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febbraio 03, 2016 - Ontario Power generation

Bring Back the Wild with Earth Rangers and OPG

Comunicato Stampa disponibile solo in lingua originale. 

​OPG is pleased to bring you Earth Rangers Bring Back the Wolverine project for the 2015-2016 school year.

Earth Rangers knows kids have the power to change the world. They teach them to be an important part of the solution to environmental issues. By combining kids’ passion for animals and the environment with their love of entertainment, they’ve inspired millions of kids to become environmental stewards.

One particular initiative is Earth Rangers’ Bring Back the Wolverine project, which OPG is proud to sponsor.

The Wolverine

The Wolverine is a powerful animal and is the largest member of the weasel family (Mustelidae). It resembles a small bear with a bushy tail, short legs, and large paws with semi-retractable claws. Wolverines are about the same size as a medium-sized dog when fully grown, ranging from 65 to 87 centimetres in length. It has dark brown fur with pale golden-brown stripes running along the sides of the body. The Wolverine has a large head with a dark brown face, sometimes with a light silvery facial mask, and has ears that are short and rounded. Wolverines also have unique markings on their chest which have been used to identify individuals.​

Listed as threatened in Ontario, it is unknown exactly how many wolverines are left in the wild. Best estimates suggest that there may be as few as 600.

Wolverines have low birth rates compared to most other carnivores, which means populations are slow to recover if their numbers diminish, making it necessary to prevent and monitor any threats to their survival. Like many species, the number one threat facing wolverine is habitat loss and fragmentation; however, on occasion, they can also get caught in traps intended for other furbearer species. 

This year, Earth Rangers and Wildlife Conservation Society Canada are partnering to reduce this issue of incidental trapping of wolverines in Ontario’s southern boreal forest region and prevent it from hampering recovery efforts in the province. In collaboration with local registered trappers, this project will test tools and techniques to reduce incidental harvest, to gain better knowledge of wolverine at the southern end of their range and to engage this community in wolverine recovery efforts.

By testing various tools and techniques in the field, best practices will be established and shared among the broader trapper community to alleviate the threat of incidental harvest of wolverine across the province.