Peafowl Can Now Roam The Grounds At Riverview Park & Zoo

The Riverview Park & Zoo put out a message on Facebook about peafowl now being allowed to roam the grounds that is getting great response—with people fondly recalling when the peafowl used to be able to do this or excited to see it for the first time through their kid's eyes.

"We saw them today!! My daughter was SO excited when we found them!!" one mother posted on the zoo's Facebook page, along with this photo below.

"Last Wednesday we released several of our Common Peafowl on the zoo grounds," Jim Moloney, the zoo's Manager & Curator, tells PTBOCanada. "We have done this with the intent of allowing these birds to roam the property. The objective of the release was to allow more room for the birds to explore, providing them with additional enrichment in their lives and to allow an unobstructed view of the Peafowl by our guests."

Peafowl chillin' out

"We are asking that our guests respect the birds by not approaching them too closely, not feeding them and by not chasing them," Moloney tells PTBOCanada.

Great idea zoo! Well played.

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Miracle Turtle Babies: How 8 Hatchlings Were Born In Peterborough

Peterborough-based Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre posted this extraordinary, beautiful story on their Facebook page about hatchlings born from a Blanding's turtle. The post is getting hundreds of shares for good reason. Here it is re-posted below, along with the photos from their Facebook page post:

"One of our recovering Blanding's turtles has a story to tell... She was hit by a car in June, 2016 and brought in by a biologist from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry who is doing a study on Blanding's turtles. This Blanding's is doing well and will be released sometime this year."

"She had a clutch of eggs that was harvested and incubated from June to August, resulting in 7 healthy hatchlings."

"What is more surprising is that on January 17th, one of our volunteers found that she had laid another ten eggs in the water!! They were quickly gathered and put into an incubator. Much to our surprise, in March, eight of the eggs hatched!"

"How is this possible? Female Blanding's turtles can store sperm for years! Males and females don't hang out all that much, so the gals get what they need and take it with them. True story."

This shows the difference in size between the hatchlings from her first clutch (on the left) and those from her second clutch (on the right).

You can see the hatchlings as they are part of a public access viewing area at the Ontario Turtle Conversation Centre. "Like" their Facebook page here.

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Here's An Otter Sliding Across The Frozen Trent Canal In Peterborough

The Weather Network posted this hilarious video of an otter sliding across the frozen Trent Canal on the Trent Severn Waterway in Peterborough. For Pete's sake, get this dude some skates and a hockey stick...

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A Man Rescued A Deer Stuck On A Tennis Court On Stoney Lake

Cottager Randal Myers was out walking his dog on Sunday (January 15th) on a Stoney Lake cottage road near Peterborough when he witnessed something you don't see every day: a deer trapped on a tennis court.

"I heard the deer crashing into the fencing of the tennis court at my neighbour's cottage two doors over," Myers tells PTBOCanada. "I put the dog in the house and went over to see if I could help the deer escape. It was running and jumping at the fence. Blood was coming from its mouth where it had been hitting the fence."

Photo by Randal Myers, Facebook

The deer had jumped the short portion of the fence to get in but then could not find its way out, and Myers had to act quick.

"I took a shovel and dug out snow around the gate to get it open," Myers tells PTBOCanada. "Then I walked around the outside of the fence where the deer was jumping at the fence hoping to get it to move towards the open gate. The deer was winded and tired just walking up to me. I was afraid it might get its leg caught in the fence."

Photo by Randal Myers, Facebook

Myers didn't want to cause the deer more stress so he decided to leave and let the deer calm down, get its bearings, and hopefully find the open gate.

"When I returned an hour later, the deer had escaped," Myers tells PTBOCanada. "I just felt lucky that the deer wasn't severely injured and it was a happy ending."

Photo by Randal Myers, Facebook

Myers' quick thinking helped save the deer from possibly bleeding to death or getting stuck in the fencing and injuring itself further. It was lucky he was up for a winter weekend in the Kawarthas to be able to act and help the deer eventually escape.

Photo by Randal Myers, Facebook

This incident is also a reminder to leave your gates open on fenced enclosures in the winter when you're not there.

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Rescue Domestic Rats Just Arrived At Peterborough Humane Society As Part Of Large Scale Surrender In North Bay

On Thursday December 22nd, close to 600 domestic rats from an apartment in North Bay were transferred into the North Bay & District Humane Society.  Animal Welfare organizations from all across the province have come together to help these small animals.

Nearly 30 rats of the group have just arrived at the Peterborough Humane Society with the hope that they will ultimately find their forever homes here in our community.

Here is Andrew Fraser, Executive Director of Peterborough Humane Society, pictured with one of the rescue rats...

“This is a very unique animal welfare story,” says Andrew Fraser, Executive Director, Peterborough Humane Society. “We are proud to be a part of the Provincial Animal Transfer Team with the Ontario SPCA and its Affiliate Communities to work together in animal welfare when such a large number of animals are in need of care.”

The rats are currently receiving health checks and will be placed up for adoption within the next few weeks. Anyone interested in adopting one of the rats is encouraged to visit the Peterborough Humane Society website. 

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104 Rabbits Were Saved By Peterborough Humane Society & Animal Welfare Partners

More than 100 rabbits have a new lease on life thanks to the Peterborough Humane Society and various Animal Welfare partners who came together to rescue and rehome the rabbits, which were found living in deplorable conditions earlier this summer.

On July 11th, Ontario SPCA investigators and a veterinarian visited a Peterborough residence to assess the care being provided to rabbits on the property. They found 104 rabbits—ranging from newborns to adults—living in a shed in conditions that were both unsafe and unhealthy. The rabbits were examined and transported to the Peterborough Humane Society for further veterinary care and evaluation.

Some of the rescued rabbits

Once in the care of the Peterborough Humane Society, preparations began to secure suitable foster homes and, ultimately, forever homes for this big bundle of bunnies. A team of dedicated partners stepped up to assist the Peterborough Humane Society with the care of these rabbits, including Rabbit Rescue Inc., PetSmart Charities of CanadaTM, the Renfrew SPCA, the Oakville & Milton Humane Society, the Upper Credit Humane Society, the Orangeville SPCA, the Kawartha Lakes Humane Society and PetSmart Peterborough.

“It was truly an inspiration to see so many organizations coming together to give these animals a chance at a new life and the Peterborough Humane Society could not have done it without their support,” says Andrew Fraser, Executive Director, Peterborough Humane Society. “There were quite a few heroes in this animal welfare story, as so often is the case.”

These are the last two rabbits still available for adoption...

In addition to the challenge of trying to find homes for this many rabbits—there are only two left for adoption now—the Peterborough Humane Society was also faced with the cost of spaying and neutering the rabbits.

They applied for an emergency relief grant from PetSmart Charities of Canada and were provided over $13,000 in funding—enough to cover the cost of spaying and neutering the entire group of rabbits. Locally, the PetSmart store in Peterborough has been instrumental in changing the lives of animals in need. For many years, the Peterborough Humane Society has featured adoptable pets in-store through dedicated space within PetSmart Charities of Canada’s Adoption Centre.

This is an awesome Hollywood ending with these organizations working together and collaborating to save these rabbits who are now finding forever homes.

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A Sulawesi Forest Turtle Hatched At Riverview Park & Zoo

The Riverview Park & Zoo's latest addition is a recently hatched Sulawesi forest turtle.

This was an exciting announcement for the zoo as it is only their second successful hatching (and they think only the second in Canada) of this critically-endangered species.

Check out more pictures below of the birth...

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Peterborough Couple's Rescue Dog Plays Key Role In Surprise Engagement Proposal At Jackson's Park

Niki Allday and Jesse Guerin have a real love for animals—particularly rescue dogs. "We are both very passionate about animals, and both owners of rescues," Allday says. "Jesse adopted his dog (Tulo, named after Toronto Blue Jay shortstop Troy Tulowitzki) from St Martin through Cavan Hills Vet and mine (Zoey) was rescued north of Bancroft."

Niki and Jesse with their rescue dogs Zoey and Tulo

Given that their first date was at an animal shelter and they have these rescue dogs Tulo and Zoey, it seemed doggone fitting that Jesse would use one of them as a key prop for a surprise wedding proposal he gave Niki on Saturday (October 22nd) at Jackson's Park.

Niki posted about the sweet moment on her Facebook page...

"He definitely took me by surprise and swept me off my feet," Niki tells PTBOCanada of the romantic proposal. "I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. The way he proposed, the ring, shows how he knows me inside and out."

Engagement photo of Jesse and Niki with their rescue dogs taken by Kathy Jones Traynor

Congrats to this awesome couple!

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