Wildlife is an important part of a vacation to Canada. If you are like most travellers you want to see a bear and if possible get a close-up picture. But be careful there are some rules to respect animals and their habitat.
We highly suggest you learn about Canadian wildlife before starting your trip. This will help you appreciate the wild animals of Canada and will keep you and them safe.
Be safe while wildlife watching
- Always carry bear spray with you.
- Love & Respect the wildlife from a good distance. Stay at least 30 m (3 buses) away from large animals such as deer, moose and elk, and 100 m (10 buses) away from bears, wolves, coyotes and cougars.
- Selfies with wildlife are not safe. Never turn your back or attempt to take a photo of people with wildlife in the background.
- Feeding wildlife is illegal it teaches animals that humans provide food. Once an animal has tasted human food, it may begin to seek it above all other sources of natural foods.
- Respect their environment and pick up garbage – don’t forget it’s their home first! –
- Drive slow, and keep your eyes peeled, a baby bear maybe climbing a tree.
- Stay in your car when viewing wildlife and do not stop on the highway.
- Use your zoom to get close, not your feet.
- If you see babies, BE CAREFUL, MAMA is around and will protect her young!
Where to Watch Wildlife:
- Spray Lakes
- Bow Valley Trail
- Bow Valley Parkway
- Policeman’s Creek trail
- Highway 40
- Canmore Townsite
- Banff Townsite
Wildlife in the Bow Valley:
- Grizzly bear – The larger humped-shoulders give away a grizzly. Could be silver or black/brown.
- Black bear – black or brown in colour, no humps.
- Elk – brown body, darker neck, large tan rump patch, back-slanting antlers. Male elk have a huge antler rack and are even more dangerous in the rutting season from September to October.
- Moose – are the largest member of the deer family, standing up to 1.8 metres tall from shoulder to hoof and weighing an impressive 360 to 725 kilograms. Males (called bulls) are typically larger than females and immediately recognizable by their huge antlers, which can span 1.5 metres.
- White-tailed deer – whitetail and underside, tan colour, up erect when listening.
- Mule deer – black-tipped tail, white rump, large ears, grey colour.
- Bighorn sheep – white rump, light brown fur, and horns. The Male has thick-curled horns while the female has short narrow curved horns.
- Mountain Goat – long white hair, narrow black horns, beard.
- Wolf – built like a large German Shepherd with larger legs, Colors vary from white to black.
- Coyote – like a medium-sized dog, a thick bushy tail, greyish to light brown in colour.
- Cougar – a big cat, very long tail, rare, tan to dark brown in colour, hunts from higher places
- Lynx – With paws likened to snowshoes, the Canada lynx expertly hunts in the snow and feeds on hares, ducks and young deer. This quiet hunter is also known to climb trees and can swim to swiftly catch fish.
- Beaver – Canada’s largest rodent and symbolic mascot. Make sure to try a BeaverTails pastry.
- Columbian ground squirrel – It’s a type of squirrel. They stand up on their back legs and You may hear them scream. They use their voices to communicate smaller messages to each other during interactions.
- Chipmunk – Members of the squirrel family, may come and sniff your bags to make sure you are not hiding food from them.
- Wild Bunnies – Cute little ones who run everywhere around Canmore, you’ll get hooked by their cuteness.
