Picklefest III in Saskatoon
It's Pickleball Season! Join Mike Ciona #OnTheGo to find out all about Picklefest III coming this weekend in Saskatoon.
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CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
‘Mega-fat' marmot captivates photographer in Kamloops, B.C., park
Hobbyist wildlife photographer Taylor Borth stumbled across an especially plump marmot while visiting a park in Kamloops. Marmots - commonplace and typically unremarkable - had rarely caught the attention of hobbyist photographer Taylor Borth until she discovered one so rotund in a park in Kamloops, B.C., it forced her to stop in her tracks. 'As I was rounding the corner of a pond, I gasped, because I could see this mega-fat marmot sitting there, and I just couldn't help but take a picture,' she says. Borth, a Kamloops house painter who practises wildlife photography in her spare time, had been wandering MacArthur Island Park the afternoon of July 6 with the hope of capturing more obscure and difficult-to-photograph creatures, like rare birds or the typically timid deer. 'Normally, the photos I'm after are the more reclusive animals, so I don't usually go for things like marmots,' she said, equating shooting a photograph of the regular rodent as being like photographing a widely spotted Canada goose. Fat marmot found in Kamloops park The chubby marmot stopped Borth in her tracks in Kamloops' MacArthur Island Park. Yet the obese marmot was so unique in size, and so evidently happy to be photographed, it wound up being a subject more than worthy of Borth's lens. The rodent barely moved as Borth's shutter continued to snap, although the photographer suspects that might have been more to do with its stature than its domesticated state. 'He essentially let me get right up to him, and he just stared at me,' she said, adding how she only snapped two or three pictures of the bellied burrower before walking away, and used a long lens to ensure there was a comfortable distance between the two. 'I try not to get too close to them, because they can be a little feisty, especially if it's near their den,' she said. Since the photographs began circulating online wildlife fans have come forward to suggest the reason behind the marmot's portly figure could be due to it being a pregnant female, however Borth worries that it could instead be a male, who has been overfed by the public. 'I know that they're pretty food driven and, unfortunately, people at the park are not supposed to feed them, but they do. I'm assuming that's probably why they are a little bit chunkier than they should be,' she said. 'They'll bring Cheetos and the most unhealthy snacks for them to eat, and they'll hand feed them, which you're totally not allowed to do.' Borth says the response to the photographs from the public has been surprising. 'I had no idea that people were going to love it as much as they did,' she told CTV News, adding that despite her initial hesitance to allow the rodents the limelight, her latest wildlife encounter led to her now favourite, most memorable shoot. 'I have it as my phone background right now,' she laughs. According to WildsafeBC, there are four species of marmot that reside in B.C., the hoary marmot, yellow-bellied marmot, Vancouver Island marmot and the woodchuck. All marmots are protected under the Wildlife Act, and Vancouver Island marmots are also protected under the Species at Risk Act.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Horse euthanized following Saturday chuckwagon races at Calgary Stampede
A horse from Chad Fike's team was euthanized Saturday night following the eighth heat of the 2025 Rangeland Derby at the Calgary Stampede. An injured horse was euthanized following the chuckwagon races Saturday night at the Calgary Stampede. Stampede CEO Joel Cowley confirmed the incident in a Sunday press conference. 'Last night, there was an unfortunate incident,' Cowley said. 'Chad Fike, in the eighth heat of the Rangeland Derby, had a right wheel horse -a horse named Rider - suffer a fracture to his left front cannon bone. 'Upon consulting with the veterinarian on the track, it was decided that the most humane thing to do would be to euthanize that animal. 'Our condolences go out to the Fike family for their loss.' Fike pulled up during the eighth heat and received no time. The race was shown on tape delay on television and there was no mention of the incident on the broadcast apart from mentioning that Fike didn't finish. 'Prevent more suffering and deaths': VHS Sunday morning, Vancouver Humane Society campaign director Emily Pickett issued a statement, calling for the rodeo and chuckwagon races 'to be removed from the Stampede program to prevent more suffering and deaths.' Animal cruelty protest, Calgary, July 6, 2025 Animal rights activists protested rodeo and chuckwagon events at the Calgary Stampede Sunday afternoon. (Jordany Kanygin, CTV Calgary) 'The Stampede has built a careful narrative claiming organizers care about animal welfare, but animals die almost every single year. It's simply not worth the risk. If they truly cared, the so-called Half-Mile of Hell would be a thing of the past,' Pickett added. Sunday afternoon, Animal Justice issued a release calling for the Calgary Humane Society, which is responsible for enforcing Alberta's animal protection laws within the city, to investigate the incident and 'hold those responsible for causing distress, injury, and suffering accountable.' 'It is 2025, but these completely preventable killings continue to happen,' said Camille Labchuk, lawyer and executive director at Animal Justice. 'It's absurd that Stampede organizers permit this brutal spectacle to continue where horses are doomed to die nearly every year.' Saturday night's horse death was the first one of the 2025 Stampede. This is a developing story that will be updated throughout the day. With files from CTV's Jordan Kanygin
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Beachburg Fair returns to the Ottawa Valley for 169th year
Families enjoyed toonie rides, food trucks and a demolition derby as the Beachburg Fair returned on a hotter than usual summer weekend. Organized by the Beachburg Agricultural Society, the event brings together the entire Ottawa Valley for a weekend of family-friendly fun. The fair is a yearly tradition rooted in history dating back to 1857. As it wrapped up it's 169th weekend on Sunday, organizers say they welcomed over 5,000 people. It's become a yearly tradition for families looking to spend the day playing carnival games, hitting different rides and seeing livestock up close. Rachel Eden is the fair's secretary and says they have added some new attractions over the years. The goal of the fair is to encourage awareness of agriculture, especially for those living in rural communities. 'We've had different events each day. This year, we added a modified truck and tractor pull on Thursday, and it really increased our numbers through our gates,' Eden says. 'On Friday, we had our horse pull and last night, we had our demolition derby, which is a crowd favorite.' Eden says the fair is run by mostly volunteers and adds it's something people love about attending the fair each year. 'We have over like 170 volunteers who make this fair possible, it would not happen without that manpower,' Eden said. 'That's what people love that it's genuine and full of heart and it feels like home when you come here.' Eden says once they wrap up this weekend, organizers will begin to brainstorm plans for next year's 170th anniversary, which she says will be a major milestone.
