May 16, 2017
It’s official! The new MARS wildlife hospital is operating with the help of solar power. A BIG warm “thank you” to the Comox Valley Community Foundation for providing funds to make it possible and to Sal McQuarrie and Ben Frank of Terratek Energy...
Apr 5, 2017
A typical day at the MARS Wildlife hospital contains the poignant reminder that it does not always end well for our patients. Many arrive dead on arrival, others die in transit to and from the facility. Sadness and tears associated with poor outcomes are as common as...
Apr 5, 2017
Operating the MARS Wildlife Rescue Centre is not easy or cheap. A Barn owl will eat as many as eight mice/day, an $8 food bill. A Tundra swan is tube fed a mixture of salad greens, cream corn and sweet potatoes as often as 10 times a day, a $50 bill. The Bald eagle’s...
Mar 18, 2017
The commercial herring roe fishery is a significant, fast paced event that has occurred off the coast of central Vancouver Island each spring for more than 40 years. “The Pacific coast herring are considered high quality and the roe is highly desired, especially in...
Mar 15, 2017
Hospital Contractor Boyhood Neighbour to Founder BY RAY When BP2 Construction was awarded the contract to build the new MARS wildlife hospital it closed a circle for Barry Page that began many years earlier. As a young boy, Page would ‘hang out’ with his friends who...
Mar 12, 2017
The New MARS Wildlife Rescue Centre Building underway, crucial completion funds needed In May, MARS took an historic first step towards recognizing the dream of founder Mary Jane “Maj” Birch to provide a multi-purpose wildlife rescue centre for the Comox...
Mar 12, 2017
Advertisement turns the lights on at MARS BY RAY One very ordinary day, Don Gulliver was having lunch with his wife in when he noticed a sign in a window – MARS Wildlife Rescue Centre was looking for volunteers. Gulliver is a foreman electrician with Courtenay-based...
Mar 8, 2017
Tundra Swan Rescued From Marsh Swans annual island visitors BY JAMIE MARS Supervisor of wildlife care, Reg Westcott, got more than his feet wet rescuing a weak and injured trumpeter swan from a pond on the edge of Comox Lake on Vancouver Island, BC. A concerned...
Mar 8, 2017
Barn Owl Hides From Rescuers Nocturnal hunter turns up in broad daylight BY BRIAN Nocturnal British Columbia Barn owls are seldom seen and are never on the ground in the daytime unless something is terribly wrong. A local resident walking her dog in the Comox Valley...
Mar 4, 2017
Donor gives wildlife hospital $50,000 BY RAY Comox Valley home-owner, Sharron Lewis, has donated $50,000 to help build the new MARS Wildlife Rescue Centre. The 11-acre facility in Merville, British Columbia will accommodate the dramatic increase in injured, ill and...
Mar 4, 2017
Founder leaves legacy to realize dream BY BRIAN Mary Jane “Maj” Birch had a dream — a new wildlife rescue and education centre. She did not live to see her dream realized. Cancer took her life on November 18, 2015. “Maj,” as she was known...
Mar 4, 2017
What’s For Dinner At MARS? Raven favours scrambled eggs! BY RAY What’s on the menu for patients at the MARS Wildlife Rescue Centre really depends on what’s available in the wild. Last year for instance, Fisheries and Oceans Canada dropped off a load of herring to our...
