The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) wants Maritimers to help moose have more sex this holiday season.
Yes, you read that right. The NCC is asking residents of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to donate to their Moose Sex Project, which involves preserving parts of the animals’ natural habitat, and creating a protected isthmus that serves as a migration corridor between the two provinces.
Because it’s the holiday season, it should come as no surprise that they’re suggesting the donation as a gift.
“If you have an animal lover on your list, a donation in their name to the Moose Sex Project is a Christmas gift they’ll never forget,” Craig Smith, NCC program director for Nova Scotia, said in a news release.
According to the Conservancy, Nova Scotia’s mainland moose population is endangered, with an estimated 500 to 1,000 individuals roaming the province. The nearby province of New Brunswick, however, has a very healthy moose population, estimated at 29,000. With numbers like these, it’s quite clear why the NCC wants to connect the two populations.
“For the [Nova Scotia] population to have some potential to bounce back, we really need to improve the gene pool on the Nova Scotia side,” spokesperson Andrew Holland told CBC News around this time last year.
Over the past few years, the organization has pieced together more than 3,000 acres of land on the Chignecto Isthmus, which connects Nova Scotia to the rest of the country. Any donations made this holiday season will help them purchase a 196-acre property near Baie Verte, a forested moose habitat that connects to other protected areas along the Isthmus.
At its narrowest point, near the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border, the Chignecto Isthmus is only 23 kilometres wide and is becoming more densely populated and fragmented by roads. More development in this area will hinder any wildlife’s ability to migrate between the two provinces, which is why the NCC wants to continue securing land.
So while the NCC’s campaign sounds tongue-in-cheek at first, it has a very serious purpose. Giving a donation as a gift, as Smith suggests, is also a great opportunity to spend your money on something less disposable this Christmas, and actually help—rather than hinder—the environment with your purchase.
“By helping NCC conserve a wildlife corridor between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, you can make a difference for Nova Scotia’s endangered mainland moose and many other animals as well,” Smith said.
