Wildlife in Canada

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Deep in the heart of the Canadian wilderness is a treasure trove of secrets that can only be discovered while you are there. Those secrets lie tucked away off Canada’s beaten path, where grizzly bears, wolves, moose, polar bears and other wildlife in Canada roam free.

Thanks to a myriad of Canadian national parks, along with regional parks and local nature preserves that dot the nation, Canada is blessed with a variety of locations from which to watch rare and endangered animals in their natural habitats. 

While travelling around Canada, there’s every chance you’ll stumble upon unexpected moments with the wildlife such as these:

canadian wildlife
Spotting wildlife in Canada while you journey across the country is not uncommon.
Wildlife in Canada - an Arctic fox stealing camera
Some you might even experience personal encounters with cheeky wildlife in Canada. This Arctic Fox looks like its keen on photography. 

Canadian Wildlife List

canadian animals list
How many of these can you tick off your Canadian animals list?

Canadian Wildlife Tours

In Canada, there are many professional tour operators who have knowledgeable staff to lure you into the animal kingdom for up close and personal encounters with wildlife in Canada.

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Be it watching whales breach off the Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec or hearing the cry of the wild at a wolf sanctuary or kayaking by the magnificent fjords off Canada’s east coast to view pods of whales or to watch sky-high icebergs mysteriously shift down the coastline, Canada’s nature experiences are an impressive show.

Here are 10 Canadian wildlife opportunities for your bucket list. Pick one of these Canadian wilderness adventures now: 

1- Grizzly Bears in British Columbia

wildlife in canada
This is how close you can get on a bear watching cruise in the Great Bear Rainforest. TA bear is one of the most amazing wildlife ni Canada to see.
bears in canada
Kermode bears, grizzly bears and black bears are some of the wildlife in Canada in the Great Bear Rainforest.

In the middle of a great rainforest surrounded by thick tall western cedars on B.C.’s fabled west coast lies great big grizzly bear country known as the Great Bear Rainforest.

Conservationists declare this spot a rare jewel. Why? Because it’s one of the few remaining places on the planet where the ecosystem remains relatively intact.

For the best viewing seasons, late summer and early autumn are when the bears enjoy snacking on spawning salmon streams feeding into the coastal inlets.

Traverse further into the wild fjords and discover a variety of local lodges catering to wilderness buffs such as Nimmo Bay Wilderness Resort, Knight Inlet Lodge or Clayoquot Wilderness Resort.

One remote haven aptly known as Great Bear Lodge has even been lauded by the BBC and National Geographic Channel as ‘one of the best adventure travel companies on earth.’

2- Polar Bears in Churchill, Manitoba

manitoba polar bears
Topping the Canadian wildlife list are polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba, and Nunavut.
polar bear
Visiting Churchill is a bucket list Canadian wildlife experience all wildlife lovers should have on their bucket list.

Jump inside a heated buggy, the size of a monster truck, for an outdoor adventure that guarantees sightings of the world’s largest land carnivore with Frontiers North Adventures or Great White Bear Tours.

The action intensifies when a polar bear approaches the scene.

Once you’ve seen a polar bear in the wild, it’s easy to see why Churchill, Manitoba is called “The Polar Bear Capital of the World.”

Another bucket list experience is a polar bear walking safari with Churchill Wild at Seal River Heritage Lodge.

Depending on what time of year you’re visiting, there’s a good chance you could find yourself kayaking with the beluga whales and seeing polar bears on a Big 5 Safari in summer. 

3- Yukon Wildlife Preserve

While in Whitehorse, take a tour around Yukon Wildlife Preserve for a close look (through fences) at elk, caribou, Dall sheep, muskox and arctic fox.

For a small window of time, the curious can have a bear of a time in northern Yukon wilderness exploring Bear Cave Mountain at the Ni’iinlii Njik Ecological Reserve.

Picture rugged mountains, gentle slopes and caves. Between mid-September and mid-November small groups can experience wilderness grizzly bear viewing in a rich natural habitat.  

4- Whale Encounters in the North Atlantic Ocean

whale watching canada
Canadian marine life: Clockwise from top left: The narwhal (or unicorn of the sea), diving with humpback whales, kayaking with whales and a beluga whale.

Feel small in a big way when you dive into the North Atlantic Ocean only to see an otherworldly presence of a massive humpback whale.

Diving with the whales is a bucket list experience.

It only gets better.

The whale decides to frolic giving off a Mother Nature show of a lifetime.

Newfoundland’s other legendary whale watching experience is tucked away in picture-pretty Cape Broyle.

Sea kayakers smile upon this great escape in the North Atlantic Ocean as paddlers are led on an ocean fantasy loaded with ancient icebergs and magnificent whales that like to frolic past them.

5- Whale Watching in Tadoussac, Quebec

By the confluence of the ancient rivers called the St. Lawrence and Saguenay, board a zodiac and ply the deep waters for the most memorable whale watching experience ever.

If you’re lucky, and chances are you will be, don’t be surprised when a leviathan humpback whale towers over the blow-up boat high above the salty sea showcasing its famous breech.

Off Quebec’s salty shoreline in Tadoussac, whale watchers bask in the glow of an eastern Canadian breeze (it’s nippy on the best of days) and zoom their lenses on one of the most spectacular views care of Mother Nature.

Other cool sightings: minke whales, the pure white beluga whales, fin whales porpoises, and plenty of puddles of krill in the sea.

6- Whale Watching in British Columbia

whale watching newfoundland
Wildlife in Canadian waters: The waters around Canada are home to all kinds of marine wildlife. Humpback whale watching and orca spotting are popular activities.

A short ferry trip from Vancouver will land you in possibly one of the best places to go whale watching on earth.

The waters around Vancouver Island are a playground for orcas in their natural habitat, sea lions and other marine wildlife. And one of the top things to do on Vancouver Island is to go on a whale watching tour. 

Telegraph Cove, Port McNeill and Campbell River are great for Orcas but a Victoria whale watching tour is the most accessible. 

Tofino whale watching season starts in March, with the grey whale migration and the Pacific Rim Whale Festival each year.

7- Canada’s Great Caribou Migration in Nunavut

moose watching tours
Moose, caribou and other types of deer roam the forests.

Come each spring in Nunavut, in Canada’s Far North; there’s a rare spectacle of thousands of migrating caribou.

Witness the spectacular event play out beneath the Midnight Sun and overnight at a remote eco-lodge that offers unrivalled views.

Further south, visit the neighbouring Northwest Territories in autumn to watch the migration of the Qamanirjuaq caribou herd and to spot other Northwest Territories animals

There are a few narrow sections of Ennadai Lake that are natural crossing places for the caribou herd.

Hundreds of thousands of caribou leave their summer calving grounds to travel 500km to their winter stomping ground.

8- Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta

Wood Buffalo National Park is where you will find North America’s largest land mammal, the eponymously named wood buffalo.

Straddling northeastern Alberta and the southern Northwest Territories, Canada’s largest national park is a nature lover’s dream that offers unique wood buffalo viewing tours during July through September with local Aboriginal tour operators.

9- Moose safaris in Ontario and Quebec

wildlife in Canada
How would you like to meet this big guy in the wild? Yes, it’s a moose!

Did you know this four-legged critter is a powerful swimmer within days of birth?

Did you know the largest member of the deer family usually hangs out on the margins of lakes, muskegs and streams?

In Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, you can stay in a lodge and take a day trip to look for moose or sign up for an adventurous multi-day moose viewing safari by canoe.

Another ideal spot for moose encounters is the Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec.

The Matane Wildlife Reserve reportedly has the largest number of moose per square kilometre in all of Quebec.

10- Adventuraid Parc Mahikan in Quebec

wildlife in canada
More wildlife in Canada

Canada has more than 50,000 wolves and is home to the second-largest grey wolf population in the world.

Wolves can be found in many national parks, where you’re likely to hear them howling but can be difficult to spot.

If you’re wild about wolves, sleep in a hut or a yurt in Adventuraid Parc Mahikan in Quebec.

The wolf park has 40 wolves, including Arctic wolves and grey wolves.

Enclosures are spacious and visitors are allowed into the wolf enclosures for up-close experiences with the wolves. 

Not far from Calgary, there’s a place where you can get close to wolfdogs, which are part wolf and part dog.

The Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary offers small group escorted visits into an enclosure where you can commune with Canadian wolf dogs. 

How to spot wildlife in Canada

By Katharine Fletcher

Wildlife roams and Mother Nature rules – both dictums make predicting precisely where you can see what species a matter of good fortune.

However, here are some general tips.

  • Wildlife is most active at dawn or dusk but not during midday when animals escape the heat by sheltering in gullies or forests.
  • Learn about the migration patterns of the species you want to see before heading out. For example, in the Canadian Rockies, grizzly bears and birds migrate from one ecozone to another.
  • Remember that when you go wildlife watching you’re venturing into the animals’ territory. 
  • Much of Canada is bear country so hike in groups and be bear aware. Before setting off, check the weekly bear reports, ask at your hotel or campground if bears have been sighted. If you see a bear, back off. 
  • In many parks, Parks Canada biologists set up and monitor wildlife communication trees. Look for trees which typically have wire on the trunks to capture hair. Researchers do DNA sampling to see how many individual creatures visit, rub, or urinate on the trees: all such territorial markings serve as communication to other critters.

Best practices for wildlife watching 

  • Be quiet
  • Never throw things at the animals
  • Do not bait or do anything to stress the animals
  • Keep a respectful distance from them (particularly when young are present)
  • Never feed or pet animals
  • Do not harm the animals 

Canadian wildlife Q&A

How many polar bears are left in the world?

There are approximately 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears in the world. Two-thirds of them are in Canada. Polar bears are a “vulnerable” species that face losing their habitat due to the melting ice caps in the Arctic.

How many grizzly bears are there in Canada?

There are around 25,000 grizzly bears in Canada. You’ll find them mostly in British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Manitoba. The difference between a grizzly and a black bear is black bears have smaller claws, a flatter profile, larger ears and no visible shoulder hump.

What is the difference between a whale and a dolphin?

Blue, minke, grey and humpback whales are baleen whales. They have baleen and two blowholes. Dolphins are toothed whales with teeth and one blowhole. The orca is not a baleen whale, even though it’s known as a killer whale.

Orcas are the largest of the dolphins. Related to the orca is the narwhal, a toothed whale with a long tusk. Found in the Canadian Arctic, narwhals are known as the unicorns of the sea. The beluga whale (or white whale) is from the same family as the narwhal.

Where can I see spirit bears?

British Columbia’s central and north coast regions are the only place in the world you will find spirit bears. Also called the Kermode bear (Ursus americanus kermodei), it is an extremely rare subspecies of the American black bear.

Love animals? Find out more about:

Wildlife in Canada

Wildlife in Canada

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Ilona Kauremszky
I’m an award-winning travel journalist who scours the world in search of stories. I’m also the producer of mycompass.ca and mycompasstv and a former nationally syndicated travel columnist.