The British Columbia Conservation Officer Service's Report All Poachers and Polluters phone service averages more than 30,000 calls every year. Some are more serious than others.
The role of a Conservation Officer can be diverse and they have a great deal of ground to cover.
Here's the top 10 list of some of this year's calls that left them scratching their heads, posted to the organization's Facebook page:
Deer with a Lopsided Ear—Caller states she saw a deer with a lopsided ear walking across the street.
Cougar with a Pink Collar—Caller isn’t sure, but there may have been a cougar in her backyard two days ago drinking water from her pond. She mentioned it had a pink collar at the end of the call.
Cat Fight—Caller advises that her two indoor cats were screaming and freaking out last night. The caller woke up to something jumping against the bedroom window. The caller thinks it was a large cat.
Rustling in the Bushes—Caller advises that he was walking home and heard rustling in the bushes. He is not sure what it was but says it was not a cat, dog, raccoon or snake.
Spooky Siesta—Caller reports seeing a light brown and white animal in his backyard sleeping. The caller is very concerned why this animal chose his backyard to rest in (no address or further animal description was given).
Bear Compensation?—Caller is frustrated that a bear repeatedly keeps damaging her shed to get to the garbage stored inside. She is wondering how she can get compensated for the damage.
Smoky Situation—Roommate was burning charcoal and cardboard in a portable barbecue directly under the caller's open bedroom window, which filled with smoke. The caller has health issues and roommate knows this. Caller would like someone to tell his roommate not to burn so close to the house.
Bird Feeders—Caller reports a black bear that came to his property and got into a bird feeder in his yard, even knocking over a fence and post to access it. The caller stated he then moved the bird feeder onto the porch.
Otter Orthodontics—Caller states an otter is sitting on a log and appears to be irritated with its mouth.
Porcupine Nests—Caller advises he has two nests on his property from an unknown species. He thinks they could be porcupines but not entirely sure.
The BCCOS is a public safety provider focused on natural resource law enforcement and human wildlife conflicts prevention and response.
