How many animal species do you know of that are endangered? Sadly, it's a common problem—even if you're aware of the problem, it affects more animals that you'd think. But...
Where there is danger, there are heroes!
Where there is peril, there are stories of survival!
And a brand new exhibit at the Ontario Science Centre, Wildlife Rescue, has plenty of both.
So many ways to rescue
From pandas to condors, turtles to orangutans, bees, butterflies, and owls, there are many animals that rely on human conservation efforts to stay alive. And just as there are many different species in danger, there are many different strategies needed to help them survive.
Wildlife Rescue not only looks closely at many of these methods, it gives you a chance to get close to them. You can follow whooping cranes as a team helps them migrate for the first time from Wisconsin to Florida. You can crawl under traffic through a tunnel designed to protect turtles. Or maybe you'd like to teach baby elephants to use their trunks to grab objects? And then test your knowledge about oil spills to protect ocean wildlife? Like all of the exhibits at the Ontario Science Centre, there is tons of hands on stuff to do.
It all starts at home
Of course, most of us aren't going to find ourselves out in the field helping these animals directly. That's why, the exhibit's Home Front section focuses on ways that you can assist wildlife in your everyday life.
This exhibit is running all summer long in Toronto until September 4, 2017. Science North, the excellent science centre in Sudbury, Ontario, put together the exhibit. It has already completed a Northern Ontario tour to Sudbury, Kirkland Lake, Sault Ste. Marie, Kenora, and Thunder Bay.
Here's your chance to WIN!
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.
One of the animals in need of conservation are bats. Bats live all over Ontario and represent 1 in 5 mammal species in the world! But some of these species are in trouble. At the opening event for this exhibit, bat expert Cylita Guy talked about ways that we can help these fuzzy flyers. And we're giving one lucky OWLconnected reader a chance to help out at home with a bat-tastic prize pack!
It includes:
- Multi-pass good for up to 5 people to visit the Ontario Science Centre
- An Ontario Science Centre Bat House to decorate as a family (put this up outside your home to give a safe place for bats to roost!)
- Lots of Ontario Science Centre swag (buttons and pencils)
- Plus, Ontario Parks swag, too! (Species At Risk In Ontario colouring book, stickers, stencils, and a 2017 park guide)
For your chance to win the pack, just tell us:
What endangered animal would you like to help save?
Answer in the comments below. Good luck!
Contest is open to residents of Canada only. Transportation to the Ontario Science Centre is not provided and will be the responsibility of the winner. Contest closes on Friday, June 2nd at 11:59PM EST. Winner will be randomly chosen. Prize courtesy of the Ontario Science Centre. Full contest rules and regulations can be seen here.
I camp at the Pinery a lot and really like to see the Common Five-lined Skink. I love the colours and think they are pretty cool. Helping save the Skink is something I really want to do.
whats Pinery?
I wish I could save the Asian Elephant.
I’d like to help the endangered barn owls of Ontario.
We enjoy spending much of our summer outdoors. We observed some brown nosed bats at Beausoleil island making shelter in a dining shelter. This species needs our help.
🙂
I think Owls are truly amazing and they would be my choice.
Would like to save the Giant Panda
We were just talking the other day how we wanted to get a bat box to help with the mosquitos (that eat me alive).
We would also like to help save the orangutan.
We would want to save the Hippopotamus as it is my son’s favourite animal. Although it would be great to save them all.
So sad to hear our bats are endangered in ontario, but putting up a bat house sounds like a good idea for me to do. Thanks for the tip and contest information!
A soft spot for me will always be the Wood Bison. I had the pleasure of meeting one and he was a grand, dignified creature. It would be horrible to lose such a beautiful Canadian beast!
I miss seeing so many monarch butterflies around and would like to help save them.
The Arctic fox!
same:)
I would like to help save the Monarch Butterfly. They were everywhere when I was a kid and now it’s hard to find them. I miss seeing them.
I would like to help save pandas because whenever I go to the Toronto Zoo I see them and they are really CUTE!!!!!!
We would like to save the tigers, thanks for the chance to win
I would like to save bees and elephant
I would love to help save the Woodland Caribou! Thanks!
The mighty elephant. Such amazing animals but still horribly abused in many parts of the world.
The Barn Owl