A Kestrel’s Cautionary Tale

A Kestrel’s Cautionary Tale

A Kestrel’s Cautionary Tale Bird listed as climate threatened BY BRIAN American kestrels are usually spotted on high perches or hovering in open landscapes where the hunting is good. Rarely is North America’s smallest falcon found inside a fireplace in a Vancouver...
Local Vets Help MARS

Local Vets Help MARS

Local Vets Help MARS Help Wildlife  700 treated each year  BY RAY A duck with a broken leg, an owl with a damaged wing, or an eagle hit by a car all need emergency medical attention. Birds and animals with serious, life-threatening injuries require professional...
Helicopter Volunteer

Helicopter Volunteer

Lucky Auklet air-lifted to safety  BY BRIAN Norm Snihur, a helicopter owner and pilot, is a volunteer wildlife ambulance driver on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. When the former Air Canada pilot retired to the Comox Valley he became a wildlife volunteer and...
Rescuing Animals on Private Property

Rescuing Animals on Private Property

MARS is often called to respond to distressed or injured wildlife on private property, in particular local farms in the area. Yesterday we received a call about a swan that was unable to fly, but before entering the field, we contacted the land owner for permission....

Special Thanks to Thrifty’s

Thrifty Foods is kindly providing MARS with food for our Garage Sale Fundraiser on Saturday February 25th The garage sales takes place at the Big Yellow Merville Hall from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Community support is crucial to “not for profit” organizations and...
Let’s Hear It For WestJet!

Let’s Hear It For WestJet!

Once again WestJet has proven their desire to support the Community! They have graciously given MARS two free round trip tickets for our annual summer raffle. This covers all air travel fees, taxes and surcharges. Our raffle will start at Kitty Coleman spring Art...

Are Bird Strikes a Problem?

We had a couple of birds strike the temporary office set up on the old MARS site. The windows are reflecting the trees from across the parking lot. One of our staff members suggested rubbing a bar of soap on the windows until curtains can be hung. If you have an RV...
This Time Its Personal

This Time Its Personal

Throughout the year MARS hosts volunteer student interns for six week work placements. Students come from across Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia. Typically, student interns come to MARS for hands-on experience working with injured wildlife. Florence Norton...
Seal Pup Stranding Season

Seal Pup Stranding Season

Staff at a B.C. marine mammal rescue centre are busy caring for dozens of seal pups during what they call “stranding season.” The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue is currently looking after 50 seal pups that were rescued from across the province, including in...
New Wildlife Hospital & Interpretative Centre

New Wildlife Hospital & Interpretative Centre

MARS helps ill, injured, orphaned and oiled wildlife recover, then releases them back to into the wild. Our patient load has skyrocketed from just over 400 birds and mammals per year to over 700 in 2014 and nearly 800 this past year. It is a tribute to the ingenuity...