...from British Columbia to Ontario, and parts south

It's been a terrible season for fires. Heat waves, dry conditions and the snow on the mountains melts.

What I like about our Canadian government is that they show both Canada and the US on information maps. The fires are terrible all over, with dry, hot conditions.  Out west, the weather and climate are very much the same above and below the border.

FIRES Natural Resources Canada

Fires and smoke patterns

We worry about our kids in Vancouver. They've had excessive rain, then drought. With the heat, many have died, and many more are impacted by the fires. Our kids don't have air conditioning, either, as Vancouver residents seldom needed before this. 

In Canada, the fires are having an impact on many First Nation territories, such as Osoyoos. There are so many men and women working to put it out, as well as caring for those who have had to flee their homes.

Provinces are sending extra help, firefighters have gone from Newfoundland and Quebec, and sent to help here in Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia. 

Mexico and the US have sent firefighters to help support our weary workers. Mexico has sent 100 men and women. Hot and dry conditions, with dry lightning, has sparked the forest. July 17th, Ontario Forest Fires reported that a firefighter had a medical issue, and passed away on the flight to hospital. So sad.

This video shows conditions on the #RedLake68 #ForestFire on July 12. Fire updates and travel restrictions in place in the Red Lake district available at: https://t.co/XPnoZFTS24 pic.twitter.com/VA0MtTkKh0

— Ontario Forest Fires (@ONforestfires) July 21, 2021

Northern CTV News made a mistake sending up a drone near firefighters who have to use the air to fight the fire.  Ontario laws forbid it.

Ontario Forest Fires posted a reply message: 

It is illegal to fly a drone within 9 km of an active forest fire. Doing so could interfere with low flying waterbombers or helicopters and endangers the lives of pilots, firefighters and emergency personnel."

 What a terrible time they have, between COVID–19 protocols, as well as the hard work. One firefighter died on the way to hospital, with a medical emergency. So sad.

 I heard about a  

Family in Edgewood (B.C.) refusing to evacuate from Michaud Creek ...

They have 500 ostriches, which they use for meat, eggs, and oil for therapeutic purposes.  Add to this, that  other farmers have been dropping off animals on their farm.  

Baiting Bears for hunting and the impact on populations

We seem to have an increase in bear populations in our region. It's highly unusual (lo, these 7 years here) to see a bear beyond May. The young 'uns resettle in new territory, leaving momma with the new litter. The young 'uns learn to avoid diurnal humans, and scootch about in the night, or early hours. Bear baiting, deer baiting and bird feeders have an impact on wildlife populations.

In this case, they found that the Wisconsin bears were surviving and thriving and 40% of their food sources were humans: bear and deer baiting. Sadly, the bear population is becoming more dense, and hunters are not always utilising healthy choices. Some bears had been consuming high-sugar foods, like cookies, donuts and candies. This is not a good thing.

The Journal of Wildlife Management
8 JUL 2017 DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.21304

Consumption of Intentional Food Subsidies by a Hunted Carnivore

What an interesting study! I like reading pure research. This was amazing. They studied the food that bears eat by analysing their fur and bones, contributed by hunters in Northern Wisconsin. There are 30 states that permit bear hunting. Twelve of these states allow hunters to bait their hunting grounds prior to the opening of hunting season.
Baiting exists in Canada, as well.

Of course, any food you put out for any critters will be exploited by all the critters, from small rodents, to large bears. Some unethical photographers bait owls in order to assure a great photo.

Ontario permits bear hunting, as well as bear baiting: Bear Baiting OFAH Regs. (PDF)

New black bear hunting regulations in Ontario

Coyote Watch Canada points out that feeding wildlife isn't a right. Feeding animals isn't a privilege. It is time to rethink the behaviour of humans to respond to the human/wildlife conflicts that result from such food hand outs. Conflicts don't just mean human injuries, or deaths, it also means habituating animals to human food sources, scents, or calls. People who bait, lure and attract animals for selfish needs (be they photographers, film-makers, researchers, residents, nature nuts) all contribute to this habituation. All those sweet owl videos, or wild animals living with humans, can have fatal mistakes.

Coyote Watch Canada:  Please help wildlife stay wild and wary of people by not feeding them or drawing them into an area. What you do today, impacts other beings tomorrow; both human and non-human. 

I made the mistake of putting the bird feeder back outside! I hadn't seen a bear in a month.  The big feeder (left) was empty. I haven't seen him since then. No food source, no bear.

Canadian Black-Bear Baiting Investigation | PETA

▶ 2:02

https://www.peta.org/.../canadian-black-bear-baiting-investigation/

Every year, tens of thousands of black bears in North America are killed by an indefensible practice called ...

Then there are those hunting them with drones.

#cdnpoli It started with humans now has progressed to animals, but some people want to kill animals the old way https://t.co/ujehbAd5in

— Paul Bruce (@Ouch1001) July 17, 2017

Consumption of Intentional Food Subsidies by

a Hunted Carnivore

We found that hunter-deployed bear baits were highly available on public lands in northern Wisconsin, USA and that baits contributed to >40% of harvested black bear diets, not only in the year of their harvest but throughout their lifetimes.We postulate that this subsidization is contributing to the high bear population density in the state, and we recommend management actions to limit the availability of this highly caloric and novel food resource on the landscape.

Crowdfunding Opportunity: Drones Stop Elephant and Rhino Poaching

When Elephants Weep

What a brilliant idea! I am often asked to post ads for businesses or individuals selling 'something your readers will be interested in'. I have refused. This is a great idea, by a non-profit–working overseas.

This is a terrific crowdfunding project: using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s) or drones, to prevent poachers from killing animals. In my mind, I think of drones, which at their worst destroy the privacy of individuals, could cause air incidents, or are part of a killing machine. This project makes good use of these drones, to hunt down poachers and prevent the killing of innocent animals, for trinkets.

I am reading a book, When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals, and this initiative hits home. We know that elephants grieve.

Mobile command
all photos used with ©permission

Throughout Africa, over 100,000 elephants were killed between 2010 and the end of 2012 – 40,000 in 2013 alone.  They estimate that they will be extinct in 10 years.

You can view the 8:20 minute Air Shepherd PSA: https://youtu.be/QYfF0cWXTyM

Air Shepherd aims to raise $500,000 via their crowdfunding page to fully implement the program for one year at Kruger National Park with expansion planned over the next year to seven additional African countries.

amazing technology 

Amazing UAVs!

Fascinating technology!

UAV