Comox Valley Naturalists Society
Vancouver Island Marmot, Captive Breeding, and Reintroduction.

The regular monthly meeting of the Comox Valley Naturalists Society will be held October 26, 2008, at 7:00 pm at the Florence Filberg Centre, 411 Anderton Avenue, Courtenay. The featured speaker will be Dr. M. McAdie, and will cover his work as Project Veterinarian; “Captive Breeding, and Reintroduction of the Vancouver Island Marmot” with the Marmot Recovery Foundation.
 
The wild Vancouver Island marmot population had fallen to less than 25 by the fall of 2003, making them one of the rarest mammals in the world. Thanks to the Marmot Recovery Foundation and its release efforts, there are now over 150 marmots in the wild. The foundation maintains a dedicated marmot breeding centre at Mount Washington, and there are three other breeding facilities, at the Toronto, and  Calgary Zoos and the Mountain View Breeding Society in Langley. Re-introductions (Nanaimo Lakes, Strathcona Park, Mount Washington, and Mount Cain) have generally been successful, and breeding in the wild has occurred. This is a GREAT LOCAL SUCCESS story, and should appeal to all in the Comox Valley.

Dr. McAdie has been a wildlife veterinarian since 1994, and has worked on projects in the Canadian high arctic, Alberta, Washington state, Alaska and Mexico, as well as throughout BC. He has worked on a wide variety of species including; waterfowl, raptors, wolverines, badgers, otters, bears, wolves, cougars, etc. He has worked as the Captive Breeding Specialist for the Marmot Recovery Foundation since 1999. Please come and join us to become better informed about the Vancouver Island Marmot, what you can do, and how you can help promote conservation in British Columbia.

Meetings of the Comox Valley Naturalists Society are held on the third Sunday of most months at the Florence Filberg Centre, 411 Anderton, Courtenay. The October 26 meeting is a week later than usual. Meetings are open to the public, including youth. A donation of $2.00 is suggested for non-members, and new memberships are always welcomed. Meetings are not held in July, August, and December. The CVNS  November 16 presentation, will be Chris Czajkowski, and her new beautifully illustrated book “A Mountain Year”, Nature Diary of a Wilderness Dweller.
 
Please come out and join us for these important environmental topics. For more information on CVNS please visit the website at www.comoxvalleynaturalist.bc.ca.