1 - , Aug. 17
A lazy sea otter caused a scene in the summer when it took a Sooke paddle boarder by surprise, climbing onboard for a lift to shore.
“At first I thought it was escaping from some predators, but it showed no sign of stress, distress or injury,” said Joanie Paquin, who was exploring the waters off a Sooke beach with her sister. “It was happily just being cute and catching a ride.
“It is an encounter I will remember and cherish."
Whilst the experience was an unforgettable one, she and her sister were nervous being so close to a wild animal.
Keeping as much of a safe distance as they could from the otter, Paquin steered the paddle board back to shore allowing her and sister to disembark and give the animal space to return to the water.
“Otters can be vicious and it is important to remember that they are wild animals,” Paquin said.
A warning many in Central Saanich had reason to take heed of ... (see No. 10).
2 - , Nov. 25
Greater Victoria’s wild 'neigh-bears' caused a stir in 2024 with multiple sightings and encounters across the region.
In Colwood, a stubborn sow, her three cubs and their refusal to leave an area of Royal Bay kept locals entertained. The B.C. Conservation Officer Service made two attempts to relocate the bears – with the last in late November proving successful so far as they have not (yet) returned.
In a more recent incident, a Sooke man's close encounter left him with a mouthful of bear spray when he tried to help a bruin trapped inside a fenced garbage area.
But it was the plight of three orphaned bear cubs in Sooke which tugged at the heartstrings of most readers.
The trio was left without a mother on Nov. 14, when the sow was hit by a vehicle and killed. Wild Wise blamed easy access to garbage as the cause of the accident.
In the days following, the cubs took refuge in a tree overhanging the ocean, which made retrieval impossible.
When the bears descended from the tree under the cover of darkness, they disappeared.
To help locate the cubs, the public was asked to report all real-time sightings to the Conservation Officer Service.
”Experts have advised us that these cubs are approximately 10 months old and appear healthy," said Wild Wise in a statement on Nov. 24. "[They are] at an age where they would likely be weaning.
"Many have advised us that there is a possibility they may hibernate together and survive on their own."
As of Dec. 19, there have been no further updates about the triplets on the lam – hopefully, we'll see them alive and well in the spring.
3 - April 29
The catastrophic moult of a juvenile elephant seal in Greater Victoria spurred an epic game of Where’s Emerson this spring.
Moulting elephant seals aren’t uncommon on Greater Victoria shores, but one in particular has a penchant for playing in traffic. It’s just one reason the juvenile male seal, dubbed Emerson by fans (and he has many), was relocated several times this spring.
Emerson returned April 1, landing on the shores of the Gorge Waterway's . Due to his popularity and fondness for roadways, he was relocated and quickly reappeared on the other side of the region.
“He’s been all over different beaches in Oak Bay and Victoria the past week and a half, two weeks. It’s kind of like, it’s not Where’s Waldo it’s Where’s Emerson. So that’s been a challenge,” Paul Cottrell, marine mammal coordinator with Fisheries and Oceans Canada said at the end of April.
4 - , March 21
Anything abnormal under the Salish Sea garners attention in Greater Victoria so it’s not surprise readers loved the unusual deep-sea creature captured in photos by a snorkeller on the first day of spring.
Avid weekend diver and longtime Greater Victoria resident Steph Brulot-Sawchyn headed into the waves near Clover Point on March 19 alongside his brother, who quickly spotted something unusual – a two-foot-long transparent creature with a jellyfish look that neither of them recognized.
He snapped a photo and shared it on the Field Naturalists of Vancouver Island Facebook page where the popular item was identified as a siphonophore – a deep sea organism.
They were right about it being unusual: giant siphonophore generally live in the mesopelagic zone, 300 to 700 metres under the sea,
In their usual mesopelagic – think middle sea – habitat, praya can be 30 to 50 metres long. Being so close to the surface, Moira Galbraith a marine biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada said it was unlikely the one photographed would wind up washed on shore.
If it did, no one got a picture and posted it online.
5 - - Sept. 11
As they walked along the beach south of Esquimalt Lagoon, Cobble Hill resident Melinda Kendall and her stepmother made the puzzling discovery of a nearly intact carcass of a horned sheep lying on its side.
Initially thought to be a bighorn sheep, the animal's pristine condition and unexpected location hundreds of kilometres from its native habitat in the Canadian Rockies raised many questions.
In a written statement to the Goldstream Gazette, The Ministry of Water, Land, and Resource Stewardship identified the dead sheep as a domestic mouflon ram, not a wild species.
Experts estimated the ram was around six years old and may have drifted from a nearby herd and ended up ashore.
Mouflons, native to parts of the Middle East and Mediterranean Europe, are considered ancestors of modern domestic sheep. These horned animals can grow up to one to two metres long and weigh as much as 55 kilograms.
6 - - Nov. 8
Two deer attacks in Greater Victoria prompted warnings from wildlife experts this year.
On Nov. 4, after letting his dog into his backyard, a Fernwood resident heard a yelp and rushed outside to check on his pet.
“Without warning, the owner was knocked down by a buck, which continued hitting him with its antlers,” the Conservation Officer Service said in an email. “The owner suffered minor injuries and managed to fight the deer off.”
The dog wasn’t as lucky, however, and was forced to undergo surgery.
It was the second deer attack in six days, following a similar incident in Oak Bay on Oct. 30, when a resident let their dog outside after dark.
The dog was speared by its antlers, sustaining a “three-to-four-inch puncture” in its chest and was later put down.
Aggressive behaviour is normal during breeding season, also called the rut, according to Lisa Lopez, the program manager of the outdoor education group WildSafeBC.
7 - , Oct. 4
Youbou is known for naming its wildlife, taking a Metchosin moniker for its latest rambunctious elk.
The community nestled on the shores of Lake Cowichan has long honoured its wildlife, with many an elk becoming local celebrities.
The latest to get a name was spotted with a rope tangled in its antlers this fall. Thus it was dubbed Jesse Roper – after the popular singer-songwriter from Metchosin.
“They’re both Island staples, elk and Jesse Roper – now there’s two,” Ash said.
8 - , Oct. 7
Killer whale sightings off the coastline of Greater Victoria never prove tiresome, so it comes as no surprise the marine mammals continued to make a splash in the news in 2024.
But the family of orphan orca, Brave Little Hunter, caused the biggest splash in October when it visited Victoria’s Inner Harbour.
A pod of five, identified as T109As, was caught on camera by former whale-watching tour operator Jackie Cowan.
Among them was the grandmother of Brave Little Hunter, the famous calf, which has been surviving alone in the wild after escaping from a tidal lagoon off northwest Vancouver Island in late April. There was no sign of the calf with the pod.
"I had been staring out at the harbour for years, waiting for this moment,” said Cowan. “I was vibrating all over.”
9 - , Oct. 23
More commonly found in the wilds of Madagascar and Africa, a chameleon out for a stroll in Sooke had eyebrows raised in October.
“Anyone missing a chameleon by the sports box off Phillips Road?” said Tanya Green in a social media post, which sparked a frenzied search for the lizard on the loose.
More than 20 people turned up to help find the animal, known for their ability to change colour to camouflage themselves against their surroundings.
Against all the odds, the reptile was found and taken into the care of staff at Sooke Veterinary Hospital.
And his rescue came just in the nick of time, with temperatures plummeting, and showing signs of dehydration and a weakened immune system, the cold-blooded chameleon was potentially days away from death.
The chameleon’s good luck continued when thanks to the Sooke News Mirror story, his owners came forward to claim him.
It was then vet clinic staff discovered just how incredible Zeke the chameleon’s story was – he had been missing since mid-August.
How the domesticated chameleon survived over two months in the wild remains a mystery, but vet Dr Andrew Crookes, who has a special interest in exotic pets, said Sooke’s semi-Mediterranean climate in August and September will have met Zeke’s needs “reasonably well.”
Regardless of how Zeke survived, there is one thing Crookes is certain of. “He’s one tough critter,” he said. “I'm pretty blown away by his story."
10 - , Aug. 19
In stark contrast to Sooke’s cute paddle-boarding sea otter, visitors to a popular Central Saanich beach were on the lookout for a bevy of aggressive river otters.
According to witnesses, the otters were "targeting" dogs, with one encounter proving fatal.
A married couple who witnessed the first attack in late July at Island View Beach, said they saw a golden retriever swim toward a group of otters who quickly turned on the dog, biting and holding it underwater.
The woman said a man ran into the water to help the dog, but when he also showed signs of distress, her husband went in after them.
“And so my husband started doing a rescue, like a person, keeping the (dog’s) head up,” she said. “And the otters just continued darting at them until they got in. Then people were throwing things to try to scare the otters.”
According to unconfirmed reports, the dog was later euthanized because of its injuries.
Weeks later, James Younger and his dog Lou were confronted by five aggressive river otters at the same beach.
“They came out of the water in front of me, in a line, making these really weird grunting and growling sounds,” Younger said.
In an attempt to defend himself and his dog, Younger picked up a seven-foot log, swinging it back and forth, yelling at the otters, which he describes as “vile, evil and nasty creatures.”
The professional dog walker said he believes the otters are targeting dogs, specifically those that resemble golden retrievers, which he says is a learned behaviour from previous generations of the same otter family.
In an attempt to raise awareness, the Capital Regional District developed temporary 'caution otter in area' signs for the beach.
