Record breaking temps have B.C. wildlife needing help

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Last week’s record breaking temperatures have left wildlife rescuers across B.C. busier than ever.

Rob Hope, from Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society in Delta, says the heatwave the Lower Mainland saw earlier in the week especially affected young birds who are not yet fully fledged.

“It was getting hot, so a lot of them were found at the base of trees huddled together. Some of the young birds we got in were actually found with dead siblings,” Hope says, adding that the type of heat we saw usually doesn’t come until later in the summer, when young birds may be better able to cool themselves down.

On Tuesday, Lytton B.C. broke the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada, with the thermometer in the Fraser Canyon village hitting a scorching 49.5 C.

Record breaking temperatures this week have lead to record breaking admissions for wildlife intakes. 12-20 raptors coming in each day. Most are young birds that fled the heat by leaving the nest too soon, or have broken bones from the fall. Our ICU has never been so full pic.twitter.com/TXwVPWGJiW

— OWL Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society (@OWLRehab) July 3, 2021

Hope says that over the last few days, OWL Society has seen almost 50 birds come in, with seven or eight more on their way on Saturday.

“We’ll always make time and space for the animals, of course — that’s why we’re here, we care for them. Currently we are in need of monetary donations, especially for food, as well as fish and meat. We currently have about 30 young eaglets that are eating us out of house and home.”

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Along with eaglets, the society has also been receiving a lot of Merlin Falcons, one of the smallest in B.C., usually weighing around 200 grams.

Hope says that it’s not normal to receive so many birds at this time of the year, but with the wildfires that occurred in B.C. a couple of years ago, they were expecting some uptick in numbers.

This Peregrine falcon baby was found struggling in water, and the eaglets were found when their nest broke apart. Luckily no breaks for these beauties!
Learn more about our rehab and birds of prey by signing up for our virtual summer camp here: https://t.co/vJCtR7Mo7N pic.twitter.com/pGDl5Qzco6

— OWL Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society (@OWLRehab) July 2, 2021

“With the fires and the hot weather we’ve had, definitely has an impact on the animals. Unfortunately with the forest fires, depending on the age of the birds, a lot of those young birds won’t be able to escape the flames.”

Doing this job for over 20 years, Hope says he does see some sad things, but he always looks at the positives.

“Even if I lose one, there’s another one that needs help. So that keeps us going, and moving forward and saving as many as we can.”