A father and his two children who suffered severe burns in a Springfield, Ont. house fire have undergone surgery.
It's not just Fat Bear Week in Alaska. Trail cameras are also capturing wolves, moose and more
Millions of people worldwide tuned in for a remote Alaska national parkβs βFat Bear Weekβ celebration this month, as captivating livestream camera footage caught the chubby predators chomping on salmon and fattening up for the winter.
But in the vast state known for its abundant wildlife, the magical and sometimes violent world of wild animals can be found close to home.
Within half a mile of a well-populated neighbourhood in Anchorage, the stateβs biggest city, several trail cameras regularly capture animals ranging in size from wolverines to moose. And a Facebook group that features the animals caught on webcams has seen its number of followers grow nearly six-fold since September, when it posted footage of a wolf pack taking down a moose yearling.
But itβs not all doom-and-gloom videos on the page, and the actual death of the moose calf was not shown. The group, named Muldoon Area Trail Photos and Videos, also features light-hearted moments such as two brown bear cubs standing on their hind legs and enthusiastically rubbing their backs against either side of a tree to mark it.
Ten cameras capture lynx, wolves, foxes, coyotes, eagles, and black and brown bears β "just whatever is out here,β said Donna Gail Shaw, a co-administrator of the Facebook group.
This image made from video provided by Donna Gail Shaw shows a view from a trail camera of a brown bear and cub on July 18, 2024, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Donna Gail Shaw via AP)
In addition to the 290,000 or so human residents of Anchorage, nearly 350 black bears, 65 brown bears and 1,600 moose also call it home.
Joe Cantil, a retired tribal health worker, said the idea for the page started when looking down at the vast open lands of Alaska from an airplane on a hunting trip near Fairbanks.
βYouβre out in the middle of nowhere, so you see animals acting however they act whenever weβre not around,β he said.
He later met wildlife officials in the Anchorage park conducting an inventory of predators. He saw them set up a trap and three webcams where a moose had been killed.
βWhen I saw that, I thought, βYeah, I can do that,ββ he said.
Cantil set up a low-tech camera, and caught his first animal on it, a wolverine, fueling a passion that led to the creation of the Facebook page in 2017.
This image made from video provided by Donna Gail Shaw shows a view from a trail camera of a coyote on March 15, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Donna Gail Shaw via AP)
Then, while hiking, he met Shaw, a retired science education professor and associate dean of the College of Education at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Shaw was intrigued by his game cameras and began bugging him to see the footage.
βWell, he finally got tired of me pestering him and one day he said, βYou know, you can get your own camera,β and so that started my hobby," said Shaw, a native of Texas.
This image made from video provided by Donna Gail Shaw shows a view from a trail camera of wolves attacking moose on Sept. 12, 2024, in Anchorage, Alaska. (Donna Gail Shaw via AP)
She started by strapping a single US$60 camera to a tree. Now she has nine cameras, seven of which are active in Far North Bicentennial Park, a 4,000-acre (1,619-hectare) park stretching for miles along the front range of the Chugach Mountains on the east side of Anchorage.
Her cameras are set up anywhere between a quarter-mile to a half-mile (402 metres to 804 metres) of the Chugach Foothills neighbourhood and she frequently posts to the Facebook group page. Cantil also posts videos from his three cameras.
βI knew there was wildlife out here because I would occasionally run into a moose or a bear on the trail, but I didnβt know how much wildlife was out here until I put the cameras on it,β Shaw said.
She replaces batteries and storage cards about once a week, walking into the woods to do so armed with an air horn to announce her presence, two cans of bear spray and a .44 calibre handgun for protection.
A trail camera is set up on Sept. 26, 2024, near a populated neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
Many of the pageβs followers are Anchorage residents looking for information about which animals may currently be roaming around the popular trail system. Other users join to see what the cameras capture, including people from other states who βenjoy looking at the wildlife that we have here,β she said.
Shaw said that every few weeks, her cameras catch a wolf or two β and sometimes even a pack. This year she was surprised when a pack of five wolves came by, walking quietly in a single file.
Last month, while she collected memory cards, she saw moose fur on the ground across the creek from two of her cameras. After she spotted what looked like a roughed-up patch of dirt where a bear might bury its kill, she assumed it was another moose attacked by a black bear, similar to what happened earlier not too far away.
But when she checked the memory card, it instead showed the wolves taking down the moose yearling as the mooseβs mother attempted to protect her offspring by trying to kick the wolves away with her long legs.
Now, the demand for the page is growing, but Shaw said she's done adding cameras.
βI think I'm at my camera max,β she said. βNine is enough!β
Joe Cantil, left, and Donna Gail Shaw, pose for a photo on Sept. 26, 2024, in Anchorage, Alaska. The two are the co-administrators of a Facebook group that features wildlife videos captured on their trail cameras very near a populated Anchorage neighborhood. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police have confirmed the body of an employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax over the weekend was found in a walk-in oven.
'We all got through it': Canadian family stuck in Cuba recalls ordeal amid massive blackout
Ellen Francis says she and her family were having a great time at one of Cuba's famously stunning beaches and exploring the popular tourist town of Varadero when the situation turned into something like a scary movie.
Cooldown expected across Canada before above-seasonal temperatures return
Canada is getting served a smorgasbord of weather this week. The West saw its first sign of winter, while the eastern half of Canada experienced summer-like temperatures on Tuesday.
Man charged after attempting to force his way into the House of Commons: police
On the tenth anniversary of the shooting on Parliament Hill, a man was arrested and charged with trespassing as he attempted to push past security guards into the House of Commons.
One dead in multistate E. coli outbreak tied to McDonald's Quarter Pounders, CDC says
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a food safety alert Tuesday regarding an E. coli outbreak that it says is linked with McDonaldβs Quarter Pounders.
Former Conservative leader says Trudeau 'should move on' amid efforts to oust him
Former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'should move on,' as he faces growing inner-caucus turmoil.
Kevin Vickers says 'not a day that goes by' he doesn't think about Parliament Hill shooting
On the 10-year anniversary of the deadly Parliament Hill shooting, former sergeant-at-arms Kevin Vickers says there's 'not a day that goes by' where he doesn't think about it.
With the B.C. election too close to call, Dr. Bonnie Henry was asked Tuesday how she feels about the possibility of a party that has repeatedly called for her firing forming government.
Local Spotlight
Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.
A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.
A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.
A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.
Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.
Looking for a scare with good intentions this Halloween season? The ghosts and ghouls of Eganville, Ont. invite families to tour the Haunted Walk at Lekbor Manor.
The image of a sleepy Saskatchewan small town with 'not a lot going on' is a well-known anecdote. However, one Saskatchewan company is hoping to change that β and allow communities both on and off the beaten path to share their stories and advertise what they have to offer.
A Moncton, N.B., home has been donated to the Friends of The Moncton Hospital Foundation and will be transformed into a resource hub for people living with cancer.
A Nova Scotia man crossing Canada on foot is passing through southwestern Ontario. Trevor Redmond is perhaps better known as the βFellow in Yellow.β