November Program

Pigs in Space:   Mapping the Spread of Invasive Feral Swine on the Canadian Prairies

Dr. Ryan Brook is a Professor in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science

In person and online!
Rm # HLTH 1A60, Health Sciences Bldg., U of S,

Thursday, November 19, 2026

7:30 PM

There are no native pigs in Canada so anything that look like a pig and oinks like a pig out in the wildlands of Canada is by definition an invasive wild pig. This issue began in the 1980s when Canada imported domestic wild boar to stock farms across all provinces and the Yukon Territory for meat and in some provinces to create shoot farms. The domestic wild boar were crossbred with domestic pigs and escaped and were purposely released over the last 45 years and they have become firmly established in the wildlands
across the Canadian Prairie provinces. They do massive crop damage, can be a public safety risk, and they are considered an ‘ecological trainwreck’ because they contaminate water, destroy habitats, eat almost anything, and they can spread diseases to humans, pets, livestock, and wildlife. We welcome Dr. Brook back for an update on this subject.

Dr. Ryan Brook is a Professor in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science at the University of Saskatchewan, where he has been advancing applied wildlife research since 2010. His research focuses on wildlife ecology, invasive species, conservation, and the complex relationships among wildlife, agriculture, and human activities. He is perhaps best known for his work on wild pigs in Canada but he also studies urban wildlife in Saskatoon, caribou and wolves on the Hudson Bay coast, and wildlife in Sri Lanka.

Please note that if the link to join online requests a passcode, please enter SNS. If you have trouble connecting via the Zoom link, please text or phone LeeAnn at 306-880-9027. Please consider joining the meeting a little early so we can address any problems.

All members who have registered an email address with SNS will receive an email containing the link to join the meeting through Zoom. If you have not registered an email address with us, but would like to do so, please contact Claire Bullaro at c.bear@sasktel.net.

Monthly Meetings and Speaker Programme

Listen, learn, and share ideas with people who are passionate about our natural world! 

SNS offers a monthly speaker programme from September to April on the third Thursday of the month. All meetings are live streamed through Zoom.

During the fall and spring months presentations will be in hybrid format: speakers will present live at in-person meetings while being simultaneously streamed through Zoom. During winter months speakers may be streamed from outside the Saskatoon region and on these occasions, there will be no in-person meeting.

All are welcome to attend these meetings either in-person or through Zoom. Look for details about each month’s meeting in the SNS membership newsletter, confirming any in-person meeting time and place. A reminder email with the meeting details and Zoom link will be sent to each member whose current email address is on file.

Non-members who wish to attend through Zoom should provide their name and email address to Claire Bullaro at c.bear@sasktel.netfor each meeting. Please consider becoming a member of the Saskatoon Nature Society if you wish to receive the Zoom link automatically each month.

We will not be providing shared refreshments, so please bring your own drinks and snacks.

The monthly meetings include announcements from the SNS president. If you have an announcement or notice, please contact the president at least 2 days before the meeting.

Tracking Migratory Birds:Where Do They Really Fly? - Ernesto Carman

September 2022

Wetland Drainage and its Impacts on Biodiversity in the Prairie and Parkland Region of Canada

Kiel Drake

February 2022