- Welcoming Dr. Sarah Elmeligi to our Board
- New Video Series Coming Soon
- Tracking Wolves with John
- New Cougar and Wolf Books
EXPOSED is thrilled to announce that Dr. Sarah Elmeligi, a bear behaviour ecologist and the author of What Bears Teach Us, has officially joined our Board of Directors. Dr. Elmeligi completed both her Masters and PhD integrating biological and social research to understand how bears and recreationalists share some of western Canada's most prominent parks and protected areas. As a professional conservationist, she also has extensive experience working with teams of people in the creation of new provincial parks, increased species protection, and facility planning designs that serve wildlife and people. You can learn more about Sarah at www.saraheconsulting.com
With the start of a new year, EXPOSED will be producing a new video series focused on exposing some of the most polarizing wildlife regulations, management actions and policies that exist in Western Canada. These short vignettes on facts you should know are intended to inform and educate you about how our wildlife and wild spaces are managed or mis-managed. Here’s an example: Take a guess what it costs to get a wolf hunting tag in Alberta? See the bottom of the newsletter for the truly surprising answer.
Our co-founder, John E. Marriott, has been busy in the field the past few weeks tracking cougars for our Protecting Big Cats project. It’s going to be a focus of our next Insider’s presentation in late February (check out this link to find out how to become an Insider so you don’t miss the talk). And while it hasn’t been easy (he’s been averaging 13 kms of hiking and 7 kms of fat biking a day so far), he’s had some pretty amazing moments already. None more so than his encounter with the Banff Town wolf pack on January 4th, 2021!
Marriott was tracking a young cougar near the Town of Banff when he bumped into the entire wolf family chowing down on a freshly-killed elk. The wolves didn’t notice John and he hunkered down immediately and waited it out to see what the wolves were going to do. To his shock and surprise, all eight wolves walked right past his hiding spot and bedded down sixty meters away. So for two-and-a-half glorious hours, John got to hang with the wolves (and we’re pretty sure our next Insider’s presentation will have a few more of these wolf shots in it, along with the full story!).
A very real threat to grizzly bears in Alberta is developing along the Eastern Slopes of the Rockies, as the current provincial government has rescinded the decades-old Coal Policy without consultation and is now accepting proposals for dozens of new coal mines. The first project, the Grassy Mountain coal mine, is now up for federal review and we need your help to protect Alberta's drinking water, as well as protecting critical habitat for threatened species such as Alberta's grizzlies. Please sign the federal petition and ‘Share’ this with as many Canadians as you can (and note that this is a national matter now, so all Canadians can sign this official federal petition).
Find more details on the Grassy Mountain (and others) proposal here.
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Sign the Petition
Starting next month we will begin featuring photos in our newsletter from our Insiders, many of whom are avid photographers. By joining the Insider Program you get access to our events, a discount at our shop, digital downloads like wallpaper, and new opportunities we are continuously adding! Not only will you receive benefits, your monthly support will go towards giving wildlife a voice. February’s feature image will be from Insider Jeff Kovitz!
Become an Insider Today!
A book we can’t wait to get our hands on just came out at the end of 2020 and it focuses on the incredible research that has been done on Yellowstone wolves after their reintroduction. Check out Yellowstone Wolves: Science And Discovery In The World's First National Park.
Get into your own EXPOSED apparel like a hoodie or a t-shirt, and wear your support of the conservancy! We’ve added EXPOSED hats and toques to the shop for those colder days out exploring our wild places, so visit the shop now and get fantastic, comfy clothing AND support the Conservancy with much-needed funding for upcoming conservation projects.
P.S. Remember that our EXPOSED Insiders get a 10% discount on all store purchases!
...it doesn't cost anything to hunt a wolf in Alberta. Yes, you read that correctly. In fact, you don’t even need to have a hunting license to kill a wolf in the province. So if you guessed $0, then, sadly, you guessed right. We (unfortunately) have many more surprising facts like this, so stay tuned for the first in the series coming soon!
