The Mauritius Kestrel: A Conservation Success Story
The Mauritius Kestrel was once the rarest bird in the world. The recovery of this species is one of the most inspiring conservation successes, and its story fills me with hope and optimism. The Mauritius Kestrel is a compact falcon with fierce, piercing eyes. It...
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Searching for early shrike migrants!
Hazel manages all aspects of our shrike recovery program, from captive breeding and release, field surveys, and landowner relationships in Ontario, to building partnerships with shrike researchers in the US to work towards species recovery throughout North...
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The Rorschach test for conservation biologists
One of the first things I learned about western painted turtles is that the patterns on their plastrons (a.k.a their lil' bellies) are unique. The patterns are like our finger prints, no two are exactly the same. They are so unique that we here at the Fraser Valley...
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Conservation Breeding to the Rescue – A tale of the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly
One of the things that sets Wildlife Preservation Canada apart from other conservation organizations is that we focus heavily on hands-on initiatives for critically endangered species. This means that our recovery strategies build upon a framework that is anchored by...
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Can we save endangered animals? We don't often get the chance to hear of success stories, but there is hope. ~ Credit: Center for Biological Diversity Aleutian Canada goose. Once nearly driven extinct by foxes introduced to their nesting islands in Alaska...
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Swift Foxes Repopulate the Prairies
Once common from Manitoba through Alberta, the swift fox vanished from the Canadian prairies in the 1930′s. A reintroduction program established a small but apparently self-sustaining population in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. Thanks to the...
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Jonathan Choquette
Lead Biologist – Ojibway Prairie Reptile Recovery Program
Jonathan manages the recovery program for the Ojibway population of the massasauga rattlesnake in Southern Ontario. Jonathan is a habitat expert, studying both biology and landscape architecture at the University of Guelph. As an academic for many years, Jonathan has published numerous articles about the importance of habitat for reptiles and amphibians.
Maja Hampson
Acting Lead Biologist – Fraser Valley Wetlands Program
Maja focused her career and Master’s thesis on captive wildlife, specifically big cats in captivity, until Andrea Gielens brought her over to the world of reptiles and amphibians. While Andrea is on leave, Maja will be leading the Oregon spotted frog, Western painted turtle and Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly recovery programs.
Hazel Wheeler
Lead Biologist – Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Recovery Program
Hazel manages all aspects of our shrike recovery program, from captive breeding and release, field surveys, and landowner relationships in Ontario, to building partnerships with shrike researchers in the US to work towards species recovery throughout North America. Hazel has been working with at-risk birds for over a decade, including a Master’s degree studying the habitat of the chimney swift.
Genevieve Rowe
Lead Biologist – Native Pollinator Initiative
Genevieve manages the native pollinator recovery programs across Canada. She has worked with renowned experts in the fields of pollinator ecology, taxonomy and systematics, and has taken part in various species at-risk monitoring and recovery programs, both nationally and internationally.
Andrea Gielens
(On leave) Lead Biologist – Fraser Valley Wetland Recovery Program
Andrea manages our captive breeding and release programs for the Oregon spotted frog and the coastal western painted turtle. Andrea has studied at-risk reptiles and amphibians in Canada and abroad, including a term at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in Jersey. Andrea also manages the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly recovery program on Denman Island in BC.
Jennifer Barden
Lead Reptile Recovery Technician – Ojibway Prairie Reptile Recovery
After living in Southern Ontario for most of her life, Jennifer moved to British Columbia and had the opportunity to work with the northern pacific rattlesnake in the South Okanagan, BC. This year she is back in Ontario working with the eastern massasauga rattlesnake as part of the OPRREC field team.
Liam Graham
Regional Field Biologist – Native Pollinator Initiative
Liam started with Wildlife Preservation Canada in 2016 raising yellow-banded bumble bee colonies in the lab, and was immediately hooked. This spring Liam became the Regional Field Biologist for Sudbury and the surrounding area, conducting bumble bee surveys and looking for yellow-banded bumble bee queens for our conservation breeding program. I’m looking forward to spending some time with the bees in their natural habitat!
Hayley Tompkins
Ontario Program Biologist – Native Pollinator Initiative
Hayley has worked for the Native Pollinator Initiative in a variety of roles since 2016, and has had a passion for bumble bees ever since. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree at the University of Guelph, studying the nesting ecology of bumble bees in Ontario.