Wildlife isnt often thought of in urban areas or cities, but in Southern Saskatchewan we see wildlife enter the city very often.
“We see wildlife in the city all the time” says Jan Shadick, Living Sky Wildlife Reabilitation Executive Director.
Shadick says the South Saskatchewan River running through the city of Saskatoon plays a large role in wildife reaching the city. She says in the summer and closer to fall, young animals tend to get curious.
“They’re getting ready to disperse from their family and so the young are having to find their own territory and so that’s when they tend to wader into places where they shouldn’t, like cities.”
Dr. Ryan Brook, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan, has been doing research tracking moose and also says these animals do enter cities. He says in the past, moose were mostly seen in the boreal forest, but now moose are seen all over Southern Saskatchewan.
“It is not uncommon for moose to come into towns and cities in Saskatchewan and indeed across the Prairies” says Brook.
Brook is able to track the moose using both GPS collars and trail cameras.
“We actually capture them by shooting a net out of a helicopter to restrain them and then once they’re fully restrained and hobbled, then we attach a collar around their neck and let them go immediately” says Brook.
The technology is able to notify Brook on his cellphone when a moose comes within 400 meters of Highway 11. He says the technology could also notify him if a moose is near city limits by setting up a geo-fence on a computer.
Brook says no moose collars are currently in use but he hopes to secure funding to continue his research.