~wildlife education~ Photo credit: istock.com/ CarrieCaptured They may have lovely soft fur and be cute and cuddly when they feel like it, but cats have been largely responsible for the extinction of 33 bird species over many centuries. Scientists estimate that free-roaming cats kill hundreds of millions of birds, small mammals, reptiles, and amphibians each year, including endangered species. Cats are particularly deadly for birds. Even well fed, pampered cats will hunt an

~Wildlife education~ Vancouver Island black bears eat both meat and plants, and their sense of smell and hearing is far superior to that of humans. If a hungry bear smells food waste in a barbecue or trash container or a vehicle, it will go after it. Photo credit: istock.com/eyfoto Bears are natural scavengers and have good memories, so they will return to locations where they have found food before. Bears must eat large amounts of food, so they don’t starve during the win

~Wildlife education~ It is estimated that between 16,400 and 23,000 wild animals are killed annually on roads in British Columbia, and, sadly, wildlife collisions are becoming more common. Photo credit: istock.com/Pascal-L-Marius Deer are the most often struck wildlife on BC roads, involved in nearly three out of every four wildlife collisions. Other animals impacted are bears, raccoons, wolves, cougars, beavers, muskrats, moose and elk. And before highway crews can pick u