April 2001
Editor's Notes
by Kristin McCahon
There are many ways to protect the environment and its wildlife—and celebrate Earth Day—as this issue of Fraser Forum goes on to explain. I have found my own way to do so.
It all started one evening a few months ago, when one of my cats rushed inside, and galloped over to drop a little creature at my feet. This "presentation of gifts" occurs every so often, though usually with less dramatic flair than on this occasion. Often a dead bird or small rat is left in a little heap in the kitchen for me to find at my convenience.
This night, though, the present was different. I couldn't identify it—at least not with any certainty. It was a mammal, smaller than a squirrel, but with very large eyes, long "fingers," soft folds of skin running down its sides, and an exceptionally long, impossibly flat tail. The cat had dropped it upside down on the carpet where it lay motionless, except for its heavy breathing. It was obviously traumatized, but seemed otherwise unhurt.
As an experienced recipient of feline largesse, I knew what to do. I locked the cat in a nearby bathroom and gently placed the creature inside a small box on an old towel. Then off in the car to a long-admired saviour of wildlife in BC's lower mainland: the Wildlife Rescue Association of BC.
Staffed mainly with volunteers and financed on a shoestring, this organization, like others of its kind across Canada, handles situations just like mine. The dedicated volunteers rescue injured and abandoned wildlife and often give their own money as well as time to the cause, because there never is enough funding to do all the rescue work needed. There is no bloated bureaucracy here; in fact, at this organization, what bureaucracy there is also helps rescue animals.
When I arrived, the team sprang into action. Identified as a flying squirrel, my creature was taken away to be weighed and checked for cat bites. I was told that the animal would be monitored by "the flying squirrel lady" and, if all was well, would be released in a safe place a few days later.
This wildlife charity and others like it make a significant difference to the well-being of local wildlife, and thus in a very tangible way help preserve our environment. To celebrate this Earth Day, I will offer some of my financial support to the Wildlife Rescue Association of BC.
—Kristin McCahon, Editor
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