Dispatches
MEET A FEW OF CANADA’S CRITICALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES
Keeping you up-to-date on what’s happening in research, in conservation and in the wild right now
Wild Species 2015, a recently published report cataloguing the results of a Canada-wide survey of species, revealed some unsettling facts about the state of endangered species in this country. Of the approximately 30,000 species identified by the report (out of roughly 80,000 total in Canada), 456 were in critical danger of going extinct. Learn here about a few of Canada’s rarest and most at-risk wildlife.
SABLE ISLAND SWEAT BEE
This bee (Lasioglossum sablense) is one of more than 800 species of bee in Canada, though one of only two species that are believed to be found in Canada only. In this case, only on Sable Island, Nova Scotia. This bee nests in the ground. Right now, the bees are breeding and heading to winter nests. Little is known about their organization within the nests, although other related species have a distinct social order at work.
TOWNSEND’S MOLE
Found in the Pacific Northwest, the Townsend’s Mole is the biggest mole in North America. Although it’s mostly found in Washington State and Oregon, the Canadian population of
Scapanus townsendii all live in a relatively small area in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley. The mole faces threats from people who don’t distinguish it from more common moles, which are considered pests. At this time of year, young moles are approaching sexual maturity. They will mate in winter.
COMMON GREY FOX
Unlike all other members of the dog family in Canada, this fox
(Urocyon cinereoargenteus) is the only one that can climb trees. It eats both plants and other animals. Although historic records indicate they used to be almost as abundant as the red fox, today they are only found in two Canadian regions, both in Ontario: in the south near Pelee Island and north and west near Thunder Bay. At this time of year, grey fox pups are leaving their mother to make their way out into the world.
WHOOPING CRANE
The whooping crane (Grus americana) remains critically endangered despite vigorous conservation efforts. Although international efforts to save the whooping crane have been ongoing since the 1950s, the bird is still at risk. The world’s only population of migratory whoopers annually flies to its mating grounds in Alberta’s Wood Buffalo National Park. At this point in the year, the whooping crane is on its 3,500 mile journey south to its wintering grounds in Arkansas.