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Animal obsession leads to unique career for Metchosin man

Wild ARC inspired unusual business Alternative Wildlife Solutions
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MetchosinB次元官网网址檚 Jeff Krieger

Louis Bockner/B次元官网网址 staff

Dressed in a heavy collared shirt and tough jeans, Jeff Krieger exudes an air of formal ruggedness, like Indiana Jones at a press conference.

Krieger sits in an overstuffed leather chair in his Metchosin home. The small Harris hawk on his knee is a juvenile male named Taruk and the larger one on his hand is a female named Easy. In his lap sits a Jack Russell terrier named Pixie.

He has always had an affinity for wildlife. As a child growing up in Windsor, Ontario, Krieger spent every possible moment out in the woods. Now heB次元官网网址檚 had B次元官网网址渆very animal under the sun,B次元官网网址 including fruit bats, muskrats and B次元官网网址渆very kind of reptile possible.B次元官网网址

 

His business, Alternative Wildlife Solutions, offers a humane option for dealing with wild animals which settle in attics, garages or anywhere else on their property. Otters under floorboards and hawks in grocery stores are all part of a days work for Krieger, who started the business eight years ago with encouragement from Sara Dubois,

Manager of Wildlife Services at MetchosinB次元官网网址檚 BCSPCA Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre (Wild ARC).

Dubois and Krieger, both volunteers at the centre, saw a niche for safe animal relocation and rehabilitation.

B次元官网网址淭here were other people doing removal but no one was doing anything humane,B次元官网网址 Krieger says. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檇 just trap them and then euthanize them.B次元官网网址

Within a year part-time turned into full-time, leading to a life as unique as the situations he deals with.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no school you can go to, to learn what I do,B次元官网网址 he says. B次元官网网址淚 basically made up a career that I love.B次元官网网址

That love shines through when he talks about the animals that share his home. Along with Pixie, Easy and Taruk, there is a peregrine falcon, a red-tailed hawk, an endangered Madagascar tree boa (the only one in North America) two cats and a 65-pound sulcata tortoise.

The trio Krieger sits with on the chair add an element to his work that gives his business a leg, or wing, up on the competition. While Pixie flushes out unwanted rabbits from school fields Easy soars overhead waiting for a sign of movement and a reason to dive toward Earth.

This aspect of his job is the only one that steps outside his no kill policy, but even in this he finds comfort in the fact that his birds are being fed, doing what they would naturally do in the wild.

B次元官网网址淏irds of prey particularly are just so noble and so prestigious,B次元官网网址 he says.

Along with running his business and caretaking at Wild ARC, Krieger uses the tree boa, tortoise and peregrine falcon to educate the public, especially students, about the importance of caring for endangered and exotic species.

Despite the odd bite or peck to the face, Krieger has never had to go the hospital while on the job B次元官网网址 a feat he attributes to years of experience and B次元官网网址渒nowing what youB次元官网网址檙e doing.B次元官网网址

Ultimately the minor wounds are nothing compared to the rewards.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a lot of self satisfaction. It comes to seeing an animal come in and knowing itB次元官网网址檚 going to get a second chance,B次元官网网址 he says. B次元官网网址淎side from helping the animals itB次元官网网址檚 nice to provide that service to the public as well.B次元官网网址

To get in touch with Alternative Wildlife Solutions email awsvic@wildmail.com.

 

 



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