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List of Wildlife Species at Risk (Canada)

Adapted from Wikipedia Β· Discoverer experience

A stylized beaver leaf icon, representing Canadian symbols.

As of November 2024, Canada has a list of more than 600 wildlife species considered at risk of disappearing. These species include 301 that are in danger of disappearing completely, 147 that are at risk, 200 that need special care, and 23 that no longer live in the wild in Canada but still exist somewhere else in the world. About 65 percent of Canada’s wildlife is safe and not at risk.

The Government of Canada keeps a detailed list of all plant and animal species that are special concern, threatened, in danger, no longer in Canada, or completely gone. This list is part of an important law called the Species at Risk Act. Protecting these species helps keep Canada’s natural world healthy and beautiful for everyone.

SARA Schedule

Species listed on SARA Schedule I get special protection under Canadian law. This means their homes and the animals themselves are kept safe from harm. When a species is added to this list, a team works on a plan to help it recover.

The Minister of the Environment adds new species to this list each year. They follow advice from the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, a group of experts who study the animals. Even though these experts give important information, only the official list under SARA Schedule I gives legal protection in Canada.

Mammals

Canada has many mammals that need special care to keep them safe. Some of these animals are no longer found in the wild in Canada but still exist elsewhere. Others are in danger of disappearing, and some are at risk but not as urgent.

Here are some examples:

Extirpated mammals

  • grey whale (Atlantic population)
  • black-footed ferret
  • Atlantic walrus (northwest Atlantic population)

Endangered mammals

  • sei whale (Pacific population)
  • blue whale
  • North Atlantic right whale
  • wolverine (eastern population)
  • northern bottlenose whale (Scotian Shelf population)
  • Vancouver Island marmot
  • American marten (Newfoundland population)
  • orca or killer whale (Pacific southern resident population)
  • woodland caribou (Atlantic/GaspΓ©sie population)
  • Townsend's mole
  • Pacific water shrew
  • American badger; jacksoni subspecies
  • American badger; jeffersonii subspecies
  • swift fox

Threatened mammals

  • pallid bat
  • fin whale (Pacific population)
  • wood bison
  • sea otter
  • beluga whale (St. Lawrence Estuary population)
  • Haida ermine
  • humpback whale (North Pacific population)
  • killer whale (northeast Pacific transient population)
  • killer whale (northeast Pacific northern resident population)
  • woodland caribou (boreal population)
  • woodland caribou (southern mountain population)
  • grey fox

Mammals of special concern

  • bowhead whale (Bering–Chukchi–Beaufort population)
  • fin whale (Atlantic population)
  • eastern wolf
  • sea otter
  • black-tailed prairie dog
  • grey whale (eastern North Pacific population)
  • spotted bat
  • Steller sea lion
  • woodland vole
  • killer whale (Northeast Pacific offshore population)
  • harbour porpoise (Pacific Ocean population)
  • woodland caribou (northern mountain population)
  • eastern mole
  • Nuttall's cottontail, nuttallii subspecies
  • polar bear

Birds

Canada has many bird species that need protection to keep them from disappearing. Some birds are considered to have gone away from Canada but still exist in other places. Others are in danger, meaning they might disappear soon if we don’t help them. There are also birds that we should watch closely to make sure they stay safe.

Here are some of the birds that need our help:

Extirpated birds

Endangered birds

Threatened birds

Birds of special concern

Reptiles

Some reptiles in Canada are in danger and need protection. Here are a few examples:

Extirpated reptiles

These reptiles no longer live in the wild in Canada, but they still exist somewhere else in the world.

Endangered reptiles

These reptiles are in big trouble and could disappear from Canada very soon.

Threatened reptiles

These reptiles are at risk but not as much as endangered ones. They might become endangered if we don't help them.

Reptiles of special concern

These reptiles are not in immediate danger, but we should watch them to make sure they stay safe.

Amphibians

Extirpated amphibians

Endangered amphibians

Threatened amphibians

Amphibians of special concern

Fish

Some fish in Canada are at risk and need protection. These fish are in different groups depending on how much danger they are in.

Extirpated fish

These fish are no longer found in the wild in Canada, but they still exist somewhere else in the world:

  • _Erimystax x-punctatus β€” gravel chub
  • _Polyodon spathula β€” paddlefish

Endangered fish

These fish are in serious danger of disappearing forever:

  • _Acipenser transmontanus β€” white sturgeon
  • Catostomus catostomus subsp. β€” Salish sucker
  • _Coregonus huntsmani β€” Atlantic whitefish
  • _Coregonus reighardi β€” shortnose cisco
  • Gasterosteus sp. β€” benthic Enos Lake stickleback
  • Gasterosteus sp. β€” benthic Paxton Lake stickleback
  • Gasterosteus sp. β€” benthic Vananda Creek stickleback
  • Gasterosteus sp. β€” limnetic Enos Lake stickleback
  • Gasterosteus sp. β€” limnetic Paxton Lake stickleback
  • Gasterosteus sp. β€” limnetic Vananda Creek stickleback
  • _Lampetra richardsoni var. marifuga β€” Morrison Creek lamprey
  • _Moxostoma hubbsi β€” copper redhorse
  • _Notropis anogenus β€” pugnose shiner
  • _Noturus stigmosus β€” northern madtom
  • Rhinichthys cataractae subsp. β€” Nooksack dace
  • _Salmo salar (Inner Bay of Fundy populations) β€” Atlantic salmon
  • _Salvelinus fontinalis timagamiensis β€” aurora trout

Threatened fish

These fish are at risk but not as dangerous as endangered fish:

  • _Ammocrypta pellucida β€” eastern sand darter
  • _Anarhichas denticulatus β€” northern wolffish
  • _Anarhichas minor β€” spotted wolffish
  • _Cottus confusus β€” shorthead sculpin
  • Cottus paulus β€” pygmy sculpin
  • Cottus sp. (St. Mary and Milk River populations) β€” eastslope sculpin
  • _Erimyzon sucetta β€” lake chubsucker
  • _Hybognathus argyritis β€” western silvery minnow
  • _Lampetra macrostoma β€” Vancouver lamprey
  • _Lepisosteus oculatus β€” spotted gar
  • _Notropis percobromus β€” carmine shiner
  • _Osmerus spectrum β€” Lake Utopia dwarf smelt
  • _Percina copelandi β€” channel darterm

Fish of special concern

These fish need watching to make sure they don't get into more trouble:

  • _Acipenser medirostris β€” green sturgeon
  • _Anarhichas lupus β€” Atlantic wolffish
  • _Coregonus kiyi kiyi β€” Upper Great Lakes kiyi
  • _Cottus hubbsi β€” Columbia sculpin
  • _Esox americanus vermiculatus β€” grass pickerel
  • _Fundulus diaphanus (Newfoundland population) β€” banded killifish
  • _Fundulus notatus β€” blackstripe topminnow
  • _Lepomis gulosus β€” warmouth
  • _Macrhybopsis storeriana β€” silver chub
  • _Minytrema melanops β€” spotted sucker
  • _Moxostoma carinatum β€” river redhorse
  • _Myoxocephalus thompsonii (Great Lakes–Western St. Lawrence populations) β€” deepwater sculpin
  • _Notropis bifrenatus β€” bridle shiner
  • _Opsopoeodus emiliae β€” pugnose minnow

Arthropods

Canada has many insects and other small creatures that are in danger. Some of these are no longer found in Canada but still exist in other places. Others are at risk of disappearing.

Here are some examples:

Extirpated arthropods

Endangered arthropods

Threatened arthropods

Arthropods of special concern

Molluscs

Some molluscs in Canada are at risk and need protection. These include species that are no longer found in the wild in Canada, species that are in danger of disappearing, and species that are at risk but not as urgent.

Extirpated molluscs

Endangered molluscs

Threatened molluscs

Molluscs of special concern

Vascular plants

Canada has many types of plants that need special care to make sure they don’t disappear. Some plants are in danger of disappearing, some are at risk, and others need extra attention.

There are plants that no longer grow in the wild in Canada but still exist somewhere else. These include:

Some plants are in big danger and might disappear soon. These include:

Some plants are at risk but not in immediate danger. These include:

Some plants need extra attention to make sure they stay safe. These include:

  • Achillea millefolium var. megacephalum β€” large-headed woolly yarrow
  • Armeria maritima subsp. interior β€” Athabasca thrift
  • Arnoglossum plantagineum β€” tuberous Indian-plantain
  • Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum β€” American hart's-tongue fern
  • Astragalus robbinsii var. fernaldii β€” Fernald's milk-vetch
  • Bidens amplissima β€” Vancouver Island beggarticks
  • Cicuta maculata var. victorinii β€” Victorin's water-hemlock
  • Clethra alnifolia β€” sweet pepperbush
  • Deschampsia mackenzieana β€” Mackenzie hairgrass
  • Dryopteris arguta β€” coastal wood fern
  • Fraxinus quadrangulata β€” blue ash
  • Hibiscus moscheutos β€” swamp rose-mallow
  • Isoetes prototypus β€” prototype quillwort
  • Juncus caesariensis β€” New Jersey rush
  • Lilaeopsis chinensis β€” eastern lilaeopsis
  • Potamogeton hillii β€” Hill's pondweed
  • Psilocarphus brevissimus (prairie population) β€” dwarf woolly-heads
  • Psilocarphus elatior (prairie population) β€” tall woolly-heads
  • Rosa setigera β€” climbing prairie rose
  • Salix brachycarpa var. psammophila β€” sand dune short-capsuled willow
  • Salix silicicola β€” felt-leaf willow
  • Salix turnorii β€” Turnor's willow
  • Solidago houghtonii β€” Houghton's goldenrod
  • Solidago riddellii β€” Riddell's goldenrod
  • Tanacetum huronense var. floccosum β€” floccose tansy

Mosses

Some mosses in Canada are in danger. Here are the different kinds:

Extirpated mosses

  • Ptychomitrium incurvum β€” incurved grizzled moss

Endangered mosses

  • Bartramia stricta β€” rigid apple moss
  • Bryoandersonia illecebra β€” spoon-leaved moss
  • Entosthodon rubiginosus β€” rusty cord-moss
  • Fabronia pusilla β€” silver hair moss
  • Fissidens pauperculus β€” poor pocket moss
  • Scouleria marginata β€” margined streamside moss

Threatened mosses

  • Bartramia halleriana β€” Haller's apple moss
  • Pterygoneurum kozlovii β€” alkaline wing-nerved moss

Mosses of special concern

  • Bryoerythrophyllum columbianum β€” Columbian carpet moss
  • Entosthodon fascicularis β€” banded cord-moss
  • Fissidens exilis β€” pygmy pocket moss
  • Syntrichia laevipila β€” twisted oak moss

Lichens

Some lichens in Canada are at risk and need protection.

Endangered lichens

Threatened lichens

Lichens of special concern

  • Erioderma pedicellatum (boreal population) β€” boreal felt lichen
  • Nephroma occultum β€” cryptic paw
  • Sclerophora peronella (Nova Scotia population) β€” frosted glass-whiskers

Related articles

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on List of Wildlife Species at Risk (Canada), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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