Interlakers will soon be able to watch the lives of local wildlife any time they like.
An Interlake family is sharing their new favourite hobby: watching wildlife. They’ve set up cameras in and around the northern Interlake to see the natural world’s goings-on. After sharing their livestream with friends, the family realized this type of TV was something more than just what they wanted to see.
“We thought, ‘did we just turn into mega nerds?’ but no, this is so cool,” said Shawna, mom of the family. “We thought maybe everyone else would like it.”
The family got rid of regular television programming 18 years ago and has been using streaming services ever since. Shawna said they’ve started watching their wildlife livestream more than the streaming services now.
So, they’ve created the Interlake Critter Chronicles, an online presence that will share the live streams of Interlake wildlife. Currently, they have two cameras set up with continuous live feeds, but they can only actually live stream on YouTube once they reach 1,000 subscribers. As of Oct. 19, they had 26 subscribers on the platform.
Shawna isn’t worried about how long it will take to reach 1,000 subscribers, though. While they work to get there, the family will be sharing clips they gather from the live feeds they personally have right now. So far, they’ve shared videos of blue jays, squirrels, eagles, a black bear, and more.
“I don’t know how this became a thing so quickly with us, but we just love it and we thought other people would,” said Shawna.
She said the goal is to eventually have eight live-feed cameras on the channel at all times. Shawna hopes the Interlake Critter Chronicles grows so they can connect with people in all corners of the Interlake region and share videos from all parts.
“We want to show anywhere you can witness nature at its finest,” she said. “Some animals live above the trees and some live in the trees and some are on the ground. We want to see all that.”
Shawna said watching the live feeds is meditative for them.
“It’s so interesting to see wildlife without going to the zoo,” she said. “To see a blue jay finding that tricky way to get a peanut out of a container is amazing. To see them determining whether they prefer pumpkin seeds or peanuts.”
As soon as Interlake Critter Chronicles has 1,000 subscribers on YouTube, their two cameras will go live immediately. From there, they’ll keep adding what they can when they can.
To get in touch with the page, email interlakecritterchronicles@gmail.com.
