Two animals common to SE Alberta examined on Hinterland Who’s Who

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on September 29, 2022.

https://www.medicinehatnews.com@MedicineHatNews

New episodes of Hinterland Who’s Who examine two animals common to Southeast Alberta.

The Canadian Wildlife Federation now produces the iconic vignettes which appeared on TV for decades and posts the videos and accompanying information to its website.

The pronghorn and long-billed curlew, the largest shore bird in North America, are the featured in new episodes this month, according to a release.

The pronghorn, a distant relative of the giraffe, is the fastest land mammal on earth, second only to the cheetah.

“This speed reveals it as a true master of the North American grassland,” said project coordinator Annie Langlois in a release. “(It is) the only place in the world where it exists, giving us another important reason to preserve this habitat.”

The segment also discusses conservation efforts in the early 20th century to protect the animal that counted 40 million in 1885 before it was hunted extensively.

The long-billed curlew winters in Mexico but returns to the Great Plains in the United States, southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, where their distinctive bill makes them adept at catching grasshoppers.

More information can be found at the Hinterland Who’s Who website at http://www.hww.ca.