List of Mammals of Canada

List Of Mammals Of Canada

This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Canada. There are approximately 200 mammal species native to Canada. Its large territorial size and variety of ecosystems, ranging from mountains to plains to urban housing, mean that Canada can harbour a great variety of species, including nearly half of the known cetaceans. The most well represented order is that of the rodents, and the smallest that of the Didelphimorphia (common opossums).

Studies of mammals in Canada hearken back to the 1795 northern explorations of Samuel Hearne, whose account is considered surprisingly accurate. The first seminal work on Canadian mammals, however, was John Richardson's 1829 Fauna Boreali-Americana. Joseph Burr Tyrrell was the first to attempt to produce, in 1888, a comprehensive list of Canadian mammalian species. Ernest Thompson Seton and Charles-Eusèbe Dionne's work were also important. Modern Canadian publications with interest in mammalogy include The Canadian Field Naturalist, the Canadian Journal of Zoology and the French-language Le Naturaliste Canadien.

Several species of mammal have particular symbolism. The Canadian Horse and Beaver are official symbols of Canada, and several provinces have designated native species as symbols.

Conservation status - IUCN Red List of Threatened Species:

EX - Extinct, EW - Extinct in the Wild

CR - Critically Endangered, EN - Endangered, VU - Vulnerable

NT - Near Threatened, LC - Least Concern

DD - Data Deficient, NE - Not Evaluated

(v. 2012.1, the data is current as of June 19, 2012)