Each week at Global BC, we highlight our stories to bring a bright spot to your Friday and into the weekend.
Here are the five stories we want to share:
‘Kind of like a human baby’: Rescued sea otter pups settle into Vancouver Aquarium
A pair of orphaned sea otters are settling into their new home at the Vancouver Aquarium.
The pups, dubbed Tofino and Luna, were rescued from islands near Tofino earlier this summer after being abandoned by their mothers.
The duo had been receiving critical care at the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre, but have now stabilized enough to move to the aquarium.
‘We call them keystone species’: Vancouver Island grizzly cubs may boost ecosystem
When wildlife photographer Catherine Babault captured images of a female grizzly bear with two cubs encountering a herd of elk on Vancouver Island last month, she knew she had witnessed something special.
“I feel very privileged — not everybody has the opportunity to see grizzly bears in nature and it was a very rare moment for Vancouver Island,” said Babault.
Not only is such a scene uncommon, the likelihood that the cubs were born on the island and didn’t swim there could mean the start of a native-born population with big potential to affect the island’s ecosystem, said Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of the Grizzly Bear Foundation.
‘Beginner’s luck’: Vancouver bar staff split $1M prize in first ever lottery pool purchase
Was it a case of the Luck of the Irish?
A group of 15 coworkers at a Vancouver bar aren’t complaining after their lottery pool took home a $1 million Lotto Max prize this weekend.
The crew works at Foy’s Irish Bar in Mount Pleasant, and said they were already close friends. Most of them hail from Ireland, and have come to rely on one another as they live and work so far from their families.
Incredibly, the winning purchase was made the first time the pool played the lottery draw.
2nd-largest diamond ever unearthed found by Canadian company in Botswana
The second-largest diamond ever to be pulled from the Earth, coming in at a whopping 2,492 carats, was dug out of a mine in Botswana by a Canadian company.
The Vancouver-based Lucara Diamond Corp. announced the “remarkable find” in a press release, showing off photos of the fist-sized rock. The company has unearthed numerous other massive diamonds at its Karowe Mine in Botswana, but this as-of-yet-unnamed stone blows the rest out of the water.
Victoria marks 30 years since playing host to Commonwealth Games
Victoria’s sporting community is marking 30 years since the B.C. capital hosted the Commonwealth Games.
The games opened Aug. 18, 1994, to a packed Centennial Stadium.
Three decades later, the legacy lives on, and organizers gathered in Victoria on Thursday to celebrate the games’ ongoing impact on Vancouver Island.