On Vancouver
Island, the West Coast Of Beautiful British Columbia we have three main
predatory animals bears, cougars, and wolves. Each of them a top rank predators
in their own right, and for very different reasons. This blog I will share some
of the teachings of the first people of this island and how our peoples viewed
these powerful predators.
Chims, Black Bear, Ursus americanus - vancouveri.
Chims the black bear is by far the
largest of our predatory animals, but at the same time very much docile and
unaware of humans. He walks around the forest as though he owns it and
rightfully so does he not see any other animal as a threat. This bear is an
opportunistic feeder and an omnivore. The diet of a black bear just like man is
dependant on vegetation as much as it is on dependant red meat. It is the bear’s knowledge of vegetation that
garnered much respect. Vegetation has health benefits and medicinal benefits that
is why many aboriginal peoples consider the bear a symbol not just power, but of
medicine as well.
Physically the bear with its big winter coat
and thick hide looks like a bear, but confusion arises when you see a the
skeletal remains of a bear for it too closely resembles that of a human being. To track a black bear one would find their
prints also eerily looks human. The front paw prints resemble a handprint,
while the rear paw prints look like that of a footprint with claws. It is that resemblance
to human beings one of the main reason why the bear were not harvested as food
by the first peoples of this island. Also note worthy in this temperate rain
forest zone of coastal BC, winters do not get cold enough for bears to
hibernate so there they are remaining with us all year long.
Kayuumin, Cougars, Felis concolor - Vancouverensis.
Kayumin the Cougar is comparable to
humans in weight, not a big cat in any means. Its true strength is stealth,
speed, cunning, claws, and bite force. Our cougars are solitary animals they
are true carnivores, and have the most success at hunting. They primarily hunt deer
and elk in finding remains of an animals that have fallen prey to predation. One
can easily tell the hunter, Cougars are finicky and their teeth are designed
for the kill and not much else. They turn their face to the side to grasp and
strip muscle and tendons from the carcass. They leave bones and fur of their
prey behind and this is a serves purpose to the forest and scavengers in the
surrounding area.
The cougar has
garnered the most amount of fear, and even more so than that of the other great
predators of Vancouver Island. It is very rare to see one first hand, that adds
to the fear. Their size however makes them vulnerable, and in the event of an
attack one could realistically escape given the relatively small stature of
this predator. Fear however is immobilizing and fear ignites the run factor. If
you run from a cougar it will chase you, but one of the scariest facts about
Cougars is that they are true predators that use fear to separate and divide
their prey; if they cannot separate you they try other tactics. Such as Baiting, one famous
story of my people is to beware of the baby crying in the woods of night. For that cry is the cry of a cougar baiting. To
hear a cougar is as scary as it is rare, but they can often be heard seemingly mimicking the cries of a baby. It is the tactics of the Cougar where my peoples leaned to bait while hunting.
Qwayaciik, Wolf, Canis
Lupis - Crassodon
Qwayaciik the wolf is the predator my
people closely identify with, they live a pack life and my people historically
lived in Big houses that included much more than just a nuclear family. Just like in
a pack our families were very large and depended on one another. Success in
hunting with strategy based on numbers was the aboriginal way, and the way of
the wolf as well. Wolves of Vancouver Island also depend on the Forest and the
Ocean recourses equally. They too harvest bivalves and univalves from the tidal zone,
they harvest or scavenge carcasses from marine mammals washed ashore, just as much as they harvest
the ungulates of the forest. The wolves are one with the world completely.
I believe that is why the wolf is held in the
highest regard by my peoples, they are truly one with their environment. The
wolves maximize opportunities not limiting their pack to the forest or the
ocean. My people are wolf clan and never kill them for
food or for sport, rather just respecting them and allowing them their rightful
place in the world as we know it. Wolves too in my area are excellent swimmers
and can swim great distances, often one can find on the many little islands
surround Vancouver Island evidence of wolves swimming around island to island
in search of foods. Wolves have the most powerful bite force and can even bite
through bone consuming calcium from bones of prey and the shells of tidal zone
foods. The wolves inspire our belief in maximizing the benefits of the foods we
consume. We know that predator and prey relations are important and improve our
forests, rivers, and even the air we breathe. All animals have a purpose that
is what we learned from the wolf pack. I speak now for the un spoken the
predators allow them to have their own space, culling any predator for the sake
of prey is not very wise in my opinion. Lets change how we treat our predatory animals in the modern day, Why? Because it’s 2015.
Lastly I want to talk about the official designation of these three predators, their Latin Names
 |
| By: Wish~Key |
Notice that in each of them in they are a
sub species of a much larger group Unique to Vancouver Island. Vancouver Island predators and Vancouver
Island’s First Peoples are truly unique and have evolved to survive the rugged
west coast in this temperate rain forest zone. Ironically there are also three main
tribal groups on Vancouver Island My people the Nuu-chah-nulth of the west
coast, The Coast Salish of the Southern and eastern side of Van Isle, and the
Kwakwaka’wakw of the northern and eastern side of Van Isle. As much as I would
like massive urban centers let us Islanders instead allow for nature to be
natural. The world needs these great predators and even though there are similar
species scattered all over the world, lets keep Vancouver Island as unique as it
has always been. Lets protect the island for the benefit of all its inhabitants and for all time. protect it for the next Seven Generations.
