Science North animal ambassador passes on after life educating visitors
Science North said goodbye to one of its most iconic ambassadors on Friday. Saunders the striped skunk passed away yesterday after almost a decade in Sudbury.
After his arrival in 2013, Saunders quickly became a resident favourite and helped educate visitors about the animal’s incredible ability to adapt.
"Science North Bluecoats and visitors are mourning the loss of a great animal ambassador…Our veterinarians and Animal Care Team monitored his health closely for the past several months," wrote Science North on social media.
"Saunders has been an iconic animal ambassador at Science North since 2013 and has inspired and mesmerized visitors from around the world."
In an Instagram Post, the centre’s bluecoats shared a remembrance video of the striped critter along with some little known facts that reveal just how great an impact he had.
"Saunders was the first ever skunk I had ever seen up-close in real life. (We don't have skunks in Australia) Meeting Saunders is one of many favourite memories of visiting Science North," wrote user ‘og.ray.ray’ in the post’s comments.
At just one year old, he was adopted from the Saunders Country Critters Zoo in Oxford Station, Ont. but staff made sure his hometown would remain part of his identity.
"He has helped educate many people about skunks' amazing adaptations that make them exceptional nocturnal foragers and one of the most resilient animals in our Northern ecosystems," read the post.
"Saunders enjoyed his target training and walks around the science centre and any enrichment items that involved eating a cockroach."
Saunders will be greatly missed by the city’s residents and all at Science North. Bluecoats are celebrating the Sudbury skunk by inviting visitors from around the world to share their memories of him.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Large numbers of New York City police officers begin entering Columbia University campus
Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.