Endangered Species in Canada

“From the days of the fur trade, wildlife has helped shape the course of Canadian history. And throughout that history, human activity has posed a threat to the very survival of some animal species.”
The main problem with the extinction of species isn’t in Canada, it’s in the rainforest, but any extinction is a problem. During the dinosaur period, only one specie per 1000 years went extinct. Between 1600-1900 (the middle ages), humans learned to kill more efficiently, and about one species per 4 years went extinct. Between 1900-1975, the figure rose to one species per year. Now a days, 1-3 species go extinct everyday in Canada. It is estimated that by the end of the century, one species per hour will go extinct. Since the arrival of the Europeans, about 8 distinctive species and at least one population of caribou has become extinct. Many of the species are wild, and they provide a major source of our basic ingredients of our medicines. Canada’s modern lifestyle depends on industrial household, and agricultural chemicals, which pose a serious risk to endangered species.

• exploitation
  
• hunting, fishing, gathering of eggs or young
  
• destruction of habitat
  
• decrease in forest cover (cutting exceeds reforestation in most provinces)
• lack of natural vegetation to control erosion on streambanks and woodlots on many farms
  
• pollution
  
• air pollution be acid and other toxic substances
  
• water pollution by industry, individual and municipalities

Extinct species are species that no longer exist.
Extirpated species are species that no longer exist in the wild in Canada, but they occur elsewhere.
Endangered species are species that are facing imminent extinction or extirpation.
Threatened species are species that are likely to become endangered in Canada if limiting factors are not reversed.
Vulnerable species are species that are of special concern because of characteristics that make them particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events.

For more information on environmental issues in Canada, click to the Environment Canada homepage.