Alberta, Ottawa commit $4.2M to help Calgary Zoo save sage grouse
Posted Jan 23, 2014 12:59 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Help is on the way from the province and the federal government to save the greater sage grouse to the tune of $4.2 million.
Thursday, each government’s minister of environment committed funding at the Calgary Zoo.
There are an estimated 93 to 138 birds left in the world.
Dr. Clément Lanthier, President & CEO of the Calgary Zoo, said they will breed the grouse at a ranch south of the city as in this case the Zoo site would not work.
“The animals will become familiar with humans and we want them to respect humans enough in a way that when a human being is approaching them, they need to act as normal as possible and get away,” said Lanthier.
The Calgary Zoo has set a goal to raise $1.1 million more for the the project.
Leona Aglukkaq, the Federal Environment Minister, said there will always be comments alleging the government didn’t act fast enough to save the species.
“What we can say today is that we are acting on it, we are acting with the people and organizations that have expertise,” said Aglukkaq.
She said the broader issue is figuring out how to mitigate impact on birds or wildlife as opposed to dealing with it at the crisis stage.
