Vancouver is the wilderburb capital of the world
All photos by Michael McCarthy
A “wilderburb” is defined as that rare place in the world where the wilderness and a big city overlap. Take, for instance, Phoenix, Arizona where animals from the desert (javalinas, or wild pigs), coyotes, snakes and other wild animals can be seen in the suburbs. However, there is no wilderburb anywhere like Vancouver. You simply need to know where to look.
Yes, there are indeed beavers in Beaver Lake, right in the heart of Vancouver in Stanley Park. There are also beavers in Lost Lagoon and until recently there were beavers in Hinge Creek, in Olympic Village. They are “diurnal,” which means you can only see them at dawn or dusk. Not that long ago an otter was spotted feasting on the fish in Sun Yat Sen Gardens in Chinatown, a long crawl from False Creek. With great luck you might see a pod of Orcas (killer whales) in False Creek, hunting harbour seals. Not long ago a family of California Sea Lions took up residence at Coal Harbour. Once, about 10 years ago, a huge gray whale surfaced off the dock at Stamp’s Landing on False Creek, just outside our condo. I wish I had been sipping a beer on the patio at Monk McQueens (now Mahoney’s Tavern) to witness that amazing sight.
Until recently there were coyotes in Stanley Park. Plus raccoons, which are also found all over residential West End. There are now coyotes all over the city. Usually nocturnal, they are now appearing in broad daylight and are a threat to small dogs. However, they are useful in catching rats. Appearing in the spring in the North Shore Mountains are black bears, hungry after their winter’s hibernation. I am sorry I don’t have a photo of it, but I once saw a sign at a children’s playground at the south end of Mosquito Creek in North Vancouver warning “watch out for the mountain lion,” not something you would see in a kids park in Toronto or New York.
Several creeks on the North Shore are home to spawning salmon. In season, the creek next to Capilano Mall is home to huge chum salmon, some a metre long. There are other salmon species in other North Shore creeks. Eagles are fond of salmon and you can spot their nests in several locations on the North Shore, at Stanley Park and atop high trees next to the Fraser River. There is even an eagle’s nest above Hastings Street at The Sanctuary, a hidden pond (yes, with trout to catch) surrounded by a grove of woods located right next to noisy Playland at the PNE. Look for the sign warning about the bobcat that lives there. An occasional hawk will make a nest high atop downtown Vancouver’s skyscrapers. Hawks are often brought to Granville Island by trainers to scare away the hordes of seagulls who dive bomb tourists foolish enough to eat pizza slices at the picnic tables.
Renfrew Ravine drains much of East Vancouver. Its origin can be accessed at 22nd and Renfrew. Salmon are being re-introduced into the creek, which is connected by tiny Still Creek that runs several kilometres through industrial land all the way to Burnaby Lake and then the Brunette River all the way south to the Fraser River and then out to the Salish Sea. I met an elderly man there sitting on a bench who told me that salmon were once so plentiful you could bend over and pick them up for dinner. The city is full of buried creeks, some of which are finally being restored, where salmon used to run and may do so again. A creek at Spanish Banks now serves as a spawning ground for salmon.
In the spring Great Blue Herons make a return to Stanley Park, building nests high in trees next to the tennis courts. Eagles often arrive to attempt to feast on the eggs and chicks, causing the herons to make a frightful racket. Burnaby Lake is an excellent location to spot many kinds of resident and migrating wildfowl. Further east Minnekhada Park in Coquitlam is a great place to spot herons and a colony of huge Painted Western Turtles. Also black bears. Of course, you can’t go anywhere in Vancouver without spotting flocks of Canada Geese. Bird lovers flock to Reifel Island and Serpentine Fen to see birds ranging from owls to eagles, and over 10,000 crows “roost” at night in groves of trees just west of Willingdon Street and north of the highway.
If you like horses, the Southlands neighbourhood is the place to go. Residents often walk their horses on paths and streets there. All along the Fraser River there are parks where you can spot eagles in the trees and of course there are salmon runs in the fall along the Fraser and also up Burrard Inlet to Indian Arm, which is a very rare wilderburb indeed. I once joined Takaya Tours when they hosted a Brazilian film crew in their big canoe. We stopped for a photo opp just off Cates Park. I pointed out to the film crew what a unique location that was, the bright lights of the big city downtown to the west juxtaposed with the complete wilderness of Indian Arm to the north, replete with its mountain lions, deer, black bears and sometimes even elk. There is no other location like that in the world, which makes Vancouver the best wilderburb on the planet. You just need to know where to go and what to look for. Now you do. Enjoy.