Internal RCMP documents show police saw potential for human-wolf “conflict” after the animals escaped their enclosure at the Greater Vancouver Zoo in August, while the facility announced there was no danger to the public.
The zoo in Aldergrove was shut for three days from Aug. 16 as workers and conservation officers searched for the wolves, which Langley RCMP said got loose when someone deliberately cut a hole in their pen.
Documents provided to The Canadian Press under a freedom of information request reveal discussions between conservation officers, government officials and zoo staff over safety risks and what to tell the public, and confusion over how many animals escaped as they decided who was responsible for the capture.
Government officials and police raise the safety implications of a wolf making it off the zoo grounds. At least two wolves did so, including an adult that was later found dead by a public road.
The documents refer to zoo staff telling conservation officers on the morning of Aug. 16 that at least one wolf may have escaped the grounds. The facility issued a statement the same day saying “there is no danger to the public”.
In an email chain from that day, government spokesman Andrew Patrick said the matter would become a public safety issue once a wolf was deemed outside the confines of the facility. At that point, he said, the conservation service and RCMP would take the lead.
Chris Doyle, deputy chief at B.C. Conservation Officer Service, wrote that zoo vets told the service that the wolves posed no threat to public or livestock as the animals were “very timid towards humans.”
An hour later, he said the animals were “not a public safety risk” and the service did not need to respond until they showed behaviour that was “a moderate or high risk to the public.”
“That threshold has not been met to this point. Currently, the ZOO is leading the response,” he wrote.
But government official Paul Corns urged his colleagues not to “downplay public risk.”
A separate internal report from Langley RCMP the same day lists the potential for “conflict” between human or domestic animals and one escaped wolf as a strategic consideration, if it had in fact escaped the zoo grounds.
The zoo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Text messages from a group chat of conservation officers the morning of the escape also reveal a debate around how much force should be used to capture the wolves.
“Idea is to try and drug them and get them back in their pen so have lots of drugs,” conservation officer Jack Trudgian wrote in a text.
The goal, he added, was to “try and keep them alive.”
Another document illustrates the chaotic scene that ensued as workers and conservation officers used darts to sedate, capture and return the animals to their pen.
The report by Emergency Management BC said initial information from the zoo the morning of Aug. 16 indicated that “at least one wolf may have escaped the zoo grounds.”
It provides a play-by-play following a staff member’s early morning discovery of the hole in the enclosure.
It said three pups remained inside the enclosure and about five others had initially been spotted in the zoo’s animatronic dinosaur exhibit.
The report said workers tried to usher the wolves back toward their enclosure, but the conservation service responded and helped recapture three of the wolves.
“Zoo workers ended up seeing a wolf in the dinosaur exhibit, and wildlife vet Ken McQuist was able to dart it and immobilize it,” it said.
The report said a conservation officer then shot another large wolf with a dart that later “succumbed to the drugs in the creek” and staff had to quickly retrieve the wolf “before its head went under the water.”
The third wolf, found near grizzly exhibit, was fired at twice and hit with a dart on the second attempt.
The zoo’s deputy general manager Menita Prasad told media two days later, on Aug. 18, that two grey wolves had left the property, but that all others had been safely returned.
She then confirmed one of the two wolves, a three-year-old female called Chia, had found dead on a roadside.
The search officially ended the next day when the last wolf, a one-year-old female canine named Tempest, was found safe and returned to its pack.
Langley RCMP said at the time that it was investigating the incident as a suspected case of unlawful entry and vandalism. The zoo reopened the following weekend.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2022.
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
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The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
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