List of Endangered Species in Canada in 2024

List of Endangered Species in Canada: Canada has 363 classified as endangered species. In this, 190 species are threatened 235 special concern and 22 are extirpated in nature. Vancouver Island marmot is the rarest animal in Canada which falls under the critically endangered category. Beavers are the national animal of Canada and it is a least concern species as per the IUCN Red List.

Below is the list of endangered species in Canada.

List of Endangered Species in Canada

In 2023, over 2,000 animal species in Canada are at high risk of disappearing. Canada has laws like the Canada Wildlife Act and the Endangered Species Act to create, manage, and protect wildlife areas and prevent indigenous species from dying out. Here are some of the most endangered species in Canada. Here is the list of Endangered Species in Canada as mentioned below:

List of Endangered Species in Canada 2024
Endangered Species	Threats	IUCN Red Data Book Status
American Badger	Habitat loss, road mortality	Least Concern
American Eel	Habitat loss, dams, overfishing	Endangered
Canada Warbler	Habitat loss, deforestation	Least Concern
Baird’s Sparrow	Habitat loss, agriculture	Near Threatened
Eastern Cougar	Habitat loss, human activity	Extinct (Possibly)
Bank Swallow	Habitat loss, pollution	Least Concern
Grizzly Bear	Human disturbance, habitat loss	Least Concern
Barn Swallow	Habitat loss, pesticide use	Least Concern
Orca	Pollution, prey depletion	Data Deficient
Black-footed Ferret	Habitat loss, prey depletion	Endangered
Ord’s Kangaroo Rat	Habitat loss, agricultural development	Least Concern
Blanding’s Turtle	Habitat loss, pollution	Least Concern
Pacific Great Blue Heron	Habitat loss, pollution	Least Concern
Bobolink	Habitat loss, agricultural practices	Least Concern
Peary Caribou	Habitat loss, climate change	Endangered
Buff-breasted Sandpiper	Climate change, habitat degradation	Near Threatened
Porbeagle Shark	Overfishing, bycatch	Vulnerable
Burrowing Owl	Habitat loss, agricultural development	Least Concern
Whooping Crane	Habitat loss, human disturbance	Endangered
Wolverine	Habitat loss, climate change	Least Concern
Collared Pika	Climate change, habitat loss	Least Concern
Vancouver Island Marmot	Habitat loss, predation	Critically Endangered
Chinook Salmon	Overfishing, habitat degradation	Endangered
Common Nighthawk	Habitat loss, pesticide use	Least Concern
Deepwater Sculpin	Habitat loss, pollution	Least Concern
Ferruginous Hawk	Habitat loss, pesticide use	Least Concern
Gray Fox	Habitat loss, human disturbance	Least Concern
Greater Sage-Grouse	Habitat loss, human disturbance	Near Threatened
Horned Grebe	Habitat loss, pollution	Least Concern
King Rail	Habitat loss, pollution	Least Concern
Louisiana Waterthrush	Habitat loss, pollution	Least Concern
Lake Sturgeon	Overfishing, habitat loss	Least Concern
Narwhal	Climate change, hunting	Least Concern
Olive Clubtail Dragonfly	Habitat loss, pollution	Least Concern
Piping Plover	Habitat loss, human disturbance	Near Threatened
Red Knot	Habitat loss, human disturbance	Least Concern
Rusty Blackbird	Habitat loss, pollution	Least Concern
Sei Whale	Overfishing, habitat loss	Endangered
Whip-poor-will	Habitat loss, human disturbance	Least Concern
Woodland Caribou	Habitat loss, human activity	Threatened

Endangered Species in Canada

Peary Caribou

The Peary Caribou, found only in Canada’s Arctic Archipelago, looks a lot like a reindeer. Both male and female caribous can grow antlers. This species is at risk of disappearing from Canada because of global warming.

• Warmer temperatures let predators like wolves, cougars, and coyotes move farther north into the caribous’ home. Climate change also messes up their travel plans and makes it hard to find food because the timing of when Arctic ice melts and freezes changes.
• This makes it tough for them to find enough to eat and means they have to compete with other animals for food. Plus, really cold winters can make whole groups of caribou starve.
• Human made habitats, cities and factories also get in the way of where they look for food.
• Right now, there are about 13,200 grown-up caribous left in the wild, according to the latest count.

Burrowing Owl 

The Burrowing owl, one of the smallest owl species, lives mainly in the prairie grasslands of Canada, measuring just 7.5-10 inches tall.

• This owl likes dry, open areas with short plants where it can catch its food, such as squirrels, prairie dogs, and other small animals.
• Its numbers have gone down in the last 30 years because its homes are being destroyed and broken into smaller pieces by people building things.
• A lot of the places it used to live have been turned into farms where farmers often use chemicals to protect their crops.
• These chemicals can hurt the owls when they eat animals that have been affected.
• Now, there are less than 1,000 pairs of Burrowing owls left in Canada.

Leatherback Sea Turtle

The Leatherback Sea turtle is a migratory marine animal that travels throughout the North Atlantic Ocean. In every summer times, almost 1,000 turtles migrate to the waters off Atlantic Canada to feed on jellyfish.

• Globally, this species has decreased by over 70% due to various factors. These factors are accidental capture in fishing gear, development along coastlines and offshore, pollution in the marine environment, illegal harvesting of eggs, changes to nesting sites, and effects of climate change.
• One of the major reasons for the dramatic decline in population. It is an entanglement with fishing gear, both discarded and in use. It can result in choking or hindering movement, leading to drowning or starvation.
• Despite being classified as endangered in Canada, international cooperation is essential for the conservation of the Leatherback Sea turtle due to its migratory nature.

Vancouver Island Marmot

The Vancouver Island marmot is a type of ground squirrel that is losing much of its home due to human activities and development. This animal, found only on Vancouver Island, mostly lives in areas with rocky slopes and loose soil, along with sub-alpine meadows.

• It is considered Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List and Endangered in Canada.
• At one point, its population dropped to as low as 30 individuals in 2007. Thanks to conservation efforts, that number increased to 250-300 by 2015.
• However, the species still faces challenges such as decreasing genetic variation, leading to interbreeding, which makes it more susceptible to disease or significant environmental changes.
• Additionally, predators like wolves, cougars, and golden eagles prey on them, making it hard for the species to fully recover.

Wolverine

This small, bear-like animal can travel long distances, but its habitat has shrunk a lot since Europeans settled in Canada.

• Land conservation and urban development have reduced the areas where it can live.
• The eastern wolverine population is also in danger because people hunt them for their fur, which is very warm, and also hunt their main food, caribou.
• Wolverines mostly live in cold, high places from British Columbia to Ontario, but no one has seen them in these provinces since the late 1970s.
• The latest data from 2013 estimates there are between 458 to 645 wolverines left.

Beluga Whale

The Beluga whale is easily recognizable by its large round forehead, called a “melon,” and its distinctive white color.

• They mainly live in areas with Arctic sea ice, with around two-thirds of the world’s population (approximately 136,000 whales) spending their summers in Canadian waters.
• These marine mammals are culturally significant to Inuit and Inuvialuit communities in the Canadian Arctic, as their skin and outer blubber layers are important food sources.
• Beluga whales are considered indicators of environmental changes because they are highly sensitive to them.
• They rely on sea ice for protection from killer whales, making them more vulnerable as global warming reduces and changes ice cover rapidly.
• Activities like Arctic oil and gas exploration, commercial fishing, shipping operations, and marine pollution also threaten their survival.
• Noise pollution, in particular, affects the whale’s ability to communicate, detect predators, find food, and care for their young.

Atlantic Salmon

The Atlantic salmon, also called the King of Fish, lives in both fresh and saltwater.

• It is not just a popular food; it is also important for forty First Nations and many Indigenous communities for social and ceremonial purposes.
• Dams and culverts built for development block or slow down the salmon’s movements, making it hard for them to spawn and rear their young.
• Habitat damage and foreign fishing add to the problem, causing their numbers to drop drastically to as low as 0.4 million in 1995 from 0.8-1.7 million between 1971-1985.
• Conservation efforts in several countries have helped since the 2000s, but the salmon is still considered endangered in Canada, even though it is listed as ‘Least Concern’ by the IUCN.

Rusty-Patched Bumblebee

The rusty-patched bumblebee, once common in Canada. It has not been seen since 2009 in Canda. That is why it is critically endangered globally and endangered in Canada.

• It gets its name from the rust-colored patch on its abdomen. These bees usually feed on plants like milkweed, sunflowers, clovers, and fruit blossoms.
• Unlike other threatened species affected by habitat loss, scientists have not pinpointed why the rusty-patched bumblebee’s population has dropped dramatically.
• Pesticides and competition from species like the European honeybee might be factors.

Sea Otter

This cute marine mammal was almost wiped out because of the fur trade that started in the 1700s.

• By 1929, they were almost gone from British Columbia. But for the conservation efforts in Canada and strict protection rules, the sea otter population grew to over 6,500 today.
• Now, you can find them along the west coast of Vancouver Island and part of the central coast of British Columbia.
• But globally, sea otters are still endangered according to the IUCN. In Canada, there are new dangers that could stop their recovery story.
• Things like accidentally catching them in fishing nets, getting stuck in old fishing gear, pollution in the oceans, and oil spills all threaten the species.
• Oil spills are especially dangerous because they make the otters’ fur useless for keeping them warm, making them likely to get hypothermia.

Narwhal

The Narwhal, known as the unicorns of the sea for their long spiralled horn, are mainly found in Canadian waters, with some also in East Greenland.

• Like many marine mammals, they face risks from pollution, fishing, and climate change, but their preference for deep waters makes them less vulnerable.
• However, hunting poses the greatest threat as their skin and ivory hold value in the market and for certain communities.
• Although sightings are rare, scientists estimate around 170,000 Narwhals remain in the wild.

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List of Endangered Species in Canada – FAQs

What are 5 endangered species in Canada?

Peary Caribou, Burrowing Owl, Leatherback Sea Turtle, Vancouver Island Marmot and Wolverine are 5 endangered species in Canada.

How many species are at risk in Canada?

Today, 521 plant and animal species are considered at risk under Canada’s Species at Risk Act.

What are the Endangered Species Acts Canada?

The purposes of the Species at Risk Act ( SARA ) are to prevent wildlife species in Canada from disappearing, to provide for the recovery of wildlife species that are extirpated, endangered, or threatened as a result of human activity.

How many species are there in Canada?

Around 80,000 species are there in Canada.

What is the rarest animal to find in Canada?

The rarest animal in Canada is the Vancouver Island marmot. It is a critically endangered ground squirrel species found only on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

How many endangered species are there in Ontario Canada?

In Ontario, over 230 native animals and plants are identified as at-risk.