Wildlife - The West
The National and provincial parks of Canada provide natural habitats for many species. For spectacular beauty, rich in wildlife, few areas in the world can match the Yukon’s Kluane National Park with its herds of caribou, Dall’s sheep, wild goats, and the rare blue bear.
While black bears are found all over Canada, the grizzlies are confined to the forest and wetlands of the West. Many are regular campground visitors, so it is wise to heed the rangers’ warnings – even baby bears should be considered dangerous, since they are bound to have a very big mom lurking nearby.
White-tailed deer, with Bambi-like spotted fawns, are commonplace in the parks. So is the huge, prehistoric-looking mouse, readily spotted in the swamplands. In the Rocky Mountains’ parks there are elk, wild goats, and mountain sheep, coyotes, and wolf.
The largest population of bison is in Wood Buffalo National Park on the Northwest Territories/Alberta border. Some 5,600 free-roaming wood bison live here, as do white pelicans, rare whooping cranes, eagles, and wolves but, since this park is the size of Switzerland, you will need a guide to help locate them for you.
