The official start of spring is near and it’s a time for all manner of nature to come alive again.

Grass, trees, flowers, and of course our wildlife neighbours. Now, some of our animal friends have been up and at it through the winter: birds, rabbits, coyotes, wolves, and certainly deer.

Only, they’re not as visible or vibrant as they are once the weather starts to warm.

Now, those who don’t hibernate through the winter will be joined by their woodland creature friends, including squirrels, chipmunks, and the lovable black bears. Okay, lovable to those of us who understand them.

One of my favourite people is Micheline Finley from the Ministry of Natural Resources. She has taught us lots about the do’s and don’ts of living next to wildlife, particularly bears.

Basically, black bears are going to wake up super hungry. Be sure your garbage, compost and recycling bins are locked in a safe sturdy storage. Put away those bird feeders for the time being. And don’t try to pet them.

I’ve also done many, many interviews for print, podcast, and digital items with Mike McIntosh of Bear With Us bear sanctuary, who provides sage advise based on decades of experience.

With all wildlife, it’s a matter of respecting their space, keeping a safe distance and being aware they are around.

Living next to a ravine that doubles as a traveling trail for many creatures, we get to see lots of our native wildlife up close and personal.

We have our chipmunk friends – chippy and chipster (the kids were ages 3 and 5 when they named them – as well as our bear friends and deer friends who like to put by on occassion.

Occasionally, Mr. and Mrs. Fox or other like predators have been by, but I’ve yet to snap a picture of them. We do know many years ago a moose was seen on our property, but we weren’t home. I keep my eye out for any and all of these wonderful beasts though!

On that note, with the increase in animal activity, it’s very important – some would say vitally important – to keep on high alert when driving. Always be scanning the road and sides of the road as you never know what could jump out and hit you.

In fact, you could be paying attention and still get hit, but probably be in a better situation than if you weren’t aware of what was happening.

A person very close to me was recently driving on a rural road in Huntsville and a deer jumped a snow bank and smashed into the side of her car. She was paying attention and still it hit her. But, she was able to quickly react and not end up losing control of the vehicle.

Had she been distracted, it likely would have ended up with her vehicle in a ditch or worse. The OPP person she reported the incident to acknowledged in that section of road there were many deer on car occurrences this winter. Maybe it’s time for a sign or something?

Other years, on that same road with its lack of street lights, we’ve had family members get hit by bears, birds and I almost drove straight into a moose at 11 p.m. about 15 years ago. Yes, I was sober.

In this recent incident, the deer just hit the car then bounced up and ran off. Hopefully it was stunned enough to make it easy for a pack of wolves to get a nice meal out of it.

Here are a couple of shots of what can happen when a mid-sized deer hits your car – now imagine if it was a larger animal. The bottom line is to be aware and be alert!