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 The boreal forests of Northern Ontario
Canada are home to a great diversity of wildife. At our wilderness
resort you can have significant opportunities to see many types
of animals and birds native to the boreal forest. The two most
popular animals, and most common, animals to see are the magnificent
moose and the opportunistic Black Bear. Besides Moose and Black
Bear opportunities to see Mink, Otter and Lynx are also very
common although they are easy to miss. Timber Wolves, Pine Marten,
Fisher and other boreal forest wildlife are common in our area
but we do not see them very much because they are forest hunter
without much liking for water.
Moose
 Moose sightings are most common
in June and July, and fairly common in September. Although Moose
are the largest members of the Deer family, they are very different
from Deer. Aside from being approximately 4 times larger, they
are adapted to eating underwater palnts, and are mush more intelligent
than Deer. They are also not a herd animal and keep to themselves
most of the year. Deer also carry a number of diseases which
have little effect on Deer but are deadly to Moose.
In June and July the underwater plants
are growing and succulent in the wetlands of Wabatongushi where
the Moose spend hours grazing underwater. Moose Calves are generally
born in early June. Since the female moose "cow moose"
are ofter feeding in the water we generally get good sightings
of calves at this time of year. Black Bears are the biggest predators
of Moose, especially the calves, so the female moose keeps a
close eye on the forest edge. Because female moose do not wander
very far the female moose on Lake Wabatongushi have become very
used to our boats and really do not consider us a threat. We
can generally watch them for hours as long as we do not get too
close. In May the Moose are generally back from the waters edge
eating the new spring growth on the trees. In August the moose
again stay back from the waters edge eating the summer crop of
baerries and nuts. By September the berries and nuts are depleted
so the Moose again start grazing in the water. Male Moose,"Bull
Moose",lose their antlers every year. The start growing
a new set of antlers in May to early June. By late June the antlers
are getting fairly large and are generally full size by early
August when they start rubbing off the skin covering their antlers.
By early September the Moose antlers are fully formed and polished
ready for the mating season. The Moose generally start to call
and mate as soon as we get the first hard frost
Black Bears
Black Bears are one of the most intelligent and adaptable bear
species in the world. They are much more intelligent and adaptable
than their big blond cousin, the Grizzly Bear"  They are actually more intelligent
than most other animals. and in general behave much like their
small distant cousin, the raccoon. Black Bears are generally
Black, but can be reddish brown, brown and very rarely white.
Many have a white patch on their chest. Black Bears are the only
common bear species in Ontario. Polar Bears are the only other
bear species in Ontario but they can only be found in Ontario
far north around James Bay and Hudson Bay.
Black Bears entire life revolves around
food. First thing in the spring and through to the early July,
the Black Bears mostly eat insects, small animals, fish and spring
vegetation growth. If food is really scarce, Black Bears will
eat larger animals. Immediately after the ice goes out we see
black bears in the shallow streams where they feed on the spawning
Walleye and Suckers. Throughout the spring they also eats a lot
of the young animals so we occasionally see them tearing apart
beaver houses to get the young beaver which are not yet swimming
first thing in the spring. Black Bears will also raid any bird
nests they find.
As soon as the Dragon Flies start hatching
in early June the Black Bears start walking the shore line eating
the hatching Dragon Flies. This is unfortunate since the Dragon
Flies are the biggest predator of Black Flies and Mosquitos.
Because of our extensive wetlands we have more than enough Dragon
Flies to keep the Mosquito and Black Fly population low. In other
areas with less wetlands, the Black Bears can actually be responsible
for higher Mosquito and Black Fly populations because they eat
so many of the hatching Dragon Flies.
Black Bear cubs are born in January while
the female Black Bear,"sow bear" is "hibernating".
2 to 4 cubs are common. We do see the female bears with cubs
but they tend to be more wary than other bears because the other
bears, especially the amles, will kill and eat the cubs. The
cubs will stay with the female bear through their second winter
but she separates from them early in the spring of their second
year, when they are about 16 months old, because she is ready
to mate. Black Bears generally mate every second year. For more
information on Black Bears please go to www.OntarioBlackBears.com.
Mink
Mink are very common along the shoreline because their primary
diet is fish. They swim very well around the shallower areas
looking into creaces for small fish and cray fish. Because they
are small most people miss seeing them.
Otter
Otter tend to stay in the rivers and shallow bays, and small
ponds adjacent to Lake Wabatongushi. But they do come out into
the amin lake. Watch for periscope bobbing up out of the water.
If you are fishing, Otters will occasionally steal fish off stringers
when you are not watching.
Lynx
Lynx actually like the water and we occasionally see themm swimming
quite a way from land. They also hunt small rodents in the grassy
areas adjacent to the lake. Because of their colouring it is
very easy to miss seeing them.
Timber Wolves
Timber wolves are the largest species of wolf in the world. They
are very large, almost the size of a deer, which probably explains
why the few deer that migrate north into our area don't seem
to make it through the winter. Timber Wolves are very intelligent
but shy. They do not like water so we only see them very occasionally
along the lake shore. Timber Wolves will wade in the water to
cool themselves when the temperatures become really hot.
We hope you enjoyed this little bit of
information about our wild neighbours at Wilderness Island Resort.
Thank You
Al & Doris Errington
Books about Wildlife
-Linked to Amazon.com-
Wildlife Books
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American
Mammals
Mammals (National Audubon Society First Field Guide)
Black Bear books
Black Bear Country
The Wonder of Black Bears (Animal Wonders)
Moose Books
Ecology and Management of the North American Moose
Moose
Moose: Giants of the Northern Forest
For more information please contact us,
Al & Doris Errington, at:
 Errington's
Wilderness Island Resort
Wabatongushi Lake * Ontario * Canada
P.O. Box 22057, 44 Great Northern Road
Sault Ste.. Marie ON P6B-6H4 CANADA
Tel/Fax May - Sept. (705)884-2215 Tel/Fax Oct. - Apr. (705)946-2010
Web Site - http://www.WildernessIsland.com
Email - Vacation "at symbol"
WildernessIsland "dot" com
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