In the Wild
For these four imperilled species, 2018 could be a crucial year. Here’s the rundown on their plight, and how you can get involved
British Columbia’s grizzly bears were in the headlines a lot in 2017, and you can expect to hear more about them: the year 2018 marks the first season of B.C.’S trophy hunting ban on the bears. While the grizzly hunt has been a hot-button topic for conservationists and hunters alike, a report from the province’s auditor general released in late October 2017 stated that hunting isn’t the biggest threat to the endangered bears — habitat degradation is. For more information, visit bcauditor.com.
NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE (Eubalaena glacialis)
Twelve North Atlantic right whales died in Canadian waters in summer 2017, many in interactions with human-made hazards, such as getting tangled up in fishing gear. This is a “devastating blow to this marine species,” says Sean Brillant, senior conservation biologist of marine programs at the Canadian Wildlife Federation: right whales are endangered, with only about 500 of them left. But there is hope: the Canadian government took unprecedented steps to protect the animals in July by closing the snow crab fishery in an area of the Gulf of St. Lawrence where right whales have regularly been sighted. For more information, visit cwf-fcf.org.
CANADA WARBLER
(Wilsonia canadensis) The Canada warbler, designated a threatened species by the federal government’s conservation arm, has lost 63 per cent of its population since 1970, a recent study from the group Partners in Flight found. Once a commonly sighted bird around the country, the migratory songbird’s numbers are dwindling. The bird winters in the Andes, where it has lost much of its habitat as forests have been cleared for farming; its Canadian habitat is shrinking too. To learn more, visit naturecanada.ca.
GREY WOLF (Canis lupus)
Alberta’s wolf cull has some conservationists up in arms: the practice of leaving poisoned carcasses out to catch the wolves is inhumane, says Wolf Awareness Inc., and there’s mixed evidence as to whether the wolf cull meets its intent of protecting highly endangered caribou. To learn more, go to wolfawarenessinc.org.