Livestock producers in northwestern Alberta are feeling the crunch of coyote predation with coyote populations reportedly on the rise due to declining fur demand. 

Coyotes currently don’t make the cut for compensation alongside their more infamous counterparts like bears and cougars, despite representing Alberta’s top livestock predator. The stress peaks during calving season, Kaley Segboer-Edge, stewardship lead for Alberta Beef Producers, told the CBC. 

In an effort to combat this, ranchers are now looking to add coyotes to the wildlife predator compensation program to recover some of their future livestock losses. The change would allow them to receive compensation for both livestock injuries and deaths caused by coyotes, and would match similar processes in place in other provinces such as Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.

While the government has yet to respond, trappers suggest they’re also ready to step in to help avoid any public safety concerns.

Bill Abercrombie, president of the Alberta Trappers’ Association, told CBC that trappers could manage these animals humanely and sustainably, keeping people happy with co-existence.

Beached body

Something unexpected washed up on a beach on the east coast of Haida Gwaii, B.C. last month: a great white shark.

The deceased four-metre long shark was identified after the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) examined the teeth and fin shape. After cutting the shark open, they found that the shark had enjoyed a seal for its final meal, though its cause of death remains unknown. While samples were taken for research purposes, the researchers are letting nature take its course in regards to what happens to the carcass.

Lesley Assu from Skidegate, a Haida community in Haida Gwaii, told the Vancouver Sun it wasn’t the first time she had seen a great white wash up, but was sad to see one dead because of their importance to Haida culture.

The DFO says since salmon sharks are often mistaken for great whites, these kinds of sightings are rare but do happen. This is the sixth recorded great white sighting off the coast of B.C.

“Given climate change, we can expect their occurrences in our waters to increase in frequency in the coming decades,” a DFO spokesperson wrote to CTV Vancouver.

Still, there’s no real need for B.C. residents to worry about shark encounters. Sharks do not pose a significant threat to the public, considering there have only been three confirmed shark attacks in the history of the province. 

Poppy the red panda

After over 6,500 votes were cast by followers and fans of Toronto Zoo, the zoo has announced that their newest red panda cub — affectionately nicknamed “Biggie” — has officially been named Poppy. Poppy was selected as the winning name from five floral-themed options in honour of her mother, Sakura, which is the Japanese word for flowering cherry blossom trees. 

Toronto Zoo shared that Poppy will start exploring smaller areas of her outdoor habitat over the coming weeks. She’ll have the choice and control to spend time indoors or outdoors as she becomes more comfortable in her new surroundings.

In April 2015, the conservation status of red pandas was elevated to Endangered by the International Union for Conservation and Nature (IUCN). Red pandas are elusive and challenging to study in the wild. Their population has been estimated by experts as anywhere between 2,500 and 10,000 individuals, but all agree that the species is declining — by as much as 50 per cent in the past 20 years. The Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy has committed to a long-term partnership with the Red Panda Network to support conservation projects in the wild.