麻豆传媒

Canada

    • A tiny critter who could: Elusive Newfoundland Marten makes improbable comeback

    Share
    SALMONIER LINE, N.L. -

    Newfoundland鈥檚 unique and elusive pine marten has made an improbable comeback, growing out of its threatened designation after decades of conservation efforts.

    There are now around 3,000 of the animals living in the wild, according to Brian Hearn, who co-chairs the Newfoundland Marten Recovery Team. They once numbered just 300, he said, and outside experts feared population recovery was impossible.

    鈥淲hen I started working on it, the best knowledge we had at the time from the best marten ecologists from mainland Canada said that (there was) very little we could do to recover them, and they would be extinct by 2020,鈥 he said.

    But, against the odds, numbers have seen a 鈥渉uge recovery over the last 30-plus years,鈥 he added. 鈥淎 great success story for the province.鈥

    Newfoundland and Labrador鈥檚 provincial government announced in late February that it had promoted the animal from threatened to vulnerable.

    The Newfoundland marten has grown distinct from its cousins in the rest of North America, thanks to hundreds of years of island isolation.

    It鈥檚 an obvious genetic outlier: It鈥檚 bigger than other martens, and roams in a much bigger area 鈥 up to 25-square kilometres.

    It鈥檚 related to the weasel, but bigger 鈥 about the size of a house cat.

    The animal can live up to 17 years in captivity, but it typically lives a much shorter life in the wild.

    The marten was designated as an endangered species in 1996. Hearn said habitat loss, caused by forestry activities, and accidental trapping in rabbit snares were big causes of animal mortality.

    New regulations that changed what types of wires trappers could use on their snares were introduced in 2008, and have contributed to recent growth in the species.

    鈥淎 bunch of things happened, but the basis, in my opinion, is that we understood better in terms of what was really putting them at risk,鈥 Hearn explained.

    Over the course of ten years, Hearn and his team tracked 160 animals, using RFID tags and even riding in helicopters to track their movements and habitat use. Hearn calls it a highlight of his career.

    鈥淚t was expensive, but we had tremendous support from forest industry, from provincial government, federal government. So it was certainly a collective effort to recover the species.鈥

    Most of the population recovery has happened in the wild. There was a captive breeding program at the Salmonier Nature Park on Newfoundland鈥檚 Avalon Peninsula, but researchers abandoned the program after just a few years.

    A Newfoundland marten is caught on a trail camera in western Newfoundland in early March. (Image courtesy Jimmy Short)

    The famously elusive animal is already starting to be seen more frequently in Newfoundland.

    Jimmy Short, a wildlife enthusiast on the province鈥檚 west coast, has captured a Newfoundland marten on his remote trail cameras twice in the past month.

    鈥淚'm 41 years old and I spend a lot of time in the woods, and it鈥檚 only the last few years I've been seeing them,鈥 he said. 鈥淚鈥檇 never seen them before until two or three years.鈥

    鈥淥n my trail camera, I鈥檝e been at that for five years, and they鈥檙e only just starting to show up now,鈥 he said.

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    For decades, Melven Jones couldn鈥檛 talk about what happened to him as a child. He didn鈥檛 even remember it.

    The CEO of the Ottawa Mission is responding to controversial comments made this week by Premier Doug Ford about those living in homeless encampments that received swift blowback from advocates.

    A strike by grain terminal workers at the Port of Metro Vancouver has ended, their employer announced Friday night.

    • A man was found dead in a home in the Ditidaht First Nation on Vancouver Island Saturday morning, prompting local council to ask residents to shelter in place.

    • For decades, Melven Jones couldn鈥檛 talk about what happened to him as a child. He didn鈥檛 even remember it.

    • A Vancouver man has paid $337,500 to the B.C. Securities Commission as part of an insider trading settlement, the financial regulator announced Friday.

    • DEVELOPING

      DEVELOPING

      Toronto police are urging anyone with information, including video footage, to contact them after a man was fatally stabbed in north Scarborough on Saturday evening.

    • One person is in police custody following a double stabbing in north Etobicoke on Saturday night.

    • Thousands of dead birds, from kingfishers to blue jays, encircle a wild turkey to illustrate in one snapshot a mere fragment of how many die from colliding into glass windows 鈥 a death that can be easily prevented, the Torontonian photographer says.

    • A child was sent to hospital after being attacked by a coyote in northwest Calgary.

    • Alberta's premier spoke to calls for an outside, independent investigation into the death of Jon Wells during an incident involving Calgary police last week.

    • A Calgary city councillor's plea to have permanent residents be given the right to vote in municipal elections, an idea long dismissed by Premier Danielle Smith as unconstitutional, has been defeated.

    • A garden showcasing Indigenous knowledge, and medical practices will be unveiled Monday on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).

    • The victim has been identified as Chanel Charette, 33.

    • The CEO of the Ottawa Mission is responding to controversial comments made this week by Premier Doug Ford about those living in homeless encampments that received swift blowback from advocates.

    • World Wrestling Entertainment Hall-of-Famer Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon is the inspiration for a local wrestling production company that will bear his name host events on Montreal's West Island to raise money and create memories for sick children.

    • A commemorative rally marking the fourth anniversary of Joyce Echaquan鈥檚 death will take place in Ville-Marie on Saturday afternoon.

    • Members of Montreal鈥檚 Maghrebi community are gathering in a city park this afternoon to sound the alarm about what they call the 鈥渟courge鈥 of street gangs recruiting youth to carry out criminal acts.

    • A man has been charged with second-degree murder in the killing of 25-year-old Wyatt Omeasoo in 2023.

    • A person is in hospital after a hit-and-run crash involving a stolen motorcycle in Grande Prairie early Saturday morning.

    • Alberta鈥檚 government is getting pushback from some municipal leaders and support from others over its plan to build the sheriffs into a second provincial police service.

    • Communities that suffered total losses in Hammonds Plains, N.S., and Upper Tantallon, N.S., in the 2023 wildfire received a donation of trees from Northern Pulp on Saturday.

    • Education and infrastructure were the focus of promises made on the tenth day of New Brunswick鈥檚 provincial election campaign.

    • RCMP Halifax Regional Detachment say they have charged a man with multiple offences, including assaulting a peace officer with a weapon, following a disturbance in Beaver Bank, N.S.

    • As the temperatures begin to drop and the leaves change colour, the time for fall suppers has returned in Manitoba.

    • Hundreds gathered in Winnipeg鈥檚 Memorial Park Saturday afternoon in a solemn ceremony honouring the lives of fallen firefighters.

    • A beloved annual celebration of arts and culture returns to city streets Saturday night.

    • The Town of Lumsden held their ninth annual Scarecrow festival Saturday.

    • The Saskatchewan Roughriders moved into second place in the CFL's West Division with a 29-16 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks on Saturday.

    • Minister of Health Everett Hindley wrote to healthcare provider unions on Friday inviting them to join a nursing task force, something the government previously said no to.

    • It鈥檚 homecoming weekend for many students and alumni and preparations are underway to ensure it鈥檚 a safe celebratory weekend.

    • People in Guelph may notice a new addition at the entrance to Franchetto Park in Guelph.

    • The Kitchener Rangers returned to the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium on Friday to the roar of thousands of eager fans.

    • Saskatchewan RCMP says the man who sustained injuries from a serious assault earlier this month has died in hospital.

    • The Saskatchewan Roughriders moved into second place in the CFL's West Division with a 29-16 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks on Saturday.

    • Minister of Health Everett Hindley wrote to healthcare provider unions on Friday inviting them to join a nursing task force, something the government previously said no to.

    • A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

    • The CEO of the Ottawa Mission is responding to controversial comments made this week by Premier Doug Ford about those living in homeless encampments that received swift blowback from advocates.

    • On Broughdale Ave, barricades kept students to the sidewalks, and on Huron, officers kept directing the young people away from the middle of the road for emergency vehicles.

    • VIDEO

      VIDEO

      For 28 years, motorcycle riders have gathered at Hully Gully in London, Ont. to raise money for the Children鈥檚 Health Foundation (CHF) and enjoy a fall ride.

    • The town of Aylmer might be getting a little bit larger - it's considering expanding boundaries to include more land, and they鈥檙e holding a meeting on Thursday

    • Huntsville OPP is investigating a two-vehicle collision Friday afternoon that resulted in the death of a motorcycle driver.

    • Midland Fire Service, Southern Georgian Bay OPP and County of Simcoe paramedics responded to an early Saturday morning fire at a residence in Midland, which sent one person to hospital.

    • Two drivers were charged after a vehicle struck a house in northern Barrie Friday evening.

    • Windsor Fire Service is on the scene of a house fire in South Windsor this morning. A single-family dwelling was reported to have been the location of an early morning fire.

    • A collision on Friday evening has resulted in charges for a 32-year-old Lakeshore Resident.

    • Students looking for work while they study had an opportunity to scope out the local employment scene on Wednesday when St. Clair College held its second annual part time job fair.

    • A man was found dead in a home in the Ditidaht First Nation on Vancouver Island Saturday morning, prompting local council to ask residents to shelter in place.

    • For decades, Melven Jones couldn鈥檛 talk about what happened to him as a child. He didn鈥檛 even remember it.

    • Almost 200 pages of research on the B.C. Conservative Party, which sources within BC United confirm were compiled by their party before it dropped out of the British Columbia election campaign to support its former rival, have come back to haunt the new alliance.

    • Fire crews in Vernon, B.C., responded to a large house fire early Saturday morning.

    • A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.

    • The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

    • The sentencing for three men convicted of helping lead and coordinate the COVID-19 protest blockade at Coutts, Alta., in 2022 has been delayed.

    • A 10-year-old boy from Lethbridge is being praised as a hero after a routine summer outing at the pool nearly turned tragic for his friend.

    • A man and woman have been charged after a Lethbridge ice creamery was broken into earlier this week. Staff arrived at Cookie Crimes, in the 300 block of Sixth Street South, just before 5:30 a.m. on Monday to discover the front window broken.

    • Sault residents may notice some commotion on the Algoma University campus over the next two weeks as a team conducts an archaeological search.

    • The Pride crosswalk in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., has been hit by vandalism for the second time in less than three months.

    • Despite a lead at mid-game in front of a near-capacity home crowd, the Sudbury Wolves dropped their first game of their OHL regular season to Barrie, 3-1.

    N.L.

    Local Spotlight

    A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

    When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

    A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

    Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

    Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

    A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

    An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

    Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.

    An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.

    Politics

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    Sports

    Autos

    • A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

    • A U.S. driver somehow squeezed her vehicle through a parkade hallway at a Metro Vancouver casino Thursday, before getting stuck at an elevator bank.

    Shopping Trends

    The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at 麻豆传媒. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop.聽Read about us.

    Stay Connected
    Follow 麻豆传媒