Marco Festa-Bianchet 🇨🇦
@marcofesta.bsky.social
🇨🇦🇨🇦 Retired ecology prof in Sherbrooke, Canada. Evidence-based wildlife conservation, mountain ungulates, kangaroos, ice-free fishing. 🇨🇦🇨🇦 elbows up!
Vegetation growth inside exclosures suggests a good spring for kangaroo forage.
November 10, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Vegetation growth inside exclosures suggests a good spring for kangaroo forage.
For a northern hemisphere type, emus need some getting used to.
November 9, 2025 at 5:01 AM
For a northern hemisphere type, emus need some getting used to.
These 2 wombats seemed mad at each other and showed it the way wombats do. By digging.
November 7, 2025 at 5:09 AM
These 2 wombats seemed mad at each other and showed it the way wombats do. By digging.
Found a corella tree.
November 6, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Found a corella tree.
Moonrise over the roo study area
November 6, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Moonrise over the roo study area
In 'I can read with my eyes shut', Dr. Seuss suggested a cool kangaroo collar prototype. We make ours with material from Ritchey. The top layer is scraped away with a Dremel tool, exposing a symbol or pattern in the central layer. They are lightweight and long-lasting, especially on females.
November 5, 2025 at 5:37 AM
In 'I can read with my eyes shut', Dr. Seuss suggested a cool kangaroo collar prototype. We make ours with material from Ritchey. The top layer is scraped away with a Dremel tool, exposing a symbol or pattern in the central layer. They are lightweight and long-lasting, especially on females.
Yellow tail black cockatoos often fly over the roo study area, almost always even- numbered flocks: 2, 4, or 6. Beautiful birds.
November 4, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Yellow tail black cockatoos often fly over the roo study area, almost always even- numbered flocks: 2, 4, or 6. Beautiful birds.
Some birds construct fancy nests. Masked lapwings are minimalists.
November 3, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Some birds construct fancy nests. Masked lapwings are minimalists.
Surprised that roo 558, at least 16 yrs old, has a pouch young. She weaned 5 young over her lifetime but didn't reproduce last year, possibly to rebuild body reserves. Reproductive senescence in roos stats at about 12 yrs. Male 1361 is 4 and his chances of mating are slim. #LongTerm
November 3, 2025 at 3:01 AM
Surprised that roo 558, at least 16 yrs old, has a pouch young. She weaned 5 young over her lifetime but didn't reproduce last year, possibly to rebuild body reserves. Reproductive senescence in roos stats at about 12 yrs. Male 1361 is 4 and his chances of mating are slim. #LongTerm
We find about half the roos that die, and recover collars. Survival of females aged 3-9 is over 90%, for males it is 75-85%. Declining drastically for roos aged 10+ esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
November 2, 2025 at 12:41 AM
We find about half the roos that die, and recover collars. Survival of females aged 3-9 is over 90%, for males it is 75-85%. Declining drastically for roos aged 10+ esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
The son of roo 1058 is about 10 months old and nearly ready to be locked out of the pouch, but for now he still goes in and out.
November 1, 2025 at 12:33 AM
The son of roo 1058 is about 10 months old and nearly ready to be locked out of the pouch, but for now he still goes in and out.
Male roo 1435 was missing a digit when first caught as a pouch young 2 years ago. It did not grow back.
October 31, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Male roo 1435 was missing a digit when first caught as a pouch young 2 years ago. It did not grow back.
Impressive Pacific gulls.
Being gulls, one was trying to steal my bait, the other was looking for garbage in a parking lot. About as large as a great black- back.
Being gulls, one was trying to steal my bait, the other was looking for garbage in a parking lot. About as large as a great black- back.
October 29, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Impressive Pacific gulls.
Being gulls, one was trying to steal my bait, the other was looking for garbage in a parking lot. About as large as a great black- back.
Being gulls, one was trying to steal my bait, the other was looking for garbage in a parking lot. About as large as a great black- back.
Wombats dig it in the dirt.
October 29, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Wombats dig it in the dirt.
Female roo 125 is 16 yrs, very few survive that long. Born Dec 2008, mother was roo 55, father was roo 171. She has only weaned 2 young and has no living descendants. Mass as an adult has ranged from 23 to 31 kg. #longterm
October 29, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Female roo 125 is 16 yrs, very few survive that long. Born Dec 2008, mother was roo 55, father was roo 171. She has only weaned 2 young and has no living descendants. Mass as an adult has ranged from 23 to 31 kg. #longterm
Allowing domestic bees in a national park is akin to letting cattle graze in it. If beekeepers wanted healthy forests they would not introduce a competitor to wild pollinators.
October 28, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Allowing domestic bees in a national park is akin to letting cattle graze in it. If beekeepers wanted healthy forests they would not introduce a competitor to wild pollinators.
Early morning roos with ground frost. Roos were not impressed.
October 27, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Early morning roos with ground frost. Roos were not impressed.
Beautiful black wombat welcomes us to the kangaroo research site. Field season #18 starts tomorrow.
October 24, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Beautiful black wombat welcomes us to the kangaroo research site. Field season #18 starts tomorrow.
Happy international wombat day from within the naked-nosed (formerly common) wombat range.
October 22, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Happy international wombat day from within the naked-nosed (formerly common) wombat range.
Ewe U15 is 10. She has weaned 3 lambs over her lifetime, 2 are still alive. This year she lost her lamb at or soon after birth and by mid-September she was 79Kg, 10 Kg more than last year when she weaned a son. #LongTerm
October 16, 2025 at 1:39 AM
Ewe U15 is 10. She has weaned 3 lambs over her lifetime, 2 are still alive. This year she lost her lamb at or soon after birth and by mid-September she was 79Kg, 10 Kg more than last year when she weaned a son. #LongTerm
Painted turtles at sunset, Île du Marais. Not too many days left for them to go on logs to warm up in the sun
October 12, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Painted turtles at sunset, Île du Marais. Not too many days left for them to go on logs to warm up in the sun
Kind of a weird day to be switching to winter tires. Normal high in Sherbrooke in early October is +12.
October 6, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Kind of a weird day to be switching to winter tires. Normal high in Sherbrooke in early October is +12.
Sad event just in front of my driveway, porcupine got hit.
October 3, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Sad event just in front of my driveway, porcupine got hit.
Nice group of toms seen during my bike ride today.
September 26, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Nice group of toms seen during my bike ride today.