Elephant seal reportedly fleeing off-leash dogs rescued from side of Saanich highway
Elephant seal reportedly fleeing off-leash dogs rescued from side of Saanich highway
A wayward elephant seal that was spotted off the side of the Trans-Canada Highway in Saanich was safely relocated by police and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) on Monday.
Saanich police say they received a report of the seal lying in an embankment on the side of the highway near Burnside Road West just after 1 p.m.
Police passed the information on to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and officers with Saanich police and the DFO met at the side of the highway.
The groups then worked together to move the moulting elephant seal to the nearby Colquitz Creek.
"The poor thing was super tired," said Mandy Ludlow, a DFO officer and detachment commander for southern Vancouver Island.
Ludlow says it was a difficult operation escorting the approximately 250 to 285 pound seal back to the waters of Colquitz Creek.
The fishery officer says the seal was spooked from its moulting spot near the creek by off-leash dogs and humans.
"It hauled out of Colquitz Creek, according to witnesses, because people and off-leash dogs were coming up to it, which triggers a response to the animal to get the heck out of there," she said.
"So the poor thing hauled across the long flat area, across a bank and stumps, across a walking trail, and then across another bank and another walking trail – and it was accosted by dogs again," said Ludlow.
The fishery officer estimates that the DFO and Saanich police officers spent about three hours trying to coax the seal back along the path it came from, and that dogs continued to pester the marine mammal.
"During that time there were several off-leash dogs that came and disturbed it," she said.
"I was pretty disappointed. One owner didn't even have a leash and armed officers were trying to tell the owner to get it under control, and it really wasn't," she added.
Ludlow says she'll be following up with the District of Saanich about animal control in the area, since other wildlife, such as migratory birds, also take sanctuary in the region.
She urges people to respect wildlife and to keep their pets under control.
Elephant seals usually spend one month each year coming on shore to moult.
Moulting involves shedding all of the seal's fur and underlying layer of skin, according to the DFO website.
During this time, the seals can look sickly and lose up to 25 per cent of their body weight. However, the process is normal, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
People who see a moulting elephant seal should keep their distance and not bother the animal.
"It may look slow and harmless, but [the seal] is capable of moving very quickly and could be dangerous if it feels threatened," reads the DFO website.
"If you see an animal being harassed or injured or an injured or sick animal exhibiting highly unusual behaviour, please call DFO’s Observe, Record and Report 24-hour hotline at 1-800-465-4336."
Canada's jobless rate ticked higher to 5.2 per cent in May, marking the first increase since August 2022 as economists have been watching for any sign of a softening labour market.
The father of Tori Stafford, an Ontario girl who was murdered in 2009, says the latest decision to transfer convicted killer Paul Bernardo to a minimum security prison is a 'slap in the face' to all murder victims' families.
Donald Trump said Thursday that he was indicted for mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, a remarkable development that makes him the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges by the federal government that he once oversaw.
Anthaea-Grace Patricia Dennis is not your typical 12-year-old. She is a child prodigy who's about to become the youngest Canadian to ever graduate from university.
A little white pill has given Syrian President Bashar Assad powerful leverage with his Arab neighbours, who have been willing to bring him out of pariah status in hopes he will stop the flow of highly addictive Captagon amphetamines out of Syria.
Smoke and flames continue to engulf much of Canada, with Alberta imposing new evacuation orders, Manitoba bracing for heavy, lightning-generating thunderstorms and high wildfire risks and poor air quality from coast to coast.
'Kids are being massacred in their schools, literally … their heads are being decapitated because of the power of an assault bullet, (which) is unlike anything, no other weapon,' says gun violence prevention activist Samuel Schwartz, who is among the organizers of a sit-in demanding change on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Tumbler Ridge, a community with a population of 2,400 in northeastern B.C., has been ordered to evacuate Thursday due to the danger posed by an encroaching wildfire.
A day after the NDP government presented its 30-point plan to address the crisis at Surrey Memorial Hospital, the official Opposition is pledging to build a tower, while acknowledging their role in the situation.
Court records show defrocked Oblate priest Eric Dejaeger is facing six charges of indecent assault and two charges of sexual assault for crimes he allegedly committed in Nunavut between 1978 and 1982.
Video has surfaced showing a Mississauga, Ont. transit bus plowing into stopped traffic in a crash that left one person dead and at least eight injured on Thursday morning.
Quebec's precarious wildfire situation is expected to remain stable over the next 48 hours but residents displaced by the raging forest fires likely won't be able to return home until early next week, Premier Francois Legault said Thursday.
An Ontario man charged Wednesday with first-degree murder in the death of Claudia Iacono, the daughter-in-law of the late Montreal Mafia associate Moreno Gallo, was arrested the day after the killing in Ontario on unrelated drug charges, public records show.
Lyme disease in Quebec was back on the rise in 2021, following a brief slowdown in 2020. Of the 650 cases of Lyme disease acquired in Quebec, Estrie was again the most affected region. With 452 cases, it accounts for nearly 70 per cent of all infections in the province.
The Halifax Regional Municipality says it will announce Thursday when more residents can return to their homes in communities impacted by the Tantallon wildfires.
New Brunswick students under the age of 16 who identify as trans and non-binary won't be able to officially change their names or pronouns in school without parental consent.
Two years after two statues were knocked down and damaged at the Manitoba Legislature, one is now back up and Indigenous leaders are upset by the decision.
Donald Trump said Thursday that he was indicted for mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, a remarkable development that makes him the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges by the federal government that he once oversaw.
Scoring the opening goal of game three of the Stanley Cup finals wasn’t the only celebration Florida Panthers defenceman Brandon Montour was a part of this week.
A joint investigation between police in Waterloo region and Woodstock has led to the seizure of hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of drugs, cash, and cars, as well as four people being arrested.
Canada's jobless rate ticked higher to 5.2 per cent in May, marking the first increase since August 2022 as economists have been watching for any sign of a softening labour market.
A driver accused of being impaired and having open liquor in the vehicle faces several charges after allegedly speeding along Highway 400 in Oro-Medonte.
A man who killed his ex-wife’s cousin will spend life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years, a judge decided on Thursday at Saskatoon’s Court of King’s Bench.
Canada's jobless rate ticked higher to 5.2 per cent in May, marking the first increase since August 2022 as economists have been watching for any sign of a softening labour market.
The number of active wildfires in northern Ontario has grown, but more of them are under control as the fight continues. Here is what you need to know.
