Wild Facts About Wildlife In Manitoba

Wild facts about Wildlife in Manitoba

This weekend I went on a little tour of Wildlife Haven Rehabilitation Centre. They’re a really awesome organization that takes in injured wildlife, nurses them back to health, and then release them to the wild. For certain animals that can’t be rehabilitated, they will become Wildlife Ambassadors for the organization and travel to schools and community events to educate people about wildlife in Manitoba and what you should do if you find an injured animal.

While checking out their hospital and rehab centre in Île-des-Chênes I saw a lot of really interesting animals and learned a lot about Manitoba wildlife. Here are a few highlights.

Deer

A fawn is one of the few animals that will listen to its mom no matter what, so if a doe tells her fawn to stay put, it will. Often people walking through the woods will find a baby deer and think it’s been abandoned, when in fact, it’s actually just listening to its mom.

Ducks

Baby ducks all look pretty similar, but a wood duck has a very different diet that a mallard. So how do the people at Wildlife Haven identify one fuzzy, grey-feathered bird from the next? You can identify them by looking at the spots and stripes in the feathers near their eyes and beaks.

Owls

Wildlife Haven is very careful to make sure that baby owls (who are still HUGE btw even though they are babies) don’t imprint on humans. If an animal imprints on a human it’s unlikely they will make it back in the wild. So when they feed certain young birds they will wear a ghost costume so the bird’s don’t imprint on humans.

Raccoons

Raccoons look super cute, but they are not pets. In fact, wild raccoons can carry a parasite with them that is transmissible to humans, so if you ever encounter a raccoon or it’s droppings it’s very important to wash your hands right away!

Woodchucks

Woodchucks are excellent climbers, but do not, in fact, chuck wood. They just climb it.

Crows

Crows are SUPER smart! They can use tools, figure out multi-step problems, and can even learn to speak and mimic specific people’s voices!

Get Involved

Wildlife Haven is an AWESOME place and they’re currently working to raise money for a new facility so they can better help out injured wildlife that are brought to them. Check out their website by clicking here to learn more about the work they do.