Motherhood.
The term conjures up images of sleepless nights, toddler tantrums, unexpected precious moments and overwhelming feelings of absolute frustration mixed with love – often at the same time.
On Mother’s Day (and all the other days) being a mum (or dad) isn’t easy; it also isn’t a strictly human experience; many other mammals “mother” their young and often have similar moments of sweetness, determination and frustration. How do we know? Our wildlife monitoring program cams show us so.
You see, we set up cameras at wildlife overpasses and underpasses to see how animals are using them. It helps us get a sense of what’s working and what we can improve on. We recently captured some wonderful footage of wildlife mumma’s teaching their youngsters how to use these important routes for their own safety and survival.
So to all the mothers out there, trying your hardest to stay the course and do the right thing, this is for you.
Hey Moose Mumma – we see you out there – tirelessly trodding in and out of the wildlife underpass trying to convince your calf to follow you through – stay cool, this too shall pass. [Can’t see video? Click here]
Mumma Bear, we’ve got your back as you patiently plod ahead, showing your youngster how to use the handy corridors to get from home to your favourite feeding patch and back again. [Can’t see video? Click here]
And to the doe eyed deer mum, cautiously and yet surely moving into the underpass with twin fawns in tow – we’re glad to see you are back with your babies because that means that you know this structure means safety for your young ones. [Can’t see video? Click here]
So – Happy Mother’s Day! No one said motherhood would be easy, but who knew it could be so darn cute?
Do you have any questions about this or any other work the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure does? Let us know in the comments below.
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