Dry conditions are putting pressure on area plants, but it hasn’t been severe enough to hurt wildlife, says MNR national heritage biologist Jan McDonnell.
“It’s a hard thing to scope out from the point of view of the effects on wildlife,” McDonnell said in an interview last week.
Up until July 26, there had been very little rain in the Highlands.
While it definitely put pressure on some plants, McDonnell said most animals can survive droughts with few issues.
“Wildlife as a general rule … they can cope with it pretty well,” she said.
McDonnell noted that several trees in the area had already started dropping leaves in places where the soil is shallow.
The wild berry crop may also be affected, but the biologist wasn’t able to say if that would change bears’ behaviour.
“We’re right on the threshold of [the drought] making a difference or not, I think,” she said.
From the biologist’s point of view, winter weather is much harder on animals in the Haliburton County area.
Deep snow and harsh cold temperatures pose a much greater risk to wildlife, she said.