Skip to content

Heavy snow affects wildlife

Biologists are concerned that the large build up of snow may impact the regular annual feeding times for animals in the early spring time.

Locals are saying this year has been the worst winter since 1996/97, which had a significant impact on wildlife. Biologists in the area are concerned that the large build up of snow may impact the regular annual feeding times for animals in the early spring time.

“The way this winter’s been going, unless things change quick, we’re going to see higher mortality rates over winter for many (wildlife) species,” said Kim Poole, certified wildlife biologist and owner/operator of Aurora Wildlife Research out of Nelson, B.C. “Every species in your area (Elk Valley), the elk, the sheep, the goats, the deer, they all have different niches and ways of coping with it. But you can be sure that this is going to probably knock back things more than normal.”

Kim Poole, is a Certified Wildlife Biologist with 33 years of experience in public and private sectors throughout western Canada. He has worked extensively in the NWT/Nunavut area as well as British Columbia.

During the fall, animals put on as much fat as possible in order to last through the winter. The males often go into winters in rough shape, as their priority around this time is breeding, rather than food. The species hit hardest during the winter are those relying on an early spring green, which seems distant considering the amount of snow recently fallen in the Elk Valley.

Starvation is the main issue, but when animals are restricted in their movement and desperate for food, they put themselves at risk of exposure to predators and civilian motorways.

Deep snow can affect many animals in negative ways.

“The sheep in the Elk Valley differ from the ones that are in the Columbia Valley, in the sense that they winter at high elevation on these windswept, south facing slopes,” said Poole.

Sheep in the Elk Valley take advantage of higher elevation, open native grasslands which have to be windswept with little to no snow deposition. If the snow becomes too deep, the mortality rate will rise.

“My gut’s telling me it’s going to be a bit of a rough winter,” said Poole.

Even if the snow is deep now, the animals usually have enough food stored to survive through the winter. The critical time will be around March or early April, when the snow starts to melt.

Poole believes that if we get an early melt, good sun, nice wind, and snow gets removed quickly on high elevation slopes, disaster will be avoided. However even a two to three week delay of the melt could pose risks for wildlife.

Regardless, a plus-ten temperature span for two weeks could wipe most snow away, giving animals a chance to feed in the early spring. In Poole’s eyes, only time will tell.

“It’s a little hard to predict but the cards are a bit stacked against them with all the snow that’s to come,” said Poole.