'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service put off a decision about whether ivory-billed woodpeckers are extinct, announcing Wednesday that it's adding six months to review information, including a month of public comment.
"We are aware that there have been surveys or evidence collected recently," Amy Trahan, the agency's expert on the birds, said Wednesday. "This extra time allows them to submit their evidence to consider."
The bird, which also has been called the Lord God bird for the astounded exclamations by people who saw one, has or had a 30-inch (76-centimetre) wingspan, a high, nasal call and a distinctive double knock as it pecks for beetles.
It was among 23 animals the agency said in September 2021 it was planning to declare gone from the earth, removing them from the endangered list.
The agency is still reviewing evidence from two public comment periods about the woodpecker, Trahan said.
In the public comment period the agency is looking for photos or videos so clear that they "can be repeatedly interpreted the same way by independent observers."
Trahan would not comment about what has been submitted or who has made surveys or collected more evidence.
Ornithologist John Fitzpatrick, a former director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, said, "Nobody has gotten that cover-of-Time-magazine foldout that everybody wishes they could. But there is still legitimate believable evidence that these birds still exist in remote locations of Louisiana and Arkansas."
Fitzpatrick, who was lead author of a 2005 study that said the woodpecker had been found in eastern Arkansas, said a non-peer-reviewed paper by respected experts posted on a "preprint" site has some very interesting videos. One shows a group of three large woodpeckers pecking at branches high in a tree.
"The only woodpecker that foraged together in small groups was the ivorybill," he said.
The Wildlife and Fisheries Service announcement in September opened a 60-day period for public comment, and another comment period was opened with a virtual public meeting about the woodpecker in January.
Only one of nine speakers at that meeting supported the proposal to declare the bird extinct. Fitzpatrick was among experts who said the proposal was premature.
"For a species this iconic, this well-known, I think the right approach for them to take is caution," he said Wednesday. "And I think that's what they're doing."
The other 22 animals are still proposed for removal from the endangered list because of extinction. The agency has a year from the September announcement to take final action and has not yet done so.
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Dakota Joshua had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Canucks scored three third-period goals to claw out a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday.
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
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A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.