The Earth Rangers team is a wild bunch, we’ve got foxes, lemurs, a lynx and more! These amazing Animal Ambassadors visit schools and community events to educate and inspire audiences to help protect animals. They are quite the crew and no two are alike! Take the quiz below to find out what Animal Ambassador you are most like.
A Message From Super Ranger Adam
Super Ranger Adam has been really busy taking action to help protect animals! He’s taken part in multiple missions and has written us a message all about his animal saving activities.
I am Adam .I became an earth ranger few weeks ago.
I started with the opperation conversation mission. I got shocked after reading the information because my family and I were wasting too much energy.
I started looking for culprits all over the house ,and passed on all the information to my family.
My dad used to brush his teeth and shave with the water running I started following him and turn off the water. My mother loves coffee but she keeps the coffee maker plugged in. But now she unplugs the coffee maker and other unused small appliances. I did unplug the unused electronics in the house.
But even thought I couldn’t sleep well over night . I thought there was a small ghost comes to my house at night and use my toilet. Yes because every night I could hear the flush sound. I told my dad he laughed and went to check the toilet. He realized that the flapper should be replaced. And he did it the same day. Now I can sleep well and save water.
See you next mission.
Adam
Top Ten Cutest Animal Ambassador Moments
The Earth Rangers’ Animal Ambassadors have all kinds of crazy adventures, and we’ve got the photos to prove it! Countdown through Hudson, Koho, Cosmo and Forrest’s cutest moments, then take the gang home when you pick up one of our new Animal Ambassador Stuffed Animals.
“Follow me, adventure’s this way!”
“We’re so fluffy and cute!”
“I’ve spotted something…I’ll attack it with my laser eyes!”
“Hey you, whatcha up to?”
“Look deep into my eyes…you are getting veeerrry sleeepy”
“I’m totally going to win this game of hide-and-seek”
“O’man, is it my turn to vacuum again?”
“Ultimate Brother Fighting Force”
“I got it guys! I’ve saved us from another pumpkin attack!”
“Can I get the door for you?”
Super Ranger Jacob’s Birthday, Missions and More!
Super Ranger Jacob loves being an Earth Ranger! He knows how important it is to help protect animals and the environment and he’s doing his part to make a difference. Here’s what Jacob has to say about what it’s like to be an Earth Ranger.
Hi, my name is Jacob and I am an Earth Ranger. I love being an Earth Ranger. Last year I had a Bring Back the Wild birthday party and instead of birthday gifts, I raised $75 to help protect the Beluga Whales .I discovered Earth Rangers on a commercial I seen on TV. After seeing the commercial, I realized that animals and the environment do need our help so I went on the computer and signed up to be an Earth Ranger. So far, I have completed 9 missions, and each of them was a lot of fun to do and I enjoyed learning about how we can help to save the environment and the animals. I really like it when I see my achievements and badges on my Earth Rangers website page. I also received an Earth Rangers t-shirt for a Christmas gift and I received some pins to wear on my shirt for raising money to save the Beluga Whales. I enjoy wearing my shirt and when people ask what an Earth Ranger is, I like to explain how to become an Earth ranger and what we do. Many of my friends and other kids in the neighbourhood have also become Earth Rangers after I told them about it. I explained the missions and how much I enjoy being an Earth Ranger. If you want to help save animals with over one hundred thousand earth rangers that are already saving animals go to https: www.earthrangers.com and click the green button at the top that says ‘Become an Earth Ranger’. My family and I also attended the solid waste authority in our city to learn more about recycling (what can be recycled and how animals can be hurt and killed if we let garbage into our environment and water sources). We also learned about the importance of bringing paint, batteries and hazardous materials directly the dump and not throwing them in our garbage and landfills. We collect these kinds of things from our neighbours, family and friends and bring them to the dump to make sure they don’t go in the garbage.
Sincerely,
Ranger Jacob
Happy Halloween!
Have fun, stay safe and remember to help protect bats while you are trick-or-treating by bringing your bat donation box. With your support, we can help protect the Little Brown Bat, a species that’s facing serious population decline because of white nose syndrome.
Earth Ranger Owen, the Turtle Saver
Earth Ranger Owen has always loved reptiles; he even has a pet bearded dragon! Owen doesn’t just hang out with his own pet dragon though; he also sets out into his community to protect turtles.
Here’s what Owen has to say about protecting turtles “I choose to help save turtles as they have been on earth for a very long time and we need them to stay and they live in my neighborhood.”
Owen noticed that the turtles crossing the road near his home were being accidentally run over so he set out to help protect them. How do you help a turtle cross the road? Owen decided that a sign would help by letting drivers know that they need to slow down and watch for turtles. This is really important work because crossing busy roads is the biggest threat to turtles in Ontario. For nine months Owen and his parents teamed up with the Ministry of Natural Resources to prove that the area is habitat for endangered turtles. After all that hard work, we are excited to share that Owen successfully got a turtle crossing sign installed on his road on Friday, September 4.
Earth Ranger Owen is an inspiring example of someone passionate about protecting animals who is making a difference in his own community. Owen isn’t just saving turtles though, he has also taken part in lots of Earth Ranger Missions. Owen completed the Battery Blitz Mission by collecting and recycling over 100 batteries! Owen also made a bird feeder from an old milk jug as part of the For the Birds Mission and planted a garden for bees for the Pollinator Power Mission.
We asked Earth Ranger Owen why he thinks we should protect animals, here’s what he said “We want the animals to be on earth for a long time and we want our earth to be safe for our animals. If we protect the environment we can save our earth.”
Parks Canada and the Atlantic Salmon Rescue
In Canada, Atlantic salmon can be found from the southern tip of Nova Scotia to the most northern rivers of Quebec, through Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Atlantic salmon were once found in every country that had rivers that flowed into the North Atlantic and Baltic Sea including the United States, Norway, Russia, France and Spain. Canada is lucky to have a wealth of Atlantic salmon habitat, covering one-third of all Atlantic salmon habitat in the world. Juvenile Atlantic salmon typically spend two to four years in fresh water before migrating to marine waters where they spend the next one to four years. After they’ve grown into adults in salt water, the salmon return to the rivers they grew up in to give birth to the next generation.
Atlantic salmon populations in some areas, like the Inner Bay of Fundy, are endangered; that’s why they need all the help they can get to protect them! Some of the biggest threats they face include habitat loss, climate change and pollution. Salmon are a sensitive species that depend on clean healthy rivers and oceans for their survival. To help species like Atlantic salmon, you can do your part by reducing the amount of plastic waste you produce to keep the Atlantic salmon’s habitat litter free! Take the Water Taste Challenge to help your family cut out disposable bottles. By taking action to help the Atlantic salmon, you’ll be joining other amazing organizations on their salmon saving mission, like Parks Canada.
Canada’s Salmon Savers
Parks Canada has been working hard to protect Atlantic salmon in New Brunswick’s Fundy National Park. Their salmon saving plan starts out in the spring, when they give a helping hand to young salmon going out to sea for the first time. These young salmon, known as smolts, are caught using a smolt wheel which are placed into the river to catch them as they swim downstream. These smolts are then taken to protected saltwater enclosures, where they can experience the natural conditions of the Bay of Fundy while being protected from predators and taken care of by dedicated staff. These young salmon will stay here for 18 months until they are ready to return to freshwater.
Salmon Release
Once the salmon are grown up, they are fitted with an electronic tag and released in the river where they hatched, where they will swim upstream to their spawning grounds. Biologists with Fundy National Park meet the fish in the fresh water rivers at their spawning areas, where they lay their eggs. These biologists will check the salmon for an electronic tag to see if they are the same fish that Parks Canada helped to raise. So far, this research has shown that the smolt raising is a big success! Since this salmon saving program started in 2009, more Atlantic salmon are returning to the Fundy Rivers.
Want to join Parks Canada’s salmon saving project? If you’re in Fundy National Park in August and September you can! Check out the Swim with Salmon for Science program and you could be trained by biologists to conduct salmon surveys!
The Merx Super Ranger Family
Meet the Merx’s family! There are five children in this fab family, and together they’re helping to protect the environment. We first met the Merx family when they came out to build bird houses with His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales! Check out this article to hear about their royal adventure: http://www.earthrangers.com/wildwire/super-rangers/a-super-earth-ranger-experience/
After their princely meetup, the Merx family kept on taking action to save animals and their homes. Seven-year-old Jermaine and Leroy completed the Battery Blitz mission, collecting 20 batteries to recycle! Not to be outdone by his little brothers, 13-year-old Malcom took part in a bunch of missions including Spring Green-Up, Homemade Holiday and the Water Taste Challenge. Malcom also made a bird feeder and hung it in a nearby tree where he spotted 40 birds!
The boys of the Merx family sure are making a difference, but let’s not forget about the girls! Four-year-old Chenoa has accepted the Pollinator Power Mission and fourteen-year-old Ann-Sophie, accepted the Spring Green-up Mission. Ann-Sophie is also using her creativity to raise donations to help protect animals. Ann-Sophie, AkA Sarah MacFaith, sang this song written by her father. This tune is Ann-Sophie’s way of helping to protect animals, with 30% of the funds raised from sales of the song being donated to Earth Rangers.
From singing songs, to building bird feeders, cleaning up ponds and planting 36 trees, the Merx family is keeping busy helping to protect the environment. A big thanks to the whole family for all they’ve done for our planet.
10 of Canada’s Coolest National Wildlife Areas
Canada has some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world, and some of the coolest animals to boot. That’s why it’s so great that we have so many protected areas! Without them, we’d lose some of what makes Canada, Canada – its nature!
Check out this list of 10 of Canada’s Coolest National Wildlife Areas. They were created for wildlife research, conservation, nature exploration and to protect important areas used by migratory wildlife and species at risk.
These areas are open to the public so make sure to plan a visit if you are nearby! Don’t forget to accept your Outdoor Explorer Mission and bring your BioKit along for an extra special adventure.
Alaksen National Wildlife Area
35 km from Vancouver, British Columbia
It is an important stopover and wintering site for millions of birds. In October, lucky visitors can see gigantic flocks of snow geese and ducks land as they take a break from their migration.
At Risk Species in the Area: Western painted turtle, great blue heron and barn owl
Vaseux-Bighorn National Wildlife Area
80 km from Kelowna, British Columbia
It was originally created to protect the area’s California bighorn sheep but it also protects an important migration corridor that lets animals to travel safely from one area to the next.
At Risk Species in the Area: 30 species including western screech owl and western painted turtle
Cape Jourimain National Wildlife Area
95 km from Moncton, New Brunswick and 70 km from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
With 10 unique ecosystems, including marshes, sand dunes and forests, the area is home to many amazing animals, including 170 bird species, like waterfowl and shorebirds.
At Risk Species in the Area: Piping plover, peregrine falcon
Shepody National Wildlife Area
46 km from Moncton, New Brunswick
For millions of migrating shorebirds, like the semipalmated sandpiper, this is an excellent place to rest and recharge. That’s because its wetlands are filled with their main food source, mud shrimp. The area is also home for mammals like otters, bobcat, deer and moose.
At Risk Species in the Area: Least bittern
Chignecto National Wildlife Area
200 km from Halifax, Nova Scotia and 80 km from Moncton, New Brunswick
Found at the head of the Bay of Fundy, it’s home to 228 bird species, along with a variety of mammals including shrews, squirrels, moles, foxes, hares and woodchucks.
Big Creek National Wildlife Area
67 km from Woodstock, Ontario
These wetlands are home to countless birds, like ducks, swans and geese, along with many reptiles and amphibians. It is also an important stopover site for Monarch Butterflies during their migration.
At Risk Species in the Area: Least bittern, prothonotary warbler and swamp rose mallow
Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area
70 km from Belleville, Ontario
This is the place to be for bird lovers. With over 330 bird species stopping by, there isn’t a better spot along Lake Ontario where you will find more birds during migration.
At Risk Species in the Area: Whip-poor-will, red-headed woodpecker and least bittern
Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area
50 km from Quebec, Quebec
This area is an important stopover site for greater snow geese during their migration. In the fall and spring, tens of thousands of these geese can be seen throughout the marsh. It is also home other birds like woodpeckers and grouse, and mammals like bears and foxes.
At Risk Species in the Area: Peregrine falcon, bobolink and butternut tree
Lake Saint-François National Wildlife Area
120 km from Montreal, Quebec
This area is home to almost 300 animal species like turtles, salamanders, bats, beavers and deer, just to name a few. During migration, it becomes even busier as thousands of ducks and geese stop by.
At Risk Species in the Area: Yellow rail, map turtle and butternut tree
Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area
140 km from Regina, Saskatchewan
This area is home to the first federal bird sanctuary established in North America. More than 280 species of birds have been recorded here during migration.
At Risk Species in the Area: Peregrine falcon, piping plover, whooping crane, burrowing owl, ferruginous hawk, loggerhead shrike, Baird’s sparrow, Caspian tern, and Cooper’s hawk.
Click here to learn more about these National Wildlife Areas
Top Ten Things You Didn’t Know about Bumble Bees
Mmmm….wild blueberries and cranberries are delicious! In Northern Canada, wild berries are an important part of the traditional diet. We wouldn’t be able to enjoy these delicious treats without the help of pollinators, like the bumble bee. The flowers on these berries are enclosed so it takes a bumble bee’s long “tongue” to get to the plant’s nectar. Bumble bees release the pollen on these flowers by “buzzing” the muscles they use for flying. Some of this released pollen sticks to them and is transferred to other flowers, which pollinates the plants. Bumble bees are pretty amazing, and not just for their pollinating abilities. Check out this list of ten things you probably didn’t know about bumble bees.
1) There are 46 species of bumble bees in North America
Bumble bees are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic tundra to deserts and forests. They are important pollinators of many plant species within the diverse ecosystems of North America, including many of those found in Canada’s national parks!
2) Only female bumble bees have stingers
If you’ve ever been stung by a bumble bee it would have been a female since the males don’t have stingers.
3) Bumble bees eat pollen, nectar and bee poop, yuck!
Bumble bees have a protein rich diet of pollen and nectar, which sounds delicious, but their first meal isn’t so appetising. At the start of a bumble bee’s adult life they eat the feces of other bumble bees. This fecal matter has bacteria in it that helps the bumble bee’s immune system, protecting them from parasites.
4) Only the queen survives the winter
Bumble bee colonies die at the end of each growing season, only the queen survives to start a new colony in the spring. This is unlike honey bee colonies, where the queen and some members of the colony survive throughout the winter.
5) Bumble bees don’t mind the cold and they like the mountains
Bumble bees go in search of food in temperatures as low as 0 C. They stay warm by vibrating their flight muscles to generate heat. Bumble bee diversity tends to be the highest around mountain ranges. Nahanni National Park Reserve, which is located in the Northwest Territories’ Mackenzie Mountains, has at least 13 documented species of bumble bees! One of those species, the Western Bumble Bee, has been listed as a Special Concern by COSEWIC, which is why Earth Rangers took action to help protect them.
6) Bumble bee tongues come in different sizes
Bumble bee species have different lengths of tongues that match the flowers they feed on. This helps to reduce the competition for food between species because they aren’t all feeding off of the same flowers. Bumble bees with long tongues can reach the nectar in long tubular flowers, while medium and shorter-tongued species collect nectar from smaller flowers.
7) The cuckoo bumble bees are nest robbers
Instead of foraging for pollen or starting their own colonies, cuckoo bumble bees will take over the nests of other bee species. Even though they are thieves, cuckoo bumble bee species are still important for biodiversity and declines in their numbers can be a warning sign of change within the ecosystem. One rare cuckoo species, the Gypsy Cuckoo Bumble Bee has been found as far north as Ivvavik National Park!
8) Some plants trick bees into pollinating them
There are plant species that rely on bees for pollination even though they contain no nectar and the bees can’t get to their pollen. These plants have to “fool” the bees, getting them to come to them by using attractive scents, colors, and “guidance” markings that help lure the bees in. One flower that “fools” bees is the Venus’ Slipper (Calypso bulbosa). The Venus’ Slipper is a delicate wild orchid that lives in the boreal forest and it is one of the first plants to flower in the spring, it can be found in Canada’s national parks such as Wood Buffalo and Nahanni.
9) Bumble bees stay close to home
After foraging at various flowers, bumble bees will carry their collected pollen and nectar back to the nest to feed. The farthest they have been known to fly from the nest for foraging is 10 km.
10) Bumble bees don’t share their honey
Bumble bees only make a small amount of honey, which they eat themselves. It is honey bees that make lots of honey, enough for bee keepers to collect for us to eat.
Bees are threatened by habitat loss, but you can help! Take action to protect bees by planting a pollinator garden.
