Canada is home to an enormous range of wildlife, from massive grizzly bears in the western mountains to beluga whales in Arctic waters. The country’s sheer size and variety of habitats, including boreal forests, Arctic tundra, prairies, coastal rainforests, and three ocean coastlines, support everything from large predators to tiny endemic species found nowhere else on Earth. In fact, 105 animal and plant species are thought to exist only in Canada, and over 80,000 known species have been recorded across the country.
Large Land Mammals
The animals most people picture when they think of Canada are its large mammals. Moose are among the most widespread, found throughout the boreal forests and wetlands that cover much of the country. They’re the largest members of the deer family, and their ability to travel over almost any terrain means you can encounter them from Newfoundland to British Columbia. Black bears are similarly widespread, while grizzly bears occupy the western provinces, particularly British Columbia, Alberta, and the Yukon and Northwest Territories.
Caribou are one of Canada’s most recognizable species, and they come in distinct populations adapted to different environments. Woodland caribou live in the southern boreal forests and appear on the Canadian 25-cent coin. Barren-ground caribou roam the Arctic tundra in large herds, though both types have experienced significant population declines in recent decades. Other notable large mammals include cougars in British Columbia, wolves across the boreal and Arctic regions, and elk in the Rocky Mountain parks.
The beaver holds a special place as Canada’s national animal. Once trapped nearly to extinction during the fur trade, beavers have rebounded and now live in freshwater habitats across the country, reshaping entire ecosystems by building dams.
Arctic and Northern Wildlife
Canada’s Arctic and subarctic regions support species specially adapted to extreme cold. Polar bears patrol the northern coastlines, following sea ice in pursuit of seals. Churchill, Manitoba is famously known as the “polar bear capital of the world” because of the large number that gather there each fall. Arctic foxes and Arctic ground squirrels thrive in the tundra, often denning in dry, sandy slopes. Muskoxen, with their thick double coats, survive year-round on the Arctic tundra of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
The northern waters are just as rich. Beluga whales inhabit several distinct populations, from Cumberland Sound off Baffin Island to the Eastern Beaufort Sea. Narwhals, sometimes called the “unicorns of the sea” for their long spiral tusks, spend their lives in the High Arctic. Bearded seals, ringed seals, and harp seals are found in various Arctic and Atlantic waters. The Atlantic walrus, known for its impressive tusks and heavy build, lives in small populations scattered across the High Arctic and Central-Low Arctic.
Marine Life Along Three Coasts
Canada borders the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans, giving it one of the longest coastlines in the world and a remarkable diversity of marine species. On the Pacific coast, orcas (killer whales), humpback whales, and sea otters are common sights, particularly around British Columbia’s coastal islands. Salmon, both Pacific and Atlantic species, are central to the marine and freshwater ecosystems, migrating from the ocean up rivers to spawn.
The Atlantic coast supports humpback whales, North Atlantic right whales (one of the most endangered large whale species), and enormous colonies of seabirds. The Northern Bottlenose Whale’s Scotian Shelf population, with an estimated fewer than 100 adults remaining, is one of the most critically at-risk marine mammals in Canadian waters. Lobster, Atlantic cod, and various species of crab and shrimp round out the commercially and ecologically important marine life on the east coast.
Birds Across Every Region
Canada’s bird diversity is staggering. Hundreds of species are protected under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, spanning waterfowl (ducks, geese, and swans), loons, shorebirds, songbirds, and raptors. The common loon is arguably the country’s most iconic bird, its haunting call synonymous with Canadian lakes and featured on the one-dollar coin. Canada geese are found continent-wide and are among the most recognized migratory birds in North America.
The snowy owl, a powerful Arctic predator, breeds on the tundra and occasionally moves south in winter in dramatic irruption events. The Atlantic puffin, Newfoundland’s provincial bird and the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean, gathers in huge coastal breeding colonies each spring and summer. Other notable species include bald eagles along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, great blue herons in wetlands, and the whooping crane, one of North America’s rarest birds, which migrates through the Prairie provinces.
Freshwater Fish and Reptiles
Canada’s lakes and rivers, which hold roughly 20% of the world’s freshwater, are home to a huge variety of fish. Brook trout, lake trout, walleye, northern pike, and several species of sturgeon inhabit these waters. The lake sturgeon, which can live over 100 years, is one of the oldest freshwater fish species on the continent.
Reptiles and amphibians are less diverse in Canada than in warmer countries, but they’re still present. Painted turtles, snapping turtles, and Blanding’s turtles live in southern wetlands. The eastern massasauga rattlesnake, found only in parts of Ontario, is Canada’s only venomous snake east of Alberta. Red-sided garter snakes in Manitoba form some of the largest mating aggregations of any snake species in the world, with tens of thousands emerging from communal dens each spring.
Species Found Nowhere Else
Despite its northern climate, Canada has a surprising number of endemic species. A 2020 federal assessment identified 105 species thought to exist only within Canada’s borders. The Vancouver Island marmot is perhaps the most famous, a critically endangered rodent found only in the mountains of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. At its lowest point, fewer than 30 individuals remained in the wild, though captive breeding programs have helped boost numbers.
Many of Canada’s endemic species are lesser-known invertebrates, freshwater fish, and plants adapted to very specific habitats. The Banff Springs snail, for example, lives only in a handful of thermal springs in Banff National Park. These species are especially vulnerable because they have no populations elsewhere to fall back on if their Canadian habitat is degraded.
Conservation Challenges
Canada’s wildlife faces real pressure. As of 2025, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has assessed over 860 species in various risk categories: 378 are classified as Endangered, 201 as Threatened, and 263 as Special Concern. Another 22 species have been extirpated, meaning they no longer exist in the wild in Canada, and 25 have gone fully extinct.
Habitat loss, climate change, and industrial development are the primary drivers. Arctic species like polar bears and caribou are particularly affected by warming temperatures that alter sea ice patterns and tundra vegetation. Woodland caribou have declined as logging fragments the boreal forest, making them more vulnerable to predators. Marine species face threats from shipping traffic, fishing gear entanglement, and ocean noise. Canada uses the Species at Risk Act (SARA) as its primary legal tool to protect vulnerable wildlife, though conservation groups have pushed for faster and more comprehensive listing of at-risk species under the act.