Wildlife caught on cam: Photo project documents Calgary's animal population
A three-year wildlife monitoring project in the city of Calgary has captured more than 100,000 images in an effort to better understand how species and humans interact in natural park spaces.
The Miistakis Institute, a non-profit charitable research group at Mount Royal University, gathered data from 97 motion-activated cameras set up by Calgary Capture across 19 natural area parks from May 2017 to May 2020.
In total, 125,765 images were captured, allowing Calgarians and people around the world to classify wildlife through an online platform called Zooniverse.
“It's incredible how much wildlife we have in the city. I'm sure no one's surprised that both deer and coyotes are very habituated in our city, but we also have moose, red fox, raccoon, cougars, and the odd bear,” said Tracy Lee, project manager for the Miistakis Institute.
“From an educational perspective, I think it helps Calgarians understand that we are coexisting with wildlife, but we could do better and there's things we can do, even just following kind of courtesy or general park rules that are already out there.”
For example, the project also captured more than 200,000 images of dogs that were off-leash and 89 per cent of those were in areas where dogs should be on a leash.
Lee says the study noticed a large majority of natural wildlife coming out at night as a result and helped city workers identify which areas of parks to close off to allow wildlife to flourish undisturbed by human activity.
“We’ve also got cameras now under the new underpasses that have been built to facilitate wildlife movement in the Glenmore Weaselhead and in Fish Creek Provincial Park,” Lee said.
“So there's a really good practical application to test mitigation projects that the city or the province is implementing to try to help facilitate wildlife moving around our city.”
(Supplied/Calgary Captured)
Results from Calgary Captured can now be used as well to facilitate better urban development to protect Calgary’s ecological network.
Landscape analysis supervisor with the City of Calgary, Vanessa Carney, says plans are already in the works.
“Data from Calgary Captured is already informing Calgary Parks’ habitat management decisions,” she said.
“An understanding of how wildlife species make use of our parks and move across the urban landscape give us insight into how the city can better plan for a healthy, connected park system.”
Shana Barbour with the Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society agrees that this project has also given her team of volunteers a strong opportunity to engage with wildlife activity and change their practices in the future.
“It’s a great thing to be involved in such an important partnership, helping to create awareness about the need for coexistence, sharing of parks and green spaces, and actions that we can all take to ensure that wildlife can move and thrive in this busy, urban setting.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.