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Threat Assessment

cwf-fcf.org > English > News & Media > Articles
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By Jacques Perrault (Illustrations)

Threat Assessment

How many species in Canada are endangered or at risk? It’s impossible to answer that question with an exact number, just as it’s impossible to know precisely how many species of wildlife there are. But this much is certain: the 35-year-old Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada — the national body of scientists and other experts that assesses wildlife species — currently gives at-risk status to 640 species. Of those animals, the federal Species at Risk Act lists 492, providing the basis for recovery and management planning. Here, we break down those numbers and present a snapshot of what we know for certain about Canada’s species at risk.

BIO BREAKDOWN

At-risk wildlife are also categorized in 10 taxonomic groups on the SARA list. This graph illustrates the percentage each group makes up of the total of officially at-risk species.

RISK LEVELS

The Species at Risk Act lists wildlife in one of four categories. Each is defined by the degree of threat to a species’ survival. The number beside each level below is the total number of species in that category under SARA.

Illustration of person with binoculars  

SPECIAL CONCERN | 119

A species that may become Threatened or Endangered by a combination of biological characteristics and environmental threats.

 

Illustration of tree corded off to be protected

 

 THREATENED | 127

A species likely to become Endangered if nothing is done to limit the factors threatening its existence.

 

Illustration of fish with one looking different

ENDANGERED | 223

A species facing imminent extirpation or extinction.

 

Illustration of body of frog with visible skeleton

EXTIRPATED | 23

A species that no longer exists in the wild in Canada, but still survives elsewhere in the wild.

THE NUMBERS

This chart indicates the number of species in each of the 10 taxonomic groups from the SARA list that are of Special Concern, Threatened, Endangered or Extirpated.

 

SPECIAL CONCERN

THREATENED

ENDANGERED

EXTIRPATED

Polar bear icon

MAMMALS

17 13
18
4
Bird icon
BIRDS
19 20
27
2
Lizard icon
REPTILES
9 13
14
4
Frog icon
AMPHIBIANS
7 6
7
1
Fish icon
FISHES
25 12
26
3
Bug icon
ARTHROPODS
5 6
18
3
Shell icon
MOLLUSCS
4 1
13
2
Leaf icon
VASCULAR PLANTS
26 51
91
3
Moss icon
MOSSES
4 3
7
1
Lichen icon
LICHENS
3 2
2
0

GONE FOR GOOD?

The SARA list includes 23 extirpated species (including the six depicted below). Each extirpated species still survives in another part of the world, so the possibility exists of reintroducing them. In fact, a recent reintroduction of the extirpated black-footed ferret in Saskatchewan’s Grasslands National Park has been relatively successful to date.

BLACK-FOOTED FERRET

Black-footed ferret illustration

 

ATLANTIC WALRUS (NORTHWEST ATLANTIC POPULATION)

Walrus illustration

GREY WHALE (ATLANTIC POPULATION)

Whale illustration

 

 

TIGER SALAMANDER

Salamander illustration

KARNER BLUE BUTTERFLY

Butterfly illustration
 

GREAT SAGE-GROUSE (PHAIOS SUBSPECIES)

Grouse illustration
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