Extinct and Extirpated Mammals in Canada
Records indicate that Canada has lost five mammals in recent history. All but one of these is also extinct globally.
Though gone from Canada, black-footed ferrets still survive in the United States. They became extinct in the wild in 1987 when the last remaining wild ferrets were captured. The animals have since bred in captivity and their descendants released into former ferret range in several US states.
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Gone From |
|---|---|---|
| Black-footed Ferret | Mustela nigripes | Alberta, Saskatchewan |
| Vancouver Island Wolverine | Gulo gulo vancouverensis | British Columbia |
| Eastern Elk | Cervus elaphus canadensis | Ontario, Quebec |
| Dawson Caribou | Rangifer tarandus dawsoni | British Columbia |
| Atlantic Gray Whale | Eschrichtius robustus | Quebec |
| Sea Mink | Neovison macrodon | New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia |
A lack of recent confirmed sightings or other evidence suggests that three more mammals might have vanished from Canada. The Washington southern red-backed vole (Myodes gapperi occidentalis) was previously found in BC, and the North American least shrew (Cryptotis parva) is missing from Ontario. Eastern cougars (Puma concolor cougar) may be gone from Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and are likely also extinct in the United States.
Provincial Losses of Mammals
Mammal diversity in most Canadian provinces has declined. The 14 species and subspecies listed below are entirely extirpated from their historical range in some provinces. That is, these animals no longer inhabit all the provinces that they used to.
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Gone From |
|---|---|---|
| Gray Wolf | Canis lupus | New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island |
| Swift Fox | Vulpes velox | Manitoba |
| Canadian Lynx | Lynx canadensis | Prince Edward Island |
| Wolverine | Gulo gulo | New Brunswick |
| American Marten | Martes americana | Prince Edward Island |
| Fisher | Martes pennanti | Prince Edward Island |
| Black Bear | Ursus americanus | Prince Edward Island |
| Grizzly Bear | Ursus arctos | Saskatchewan, Manitoba |
| Caribou | Rangifer tarandus | New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island |
| Pronghorn Antelope | Antilocapra americana | Manitoba |
| Plains Bison | Bos bison bison | Alberta |
| Wood Bison | Bos bison athabascae | Saskatchewan |
| Muskox | Ovibos moschatus | Manitoba |
| Atlantic Walrus | Odobenus rosmarus | New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island |
In addition to these confirmed provincial losses, five more mammals have probably disappeared from individual provinces. In the prairie provinces it seems taiga voles (Microtus xanthognathus) have left Alberta and Manitoba, and the bushy-tailed woodrat (Neotoma cinerea) is now absent from Saskatchewan. White-tailed jackrabbits (Lepus townsendii) have possibly vanished from BC and Ontario.
The ranges of two marine mammals have contracted substantially. North Pacific right whales (Eubalaena japonica) haven't been seen off the BC coast in 50 years. Walruses, besides confirmed as extirpated from the smaller maritime provinces, likely no longer exist in Quebec.