Mammals
This page features articles and video presentations about Alberta's mammals. See our Featured Species page for information on other species.
Delta Dawn with the Wolves of Wood Buffalo National Park
BY ERIN MCCLOSKEY
Wood Buffalo National Park was established in 1922 to protect what remained of Canada’s wood bison. Today, exactly 100 years later, the park supports a population of approximately 3,000 bison, which coexist alongside their natural predator, the wolf. The core range of the park is quite possibly the only place where bison are wolves’ primary prey.
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Action for an Icon
BY RICHARD SCHNEIDER
Why do Alberta’s Caribou Keep Declining, and What Can We Do About It?
Despite the woodland caribou’s high profile and the millions of dollars we’ve poured into research, the caribou’s story is one of progressive decline. Here, Richard explores the key challenges that make caribou conservation so difficult and provides an unvarnished perspective on what needs to change.
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Citizen Scientists Come to the Aid of the Tenacious Franklin’s Ground Squirrel
BY GILLIAN CHOW-FRASER AND RICHARD SCHNEIDER
In Alberta, the status of Franklin’s ground squirrel has still not been determined. The provincial government maintains that there is not enough information to say whether the population is stable or imperiled. In the spring of 2022, Nature Alberta initiated a citizen science project to help fill some of the data gaps. The results are presented here.
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What Bears Teach Us
Recorded Presentation
Speaker: SARAH ELMELIGI
Host: Weaselhead/Glenmore Park Preservation Society
Wild Boars on the March
Initially, wild boar numbers were low and they went largely unnoticed. However, their high reproductive rate is a recipe for exponential growth, which is exactly what has happened.
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Death by “Data Deficient”: The Disappearance of Wolverines in Alberta’s Eastern Slopes
BY GILLIAN CHOW-FRASER
Olaus Murie once wrote, “I wonder if there is another inhabitant of northern wilderness that so excites the imagination.”1 The species he was referring to? None other than the wolverine.
More than 60 years later, the same thought ran through my mind as I tracked through the foothills of Alberta’s Rocky Mountains. Would this be the day? Would I be able to catch even a brief glimpse of a wolverine’s bushy tail in the distance?
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The Ronald Lake Wood Bison Herd: Observations From Their Home
BY GARRETT RAWLEIGH & LEE HECKER
When people think of bison, they often picture the vast herds of plains bison that once roamed the Great Plains of North America. These massive herds, and the story of their demise, are well known. But how many people are familiar with their larger northern cousin?
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Contributors To Conflict And Coexistence With Urban Coyotes
Recorded Presentation
Speaker: COLLEEN CASSADY ST. CLAIR
Host: Nature Alberta
Deadly Highway: Road and Rail Fatalities are Decimating Jasper Park’s Wildlife
BY DICK DEKKER
Protected from hunting year-round, Jasper’s elk have lost their fear of humans, and tend to concentrate along highways and in the townsite. There are two main reasons for this: they are attracted by grassy clearings, and there are fewer wolves here than in the backcountry. However, the elk’s anti-predator strategy of staying near human habituation increases the risk of colliding with vehicles and trains.
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The Case of the Missing Prairie Bandit
BY ARYA HORON
One hundred years ago, the prairie bandit was abundant across North America grasslands. By 1979, scientists believed it was extinct. This led to the question: where did the prairie bandit go?
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