Ya, don't f around with any of them, but especially moose. I've had a bull moose come at my car from the side of the road. They are cantankerous and deadly.
As a Canadian I have had several wildlife encounters, when I was a kid while travelling with my parents I got trapped in an outhouse at the summit of Crowsnest Pass (Canadian Rockies) by a grizzley bear had to stand on top of the "hole" because the bear was swipping his paws under the door. Longest 4 hours I have even experienced, that's how long the park rangers took to get a bear trap there, Also same trip we had to stop our car on the roadway because a Moose wanting to "lick our car" it was massive. Several years later hubby and I went to Jasper in January, we decided to stop into a local bar attached to a hotel. They had automatic door openers, walked into the lobby of the hotel and it was packed with a herd of elk escaping a rather nasty storm that was outside. It was a big lobby so there were around 15 Elk in there, The Elk came in using the automatic door openers :)
Can confirm from what I’ve seen in the Canadian wilds: DON’T mess with any of them. This is their home. Just this past week we were almost surrounded by Elk in Jasper Park. It is mating season. Is it worth your life to take a picture up close? Absolutely not.
Never forget that guy Timothy Treadwell, who convinced himself he had a rapport with bears and used to camp out among them. He ended up being eaten by them, and his girlfriend too. They are wild, and they are not compatible with humans.
Yeah seeing the wildlife here is amazing but always at a safe distance. Several of those videos were way too close for amatuer photographers. I know that people who spend their lives lives working with wild animals, even as photographers, learn where, when and how to interact with them... most of those people are lucky they were unharmed. Nature is beautiful, but wildlife is wild, be safe, stay back.
I grew up in rural Ontario and I encountered many different animals on our front lawn including bears, wolves, coyotes, foxes, porcupines, deer, and moose. All wild animals can be dangerous, including the majestic moose (bull moose and cow moose will charge you if you enter their territory or come near their young). The only animal that ever truly threatened me, though, was a Canada Goose. They are vicious!!!
Isn't that just the God's honest truth!!! Lol I'm pretty sure that out of all the animals you listed, Canada geese are the only ones that don't need an actual reason to try and kill you!
When I was six I was sailing with my dad in a tiny 12 foot Signet sailboat off Hornby Island and we get surrounded by a pod of Orcas, that was cool. I've also had run ins with Grizzly bears on the Atnarko river near Bella Coola and plenty of black bear encounters in the interior. For the most part bears will leave you alone if you leave them alone. One of my favorite encounters was chopping wood on a really windy day. I was taking a short breather and a large woodpecker that had been blown off course by the wind landed on my arm. I look down at it and it looked up at me like, "hey, you're not a tree" before flying up into a nearby tree.
@@mmorrison9176 If only those damn wild turkeys would respect my territory also! I'm all about sharing living space but hey! They're coming my orchard poaching apples like its an all you can eat buffet! Thankfully I can just go ''boogey-boogey-boogey'' and they run away. Wild turkeys man! No manners at all!
The most surreal encounter I've had is with elk. I was working for BC Parks and at around 11pm one evening was doing a run to the top of the park, just to do a check on things. With occasional poaching in the park, we would often drive without lights especially when there was a moon. It was a rough track rather than a road, heavy forest on either side and as I got to the bottom of a gully, a big bull elk wandered onto the track, so I stopped and turned off the engine. - it was a particularly small and low truck that I was driving. After a couple of seconds a whole herd of elk wandered out of the bush and completely surrounded the truck, completely unbothered by it. I think they were catching their breath and taking a break before heading into the next batch of forest, so I just sat for ten minutes in the moonlight, with an absolute forest legs moving around me.
Small town Canada here, things I've seen without leaving my kitchen table: 1 large black bear, 2 one to two year old black cubs, 7 deer at the same time, an ermine, 6 different foxes and a creature that sort of looked like a cross between a badger and a wolverine. As a funny note a German tourist complained about the state of our sheep (1:22), saying he'd never let his flock get into such bad shape.
I was hiking with my wife and two kids in Algonquin park a few years ago. I noticed some rustling in the brush about 10 feet away from us. Got everyone to stand still and quiet when a cow moose came out of the brush followed by a young calf. The mother stopped in the middle of the trail and looked at us. I thought that she was going to attack but she nosed her calf down the trail away from us then turned and casually walked away. My legs were like jelly for quite a while after they left.
The one that you said made you feel uneasy was a mountain goat, the same aninal that was licking the man's arm. And the bird that was sitting on the car mirror was a bluejay, a very pretty but obnoxiously noisey bird. Canadian wildlife is incredibly diverse!!!
I love blue jays. They're incredibly smart and mine are familiar enough to take peanuts out of my hand. Yes, they will compete with other birds. All birds will do this to smaller birds.
Thanks Mert. You keep me Canada-proud. I hope someday you’ll come live in Canada. We’d love to share this beautiful country with somebody who is so positive and kind. You’re very inspiring.
Last week 2 experienced hikers and their dog were killed by a grizzly bear in Banff National Park. The bear then attacked the rescue team. As kids we were on the beach at the cottage in Muskoka when a mink came and sat near us. When my dad and uncle approached to walk us away from it, it snarled at them. Thankfully they were able to scare it off as they can be vicious.
The most wildest animal that I encountered was a Wolverine. But I have been around most of these animals. Bears were at the top till I came across the wolverine. I got a good picture of him the second time seeing him. I also have a great picture of moose, that would blow your mind.
You've seen a wolverine!? I'm jealous. I have a picture of a young bull moose that came out of the tuck and stopped about 10 metres in front of me. It was an amazing experience - until he false charged us lol.
Wolverines are just a heap of bad attitude. Never trust an animal that will climb up a tree to get into your food cache and then piss of what he doesn’t take
Every year, we have a female moose and her either yearling or new calf, winter in our yard. They do not seem to mind the dogs barking in the house. When the dogs go outside, they and the moose do not seem to acknowledge each other. Some years, the young moose follow my girls to the bus at the end of the drive, but the moose keeps a good distance away. The moose do not like people coming in the yard and like to challenge delivery people. That said, they do not seem to have an interest in us and only come near to lick the salt from the cars. Some years we get bears, sometimes cougar. We live in a forest, so coyotes are nightly visitors, as are beavers and foxes. Great horned owls and snowy owls are all around. Bald eagles and golden eagles are common as are hawks. We get gardre snakes and the very odd rattle snakes, toads, newts as well. Wildlife is abundant in most of Canada, and it is so common, as large parts of Canada are wild or farm land with few people. Most Canadians love our wildlife and do not harm or bother them. 😊
I’m a Montrealer, so there’s a half a dozen raccoons in my backyard any given night, but even I can attest learning some puffin is essential if you’re travelling to the eastern tip of Newfoundland😉
Yesterday I walked outside for a smoke, just happened to notice a bear about 3 feet away coming towards me, luckily I left the door open and just popped back inside and shut the door. I am about 100 miles north of Vancouver, we have bear all over town this time of year.
Moose are extremely lean and probably my favorite meat, I grew up on a homestead, nearest neighbours about 7 km away. There was only forest for about 19 km to the west of where we lived. Have seen many moose, deer, elk, bear, coyotes, wolves, porcupine, skunk, and so on. My sister and her husband raised elk for many years, the big money was in the antlers, so many males that were born had to have vasectomies, so they couldn't mate but would continue to produce antlers. In the late spring, while their antlers were still in 'velvet' the horns would be removed, frozen, and asian buyers would come and buy thse 'velvet antlers' to be used in medications. For a while they also raised ostrich and emus. At one point they hand raised a couple of deer faun. They purchased a fairly tame moose from some college, unfortunately they only had 160 acres, and it was not enough for the moose to forage on, so they sold him to a university. They also had some rocky mountain bighorn sheep for a couple of years. They no longer are involved raising these type of animals, just cows, horses now. In addition to moose we have also eaten venison, elk, caribou (reindeer), musk ox, bison, prairie chicken, and ostrich which tastes more like veal than poultry. My husband, father and mother have all been chased by wild moose, they are big, and not something to mess with, my cousin hit one with a big truck and had his neck broken, my sister in law and her mom hit one with their Lincoln, the car was a write off, but because they had slowed to turn into a driveway the ladies were not injured. We have a couple of trail cameras on my brothers acreage, and have gotten lots of pictures of deer, moose, coyotes, birds, etc. When we camp in his private campground we will usually see deer every day or two. We live in central Alberta.
Many years ago, I worked with beavers in animal rescue. Beavers have very relaxed friendly, family oriented natures but never threaten or corner one.☹️ I suspect that bear caught a beaver traveling to find new territory and the Beaver had to fight to prevent being lunch. He probably suffered some wounds but Beavers do not take shit from anyone.😏 When I was a child we lived in Quebec and one winter a cow moose came into our yards to eat all the carrots out of our snowmen's faces. We saw her back a few days later, raided the fridge for carrots/apples but carefully stood quietly offering out the food for her to take. We moved slowly and remained positioned so as to not let her feel she was being cornered. She came back daily for weeks before moving on. Even at 12 years old we were smarter than most of the morons taking those videos.
@@viridian4573 Yup.I agree. I once saw a Bull moose in the 1970's tear apart a small car. Luckily the people had escaped before the car became a heap of metal.😂
It is a true honour to see a Wolverine. I saw one hiking in Banff years ago from far away. Seeing a Wolf and a Wolverine together, and so close, is the Canadian wildlife experience of a lifetime.
My brother was a trucker before he retired and I made a couple of trips with him to Newfoundland. The moose were something you really had to watch for at night. They looked just like a shadow crossing the road, but were soooo big they could do major damage to the truck and anyone inside the truck. One night at a truck stop I saw a truck that had hit a "baby" moose and there was major damage to the hood of the truck. It was mostly gone. Even baby moose are huge.
On our 20th anniversary my husband and I were camping in Jasper and two doe elk were twenty feet away taking turns eating while the other watched their three young calves playing together. I’ve also been about 40 feet from a grizzly bear while fishing in the Kananaskis area. Moose grow new antlers every year and they get more elaborate and bigger each year with more points as they reach their prime. We often see moose in Kananaskis country, especially in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park.
Once ran into an elk. It was the wee hours in Jasper. Had hitch-hiked down with a friend. Was pitch black when we arrived. I was taking a whiz behind a building, heard noise, got spooked. So i motored around the building and ran smack into an elk. We were both surprised. Ran faster than i knew i could back around corner, zig-zagging around trees and hopped in a puck-up.
Canadian - Scariest... driving down a logging road in a VW convertible with the top down.. round a corner and 2 bear cubs are in the middle of the road. Rock wall on 1 side... cliff on the other.. no way past. Look in rearview and Momma's coming down the road behind me... not happy. Old VW's you have to get out to put the top up. All I could do as Momma past the car was scootch down into the foot well. If I'd had the stones I could've touched her. She looked in (over the window) gave me the stink eye.. and went and got her kids. They ambled down the road for about 10 minutes with me trying to figure out what to do because I couldn't get past them and it was the only road off the mountain. Eventually it widened out and they went into the bush. There was a few minutes where I really understood we are not actually the top of the food chain.
that woman @2:43 is incredibly wrong for trying to pet that moose. Moose are incredibly territorial and are prone to charging people. Moose encounters can be very deadly. and sometimes the amount of people killed by them rival deaths by bears, depending on the year.
The most interesting bird in canada might be the loon. They're territorial so there's typically one per lake (we have a lot of lakes...) but it can vary. They dive for fish and crestations, look badass, and have a variety if interesting calls. One of their calls is very eerie and is a sound synonymous with canadian wilderness.
It's also the clumsiness bird! Having It's legs so far back on it's body... it doesn't excel at walking. It'll even push itself along the ground on it's belly. Hence it's name... loon. In the water? Beautiful... with haunting calls familiar to most Canadians (the outdoorsy ones at least).
First time I have been scared of birds was this year in Sylvan Lake Alberta. As their babies matured no matter where you walked it was full on attacks screaming like something from a different realm . Ravens, Right out of a hitchcock movie!
Great video brother. Common birds in southern Ontario, Canada, where I live, are predominantly sparrows, chickadees, ducks, geese and robins. Next in numbers are crows. Then occasionally you’ll get the odd blue Jay and cardinal. Very rarely you’ll see a goldfinch. Unbelievably, we now have bald eagles flying about. So fantastic. Scotland forever.
And then there was the visiting Scotsman who exclaimed, after his Canadian friends told him that that was a moose, "if that's a moose, then I'd hate to see a rat!!"
I’ve seen a few cougars in downtown Toronto😉 many years ago a friend of mine had a blue jay in his backyard that was so tame it would run up his arm and take food he was holding in his mouth. It disappeared one day, probably trusted someone it shouldn’t. Two other types of birds that can be coaxed to take food from your hand are chickadees and Canada Jays (sometimes called whiskey jacks).
All deer species (deer, moose, elk, caribou, reindeer, etc) shed their antlers yearly in the fall/winter and they grow back starting in the spring. It's amazing considering how large some of the species' antlers get.
Lived in the Kootenay mountain region in BC, so many bear encounters that I just got used to them. We kept a metal bin lid in the garden to bang on if they wandered too near. The animals I found more intimidating to deal with were the elk! Big herds, surprisingly large critters and willing to shove through fences or structures to get at food. Quite aggressive at times too. Btw, we'd love to have you for a visit!
From the few times I have been near a moose I realized how big , how majestic and mesmerizing it is to watch their movement. One time fishing in the Cariboo area of British Columbia. It was at a lake called Heningram lake. I am sure there were no other people there except myself and my buddy. We were in a bay of the lake fishing in the morning. The Sun was coming up. We could see the old trappers cabin across from us. A moose and her calf wandered from trees in to the lake to forage on water plants. We had the very special treat of watching from our boat for 20 minutes it felt like. Another time was just outside of town in Mackenzie British Columbia seeing and watching a very large grizzly bear. With it's huge hump back it kept coming closer. When it was less than 500 yards away my Uncle who lived in Mackenzie recommended we get in the car and leave. He explained that at that distance the bear could charge and be on us in only a few seconds. It was coming to the town garbage dump and we were near it. There was another time in Skagit Valley near Hope British Columbia. We had a group of us tent camping on the gravelly shores.The water was low. We were sharing our camp fire , enjoying , chatting . It was not a full moon . It was inky black out. We heard little noises and started to listen. Someone used a flashlight without being too aggressive to see what it was. We were surrounded by a herd of deer going to the water. They took their time. We knew to stay put and be pretty quiet and calm. Another wonderful gift and privilege experienced in beautiful Canada the Country I love!
The annual migration of Canadian Geese is almost over, but you can hear them flying over, and calling to each other. The wildlife here is not in the cities so much, but you do encounter it here if you get out and about. Deer are very common, and can be a road hazard. Moose are usually more in farther rural areas, but not always. The beauty and majesty of our wildlife is not overstated. If you ever heard a Loon, or saw them, you would understand how diverse and cool it all is !!
I remember doing night exercises in the bush while in the reserves, and there was a pack of wolves howling pretty much all night nearby. Which was pretty cool... also Coyotes sound pretty crazy at night. A pack of them always hung around where I did overnight security a while back. So id hear them fairly often. Thankfully I've never had a direct run in with bears, wild cats, or moose while hiking. Plenty of beavers, foxes, porcupines, and little guys like that though. Also deer, lots of deer.
The first time I heard coyotes was in the Hunstville area Ont, parked up for a nap @ 3am before heading to Toronto. I wasn't sure if I was having a nightmare when woken up by them. Jumped into the front seat and drove off like the clappers. Now 15 years on I bloody hate them, the way the seek out dogs has been a pain in my backside in BC.
@@briz1965 lol yeah they definitely made my hair stand up the first time I heard them. I haven't heard any by my house, but there's been warnings recently that they're getting worse for targeting pets over here in Ontario aswell.
I live in pg in bc and rent a seasonal camping spot in the summer. It's called loons haven and you can hear the loons all day n evening. Beautiful ❤ we truly do have a beautiful country.
I've had the pleasure of seeing, bear, dear, moose, elk, wild turkey , beaver, humpback whales, beluga, minke, wolf, coyote not counting all the birds . The large woodpecker is a pileated woodpecker beautiful, those and snowy owls are the best. I live in a small ( 10,000) place just outside Ottawa, we have a resident moose that just turns up, wondering through the Comfort Inn carpark, not sure if he's looking for a room. I'd love to see a polar bear and a puffin.
I'm in Fredericton, New Brunswick. We have a large park in the city, along with a lot of green space and trails throuhg the city. I've seen small herds of deer all around the city, along the main highways, outside one of the arenas and so forth. I've also seen a young moose in Odell Park, a big forest park in the middle of the city. I was walking to work and saw him down the trail from me. He looked around and wandered away after a bit. I think others spotted him swimming across the river later on. Way back in the 80's, my family lived (still lives) in a half acre lot outside of town with a lot of forests and fields behind our house. We built a treehouse among some of the trees. One day, when we were getting ready for school, we looked out and saw a big moose looking into the tree house, calm as he could be. Years ago, I was driving on the old highway to see my parents, when I spotted a bald eagle on the side of the road. He either had claimed some roadkill or did a kill himself, but he was munching on a small deer carcass as calm as he could be. I think he hopped onto the guardrail as cars went by and went back for more when the traffic was clear. My mom's spotted black bears multiple times, both when she was out for walks and most recently a week or two ago when she saw a bear and some cubs on the side of the highway.
A few things: 1 funny I just responded a few days ago to someone in another TH-cam video's comments, saying they were surprised how big a beaver is. The north american beaver is the second largest rodent in the world, beaten only by the capybara. They get to roughly the weight of an eight year old human, though their body shape makes it hard to tell. 2 that was a mountain goat you were wondering about. There is good reason to be uneasy about them, like most of these animals, they can be dangerous. 3 every deer like animal in the northern parts of the world sheds their antlers. Interesting fact, pet stores sell antlers that have been naturally shed, for dogs.
While out for our daily walk, my sister and I encountered a huge moose with the biggest antlers we've ever seen. It just popped up from the side of the road in front of us, we both froze while he stood looking down at us. We started backing up slowly since it was so close and, thankfully, a truck, my cousin, came along and distracted it, thank God! It crossed the road slowly while we gladly accepted a ride from our cousin. Lol.
If you go hiking in Jasper or Banff, make sure you have a can of bear spray and bear bells. You never want to come across a bear accidentally. Moose are very large, and can be aggressive and can run faster than you think. We have eagles, hawks, seagulls, wood peckers, blue jays, robins…tons of birds. Coyotes are a common sight even in the cities of Alberta. Love watching your videos!
Have had 3 black bear encounters first one I literally had my pants down changing from a walk in a stream. Same day watched from above by a mountain lion. Recently had a partridge try to crawl in the cat door in the cabin. Injured coyote just a week ago. Alberta wilds is an amazing place where nature must be respected at all times. Cheers and much love.
We were in Jasper, Alberta for a couple of days when I was about 10 and there was an elk laying down in the front yard of a house just like he owned the place. He was obviously very used to being around humans as my sister and I were no further than about 3-4 ft away from him and we probably could have got right up to pat him except dad stopped us. He was so majestic and we have a photo somewhere of that lovely occasion. I have seen several bear and mountain sheep in the Rockies.
I live on the west coast of Canada and have been up close with black bears, lynx, mountain goats, a mountain lion, seals, whales, white tailed deer, moose, beavers, rabbits, blue herons, large cranes, geese, swans, a few types of duck, coyotes, and a wolf. Many, like beavers, fowl, and coyotes are prevalent in local parks within cities. Bears, mountain lions, lynx, and deer roam and shelter in larger residential wooded parks, especially if the park has a lake or large pond. We have a lot of respect for wildlife.
You are a kind and gentle soul,,,I look at your expressions of amazement and i enjoy it as much as seeing the animals,,I am from Labrador,,Tons of wildlife,here,,You deserve a trip to Canada so that you can experience the amazing wildlife here...
When I was a teen, I was at a youth conference in Banff. We stayed at the Banff school of Fine Arts. One day three of my friends and I rented tandem bikes and went for a ride a little ways out of Banff. Suddenly the biggest moose I’ve ever seen charged right across the road not four feet in front of us. It was so quick and paid no attention to us at all, however we were so startled all four of us ended up in the ditch.
Black bears, coyotes and elk are pretty easy to find in the wild. Elk are HUGE, almost as big as moose. A lot of these animals are secretive, they're around you but they are rare to actually see, like wolves, cougars (mountain lions) and lynx. Mountain goats and big horn sheep are really easy to find in the Rocky Mountains. White tailed deer, beavers, muskrats and Bald eagles can be found in cities. In my city, Winnipeg, we occasionally get Lynx, Black bears and Moose wandering in. We're not in their natural habitat, but we aren't far away. On the prairies you can see Pronghorn antelope on the highway, they are easily mistaken for white tailed deer so you have to look closely. There is a wolverine in one of these clips, that's rare to see!
I was followed by a black bear going home one day. It was lazily following me, only somewhat interested. I just kept my eyes on it and walked slowly. Was about 15 minutes before it got bored and wandered off.
I live in North Dakota, the state that keeps Canada from running into South Dakota. Some years back, my sister found cougar tracks around the farm. Kinda scary, especially when I had to go out after dark to check something in the barn and the flashlight decided to die *right* as I stepped back outside. All I could see were two eyes staring at me. Thankfully, it the family sheepdog. Oh, and black bears aren't terribly aggressive. They sometimes get treed by *house cats.*
urban - foxes, opossum, owl's coyote's, porcupines, small bunnies are regular occurrences. mountain goats bears lynx puma's are wilderness animals. well more wild than my urban setting
2:28 Brown bear checking it's odds of getting dinner. No they can't take on that terrain like Mountsin Goats can. 3:00 Mountain Goat 3:30 Beaver attacks Black Bear. Black Bears are the least aggressive of all Canadian bears. It was probably curious of beaver and... the beaver wasn’t having any of it lol 4:03 Hence the guy banging noise to deter Black bears on cars. 7:35 That's a Pileated Woodpecker, the largest in Canada (not a "red headed" woodpecker.
Oops, "technical difficulties" o_0 7:55 Bull Elk shedding antlers. Once shed, these antlers are nibbled on by multiple creatures giving them much needed calcium and minerals. Nature doesn't waste anything. 8:20 You mention "massive reindeer" shedding antlers. Fun fact: only males shed antlers in fall so... Santa's Reindeer are ALL females... still having their antlers in winter. 10:00 Lynx taking on a Mule Deer. Size is not an issue for predatory felines. This is why they CAN survive as solitary creatures. They usually (this one missed the target but still hung on) attack on the jugular under the throat and bite thru, holding on as beast tries to run... but the cat continues to bite til bleeding creature weakens and falls. Dinner IS served. Dogs can't hunt like this so they hunt in packs. Now YOU know! lol 11:11 That, which you questioned, is another Mountain Goat. Btw, should you encounter wildlife and decide to chase it (snowmobilers knew better), you CAN be charged with Harrassing Wildlife. We respect our creatures here (well the majority do). Hope I've been of some assistance.
Seen badgers put grizzlies on the run. Moose can swim long distances and dive to 20+ feet. Out of all the mammals on the planet cow moose are the most protective of their young. Live in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.. So see grizzly and black bears often. Wolves, mountain lions, lynx, coyote, fox, elk, white and mule deer. Love our Trumpeter Swans..
I lived most of my life in New Brunswick in an area rife with moose. In fact, fencing has been put along one route to help keep them contained. They are so massive. In an area without fencing driving can be tricky at night because they will attack the car when they see the lights.
When I lived just outside the city, a bull moose was in my yard for about 2 hours. It turned out that the poor moose was blind. The forest rangers came and had to put him down. They said it could not not survive and would starve to death. I was sad they had to kill him.
My lovely encounter was going out the back door at dusk walking around to the front of the house and seeing a large dark shadow by my truck. I stopped dead in my tracks and when the large dark shadow stood up all I could think was damn I locked the door lol. As I slowly backed away the black bear just dropped to all fours and sauntered away. I then went in to change my pants :)
My dad is a fur trader. He says lynx are timid AF. If you see one its hungry and that is not good. Also they expire quickly when trapped. Moreso than other things. Also moose are freight trains. Trying to field dress and transport alone is some of the hardest work youll ever do lol
Reindeer is another name for Caribou, yes they are in Canada too, along with moose that Joey Smallwood brought 4 into Newfoundland, and now there are more moose in Newfoundland than you can shake a stick at
I live in the Elk Valley, BC everything in this video is in my backyard with the exception of ocean life and the puffin. It's a gift to live here, you should come visit.
I've encountered a bunch of wildlife in my days but my top three would have to be: 3) A doe deer and two fawns at about twenty feet away. What made this special was that they were in the river valley in Edmonton a literal stones throw from downtown - not where one might expect to find them. 2) A moose from about a foot or two away. I was camping in the back country and when I awoke in the morning I unzipped the door of the tent and there was a moose munching on the plants right in front of my tent. I "froze" for a moment, startled, but the moose just looked me in the eye, took one more bite and then wandered away about 50 yards or so and continued his breakfast. 1) A pack of wolves (about 6 if I remember correctly). We had stopped the car on the shoulder of the highway and while we out if the vehicle, Mama wolf came out of the woods on one side of the highway about 50 yards ahead of us, led a pack of four pups with Papa bringing up the rear across the highway and into the woods on the other side. They all saw us but the magic was just before Papa disappeared into the woods he stopped for a moment, turned to face us and stared us down for a moment. Very eerie but "magical". I've also encountered Black Bears, Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goats, Elk, Coyotes, Foxes, Golden Eagles and a plethora of smaller creatures. I live in Alberta - al these encounters were in Alberta and British Columbia.
I am canadian and have logged countless canoe trips through the wilderness. I've seen wolves and bears and moose but have had only 2 problems. Once, I was bitten on the toe by a chipmunk. The other was when a bear walked into our campsite one night and drank my brothers scotch. True story!
I grew up on Vancouver Island. My family made road trips every summer across Canada to see our large, spread out family, and we have pictures of encounters with wild bears, mountain goats, deer, elk, buffaloes, skunks and moose. On the island we saw beers, deer, and cougars mostly, with quails, Canada Geese, enormous seagulls, and numerous fish, sea creatures, seals, whales, otters, sealions. We didn't not really "see" cougars so much as we were home in lockdown because one was seen and kids weren't allowed outdoors. But I remember seeing them on the golf course, and the woods near UVIC. I moved to Toronto for university, and live as close as I can to the centre of Canada's largest city. There is around 7 million people in metropolitan Toronto, and 10 million raccoons and probably more squirrels. However in the middle of this city, in my neighbourhood, I've mistaken skunks for black and white cats, seen whole families of wild hares, orange and black and orange foxes, and a fleeting glance of a rare albino fox that lives in the area.coyote's have also taken up residence and wolves started coming out during the pandemic.
My Australian friends are astounded how calm we are when we encounter these creatures. Mate. At least we can see them coming and they have the right number of legs. Nothings poisonous.
In Canada we call them cougars not mountain lions. That's American terminology. Also, you forgot to include Sasquatch! Lol. Impressive 14 point elk:) Excellent video.
I have had encounters with Orca while canoeing on the Sunshine Coast (a couple of hours from Vancouver), Black Bears (from a safe distance) in Parks and in the local cities near Vancouver that are close to wilderness areas. In the area near my home, we have squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons (aka Trash Bandits), beavers, coyotes, bears, and skunks. From my living room window, I see many birds all year around - Bush Tits, Junkos, Hummbirds, Wrens, Finches, Chickadees, Towees, Sparrows, Robins, Stellar Jays, Northern Flickers, Collared Doves, Pilated Woodpeckers, Bald Eagles, Blue Herons (flying by), Starlings, Crows, Ravens, Glaucous Gulls, Canada Geese, assorted Ducks. and occasionally Hawks. In the Fraser River there are Harbour Seals and Otters. Sea Lions hangout near the docks that the fishing boats tie up and on rocks in the Salish sea between the Mainland and Vancouver Island. While travelling on ships along the BC coast I've seen Orca pods and Dolphins. The Dolphins like to play in the wake of the ships. Vancouver Harbour has been visited by Humpback and Gray Whales. While hiking and Cross Country skiing I have encountered Whiskey Jacks, Loons. 🐦🐦🐦🐦🎸😎
There are tours at a resort here in my town everyday, to feed the resorts collection of Bison, Moose, Elk and various other hoofed animals they keep. Inexpensive, you ride in a trailer with benches, and follow the gamekeeper pulling you by tractor as he does his rounds. It's very unique experience, offered daily at the same time 365 days a year :)
The bright blue bird was a Blue Jay, the symbol of Toronto (Toronto Blue Jays baseball team, for example). You see them now and then lording it over the various peasant birds, and their call is notoriously mocking and nagging. I live in the middle of downtown Toronto, and see them in the trees behind my apartment building fairly regularly. But people often mistake an Indigo Bunting for one at a distance. Much more common is the Northern Cardinal, with it's brilliant red plumage. There are more than 400 bird species within the city limits, but mostly people notice the robins, chicakadees and house wrens. Most Toronto streets are heavily tree-covered, so they support a vast population of these birds. Close to the lake you get seagulls, since they come up the St. Lawrence and fill the Great Lakes, which are essentially inland seas. Lots of ducks near the lake, too, and huge flocks of swallows that nest in the cliffs at the east end of the city. The best place to birdwatch downtown are the Toronto Islands and the Leslie Spit (which projects 5 km into the lake and is mostly left wild). The wild mammal people encounter most frequently in the city is the raccoon. But, on a regular basis, I've seen deer, red fox, coyotes, muskrats, skunks, and porcupines in the ravines that cut right through the middle of the city. Yet Toronto is probably the worst place in Canada to see wildlife --- most of the other cities have much more. We don't have to contend with cougars eating our pets, like they do in Victoria or greater Vancouver! I've seen every animal shown in this video many, many times, even though I spend most of my time in the city. But I've travelled everywhere in the country. The two animals in the video that most people seldom see are the wolverine and the lynx, which are very wary of humans and good at keeping a low profile. The lynx is an extraordinary creature, and seeing one bounding through the snow is magical. The one animal that only a handful of Canadians have ever seen is the Muskox, which only inhabits remote arctic islands. That one, I've never seen. But I've seen every kind of bear many times, including polars and grizzlies.
Hubby and I went camping in Jasper once at the end of the summer. Sleeping in a tent. We heard some noise outside one morning, and I was afraid it might be a bear. We waited until things got quiet, then came outside to see an entire herd of elk cutting through the campground to forage at the field on the other side of the road. !!! It’s hard to stay away and give them space when they walk through your campsite. I always used to think campgrounds were fenced in at the perimeters. Apparently not, lol. Another time a group we were with went hiking. I couldn’t, so stayed behind to clean up after breakfast. I turned around to see a deer standing about 10 feet away from me, staring at me. That’s twice I thank God for no bears. Saw a bear once, from the front passenger seat of a Greyhound bus. We stopped for it to cross the road. That’s about the only time I really enjoyed seeing a bear close-up, lol. ❤
The smaller animals generally only attack the bigger ones when they are protecting their young. Of course, then there are the wolverines. Just getting one on film is a very long shot, as in almost never. But they are reputed to be among the very fiercest fighters in the animal kingdom.
I was camping in my small truck and camper at Jack Pine Lake in Kaninaskis and in the wee dawn , the whole camper started rocking vigorously. A bull moose was either trying to scratch themselves or mate with my camper. It felt like a whole rugby team was trying to roll the truck.
There is so much wildlife in Canada it is nuts. I have lived in Calgary AB all my life, and IN the city I've seen Mule deer ,White tail deer , Coyotes. Rabbits(lot's of rabbits) , Skunk's , Porcupine, Owls, Eagle, Hawk's, Woodpeckers, Geese, Heron, Falcon, Bobcats, Lynx, Fox, and Beaver. All in the City , did I mention Coyotes, lots of Coyotes . Along the Edge of the city they have had Cougar and a Black Bear sighting as well. I think it is due, in part, to having 3 water sources In the city. Two Rivers and a very long Creek.
The general rule with all of these animals is to observe them from a safe distance. Moose can get angry on a hair trigger, and an angry moose is the last thing you want to be near. They’re majestic, but they can be highly aggressive, and they will stomp you out with the fury of a thousand suns. Doesn’t help that they have the road-crossing habits of deer.
The thing about Canada is that it is such a big country that there are many places that are mostly wild. As a result of that, some animals just have absolutely no fear at all of humans. This video also puts on full display just how casual we are about all of it. For most of us, its just part of our backyard. I live in a city of 160k, and deers can sometime be seen in the least expected places.
Yes, waterfowl hunting in Ontario in mid autumn I had a massive bull moose walk right up behind my friend and I. He made no sound coming through the bush, as soon as we moved he darted back into the woods.... was fearing for my life...
Can confirm, growing up in the Rocky Mountains this is exactly what it's like. We had bears going through our grabage cans at least once a week. Moose, bears, deer, etc were all pretty common sights.
I live in the province of Quebec and ride ATVs with one of my good friends. It's not rare to see deers, foxes and turkeys, but a couple weeks ago we went riding to a town called Mont-Laurier about 2 hours north of Montreal and that day a bear came from the forest right into the trail, about 50 feet (15 meters) in front on us. Fortunately, I think that the noise of our machines scared it so it went the opposite direction, but still, it was pretty special! I still remember how beautiful and shiny his fur was in the sun!
During the covid lockdowns here in Québec we were twice under curfew for several months from 8 PM till 7 AM , And suddenly at night we had in the curfew hours , dears , coyotes, foxes, marmots,skunks and racoons all over our streets 😃 This is not a small rural village, This is like the 3rd ? Largest city north of Montréal , we are 53,000 . And at my old house we had a couple of ducks ,male and female, that at each fall season they dropped in at our place like in a pit stop for their voyage back down south in the US for the winter and swam in our pool for a few days ,this lasted 4 yrs, They were so cute, but they had retention problem! The left spots of poo everywhere 😃
I was walking in the forest around Banff around 30 years ago and had to bash a bull elk with my book bag while moving to keep a tree between us. He was annoyed I was between him and his harem. Learned about elk rut behavior after that!
My favorite is so embarrassing. I was smoking a cigarette on my front porch. I noticed my neighbor coming home. A young attractive woman. As she got out of her car, for some reason a buck deer chose that exact moment to do one of those weird mating calls. Neighbor looks up directly at me. I responded “It wasn’t me!” I don’t think she ever believed me
So many animal encounters. As a kid we used to chase black bears. I was stalked by wolves when I lived up north and was walking home from school in the winter dark. I stuck to the middle of the road which fortunately had a wide clear area on both sides cleared of birch trees. There was a strong moon so I was safe, but I could hear them stalking me in the brush line on both sides of the road. Had a sea lion toy with me when I was swimming at Wreck Beach in Vancouver. Quite the scary thing because you are so out of your element. It was diving and brushing my legs as it passed, and then popping up to watch me before diving again. I was kind of (trying to be) okay with it, until it (gently) grabbed my foot with its mouth and spun me in a fast 360 in the water. That's when I called it a day for swimming. In the vid that's a young bear and young buffalo. Older bear would have killed the buffalo, older buffalo would have killed the bear... older one of both would likely give each other space (unless the bear was starving). Bears are an over rated threat... not too likely to attack, and most every Canadian knows bear safety. Even grizzlies are not a big threat. Polar bears are the exception. Very unpredictable, and they attack to kill, while other bears most often attack over dominance and territory. Most of the bears in the vid are juveniles. They are just exploring, and not hunting. Lynx are uncommon and would almost never be seen, much less tackle a human. Beavers can get DAM big. :D marmots are also surprisingly big. Pika are tiny, but also the cutest little guys, with their cute little peep sounds echoing across the high mountains. Coyotes are quite majestic when healthy. I got to observe one at length once as it lay in the sun along the edge of a field. Good encounter. Herds of Bighorn sheep, deer, elk, and even moose and mountain goats can be common road encounters over many parts of Canada... appropriate to terrain of course. BC has all of the above. Most are nonplussed by cars, so you get to see them up close. As a kid, we used to have deer in our yard all the time. At night they quietly walk through town and nibble people's gardens. Queen Charlotte Islands, Vancouver island, and parts of the coastal rainforest have a specialized variety of small deer, not much bigger than a golden lab or thereabouts. Most people don't realize there are multiple species of each of these kinds of animals. Rabbits... loads of rabbits. More than ever now. Arctic hares, due to the scarcity of food in their habitat, are the only rabbit that will eat animal corpses, and they commonly gnaw bones they find for the calcium. Speaking of arctic... arctic foxes are one of the worlds most beautiful and well designed animals. Mountain lion (cougar) mothers can be quite fierce and territorial, but it is mostly show and they don't live close to humans usually anyway. The cougar you need to fear is the one you can't see since they are ambush hunters. They will seldom tackle an adult man, but pets and children are legit targets if they are unattended. They also like water, and have been found swimming in the open channel between Vancouver Island and the mainland even. Cedar Waxwing, Blue Jays, robins (iconic signaller of spring), grouse, quail, and wild turkeys, many kinds of geese, numerous other birds. My personal favourite is the loon... amazing sound... iconic of the Canadian wild lands, and beautiful too. Reminds me of big chunk of my wilderness childhood. The cedar waxwing is my favourite song bird because it is super pretty up close (I helped one recover from a window strike as a kid), stellar jays are incredibly smart. Loads of predatory birds like eagles, osprey, a wide variety of owls, hawks and falcons etc. Seen many of all of the above. Quail are such cuties. Hummingbirds are just amazing too. Ptarmigan are a lesser known bird that are super cool. My favourite owl is probably the barn owl, but it is hard to pick a favourite owl (the barred owl is one I have seen quite a lot. The saw whet owl is a little cutie. only ever saw one great horned... stunning... much bigger than you would expect. Also love all of our cranes, herons, cormorants and other marsh/wading birds. Moose are one of the more dangerous animals. Seen many. As a kid we canoed across Ootsa lake respectfully keeping pace with one which was memorable. Moose will wreck a car if hit, and likely survive. They are super good swimmers and have been known to get aggressive to boats that get too close... so just don't. Elk sound amazing in rutting season in the mountains. yes... it is not the sound you would expect form these big animals. Lesser known are muskox, which are amazing. Also pronghorn antelopes... little known about except to those who live in the prairies. Canadian waters are home to the widest variety and numbers of most whales, and seal relatives. I recently returned to Canada after years overseas, and was stunned to find out the trumpeter swans have made a strong recovery since my childhood when they were nearly wiped out. I saw flocks, some numbering a hundred or more, all over the Okanagan, Kootenays, and the Lower Mainland (BC) last fall. Got to hear their amazing call for the first time in my life. Have never seen puffins... REALLY want to spend time in the Maritimes. I imagine they would have quite different bird life over there. Ravens are less common than crows but common enough. Woodpeckers (and flickers) are cool. Pretty common in most woodlands. I'm a bit infatuated with lynx and bobcats. Never seen a lynx... have seen dead bobcats twice but never a live one in the wild. Squirrels, chipmunks, beavers, raccoons, and skunks are all common encounters. Skunks are not afraid of anything, nor are raccoons either. Best to leave them alone. had multiple close calls, even in the cities since they (and coyotes, foxes, bats, and more), have adapted to urban life. Had my camp raided several times by raccoons, while skunks like to move into house crawl spaces for the winter. Generally though, leave them alone and you won't even notice they are there... until one day your dog takes notice of them... :) Pack rats are a nuisance but also cute. Like a rat and a squirrel had a love child. We also have some amazing smaller predatory mammals, though they tend to be rarer. Mink, ermine, fishers, weasels, badgers, river and sea otters are all rarer but pretty wide spread. Opossums are cool, though not native. Have adapted well to the Lower Mainland. Had to get one out of my ground floor apartment once. Fun. Black bears also often adapt to human settlements, which can be a problem. Porcupines are intriguing. Find their quills all the time up north... they are cool. In the Okanagan we have rattle snakes, scorpions, and black widow spiders. Most of our insect, amphibian, and reptile life is sort of less interesting... the tropics of course have us totally beat there, but there are still many cool ones. Of course we have a wide variety of biting flies. We have gnats and midges, loads of mosquitoes... horse flies that actually bite out a meat chunk (and have cool eyes), deer flies, ticks, black flies that come in swarms and are small enough to crawl in your hair and ears, noseeums... many kinds of ants including highly aggressive red ants that form huge mound nests (funny watching young dogs discovering not to roll on or dig in the red ant mounds), and many kinds of wasps and hornets. Few spiders one really needs to worry about (almost all spider species are passive world wide, and in Canada only a couple are venomous enough to be a threat). All these insects aren't too hard to manage though, they are seasonal, and their terrain tends to be predictable. Some nice butterflies (and moths) but not too many super showy ones. As for the reptiles and amphibians, we have quite a few kinds of frogs, a few kinds of snakes, some turtles, lizards, newts, and more, but each species tends to be limited in its habitat. Most every rural Canadian caught garter snakes as a kid. The cold winters through most of Canada tends to limit these kinds of animals, though a few have adapted. Standing cold water is good for blood suckers and leaches. Most Canadian fish are drab (their main defence), but that doesn't mean they aren't interesting. We do have a few flashy kinds of fish... but few. Lots of good eating fish though. Fresh water fishers love Canada. Pretty much no fish here are dangerous or toxic. Sturgeons are fascinating. Loved bat watching as a kid (well star watching, with bats spiralling about). Have eaten several of these animals.
Im a Canadian that has lived all over Canada. ... an adult moose is about the size if a 17 hh tall horse and similar weight. I knew a woman in 2001 that was killed while cross country skiing in Alberta by a cougar ,.very deadly
NEVER try to pat a moose. That woman was very very lucky.
Seriously, that’s about as safe as a tourist trying to pet a great white shark while snorkeling. Hell naw.
Bloody idiot!
“Lucky” is a very generous term for that woman
That woman was INCREDIBLY, UNBELIEVABLY STUPID! Do not EVER mess with moose. Bears and lions round out our top three most dangerous an imals.
Ya, don't f around with any of them, but especially moose. I've had a bull moose come at my car from the side of the road. They are cantankerous and deadly.
As a Canadian I have had several wildlife encounters, when I was a kid while travelling with my parents I got trapped in an outhouse at the summit of Crowsnest Pass (Canadian Rockies) by a grizzley bear had to stand on top of the "hole" because the bear was swipping his paws under the door. Longest 4 hours I have even experienced, that's how long the park rangers took to get a bear trap there, Also same trip we had to stop our car on the roadway because a Moose wanting to "lick our car" it was massive. Several years later hubby and I went to Jasper in January, we decided to stop into a local bar attached to a hotel. They had automatic door openers, walked into the lobby of the hotel and it was packed with a herd of elk escaping a rather nasty storm that was outside. It was a big lobby so there were around 15 Elk in there, The Elk came in using the automatic door openers :)
He was just mad that you called him a grizzley.
Great place to shit your pants
They wanted the family discount.
Omg now that was one smart herd of elk!! Did they get a group discount l wonder??😉👍🏻😃🐾🌈☮️🇨🇦
Turtle Mountain bro. What a story there!
Can confirm from what I’ve seen in the Canadian wilds: DON’T mess with any of them. This is their home. Just this past week we were almost surrounded by Elk in Jasper Park. It is mating season. Is it worth your life to take a picture up close? Absolutely not.
Nope. There are two times you need extra caution encountering any large mammals. When females have young, and when males are looking to mate.
Never forget that guy Timothy Treadwell, who convinced himself he had a rapport with bears and used to camp out among them. He ended up being eaten by them, and his girlfriend too. They are wild, and they are not compatible with humans.
Always respect that it's Their territory ❤👍🏻🇨🇦
2:58 theres snow on the ground and hes climbing a mountain and hes just in a t-shirt
Yeah seeing the wildlife here is amazing but always at a safe distance. Several of those videos were way too close for amatuer photographers. I know that people who spend their lives lives working with wild animals, even as photographers, learn where, when and how to interact with them... most of those people are lucky they were unharmed.
Nature is beautiful, but wildlife is wild, be safe, stay back.
I grew up in rural Ontario and I encountered many different animals on our front lawn including bears, wolves, coyotes, foxes, porcupines, deer, and moose. All wild animals can be dangerous, including the majestic moose (bull moose and cow moose will charge you if you enter their territory or come near their young). The only animal that ever truly threatened me, though, was a Canada Goose. They are vicious!!!
I do not like the cobra-chickens.
Isn't that just the God's honest truth!!! Lol I'm pretty sure that out of all the animals you listed, Canada geese are the only ones that don't need an actual reason to try and kill you!
Only thing worse than the cobra chicken is a wolverine. They are just a pile of mean wrapped in a bad attitude
Cobra chickens lol
When I was six I was sailing with my dad in a tiny 12 foot Signet sailboat off Hornby Island and we get surrounded by a pod of Orcas, that was cool.
I've also had run ins with Grizzly bears on the Atnarko river near Bella Coola and plenty of black bear encounters in the interior. For the most part bears will leave you alone if you leave them alone.
One of my favorite encounters was chopping wood on a really windy day. I was taking a short breather and a large woodpecker that had been blown off course by the wind landed on my arm. I look down at it and it looked up at me like, "hey, you're not a tree" before flying up into a nearby tree.
It's a real blessing to live in a place where wildlife is so plentiful that we in rural areas need to consider them...and act accordingly.
Always respect that it's Their territory ❤🇨🇦👍🏻
@@mmorrison9176 If only those damn wild turkeys would respect my territory also! I'm all about sharing living space but hey! They're coming my orchard poaching apples like its an all you can eat buffet! Thankfully I can just go ''boogey-boogey-boogey'' and they run away. Wild turkeys man! No manners at all!
The most surreal encounter I've had is with elk. I was working for BC Parks and at around 11pm one evening was doing a run to the top of the park, just to do a check on things. With occasional poaching in the park, we would often drive without lights especially when there was a moon. It was a rough track rather than a road, heavy forest on either side and as I got to the bottom of a gully, a big bull elk wandered onto the track, so I stopped and turned off the engine. - it was a particularly small and low truck that I was driving. After a couple of seconds a whole herd of elk wandered out of the bush and completely surrounded the truck, completely unbothered by it. I think they were catching their breath and taking a break before heading into the next batch of forest, so I just sat for ten minutes in the moonlight, with an absolute forest legs moving around me.
Small town Canada here, things I've seen without leaving my kitchen table: 1 large black bear, 2 one to two year old black cubs, 7 deer at the same time, an ermine, 6 different foxes and a creature that sort of looked like a cross between a badger and a wolverine. As a funny note a German tourist complained about the state of our sheep (1:22), saying he'd never let his flock get into such bad shape.
I live in Vancouver. We have bears and coyotes on our street.
did you see my ex?
I was hiking with my wife and two kids in Algonquin park a few years ago. I noticed some rustling in the brush about 10 feet away from us. Got everyone to stand still and quiet when a cow moose came out of the brush followed by a young calf. The mother stopped in the middle of the trail and looked at us. I thought that she was going to attack but she nosed her calf down the trail away from us then turned and casually walked away. My legs were like jelly for quite a while after they left.
Good thing you had your kids too and didn't present a threat.
Yikes, so many people don't seem to realize that a moose will come after you and it will be bad.
The one that you said made you feel uneasy was a mountain goat, the same aninal that was licking the man's arm. And the bird that was sitting on the car mirror was a bluejay, a very pretty but obnoxiously noisey bird. Canadian wildlife is incredibly diverse!!!
They also bully other birds. I've seen them drive flocks of sparrows and junkos away from bird feeders and then not even eat.
I love blue jays. They're incredibly smart and mine are familiar enough to take peanuts out of my hand. Yes, they will compete with other birds. All birds will do this to smaller birds.
Thanks Mert. You keep me Canada-proud. I hope someday you’ll come live in Canada. We’d love to share this beautiful country with somebody who is so positive and kind. You’re very inspiring.
I’ve watched reactions of Canadian wildlife from people all over the world, and moose seem to be everyone’s favorite by far.
Last week 2 experienced hikers and their dog were killed by a grizzly bear in Banff National Park. The bear then attacked the rescue team. As kids we were on the beach at the cottage in Muskoka when a mink came and sat near us. When my dad and uncle approached to walk us away from it, it snarled at them. Thankfully they were able to scare it off as they can be vicious.
Crazy to know that bears know how to open door knobs and car doors, locking the doors are the sure way of keeping them out.
The most wildest animal that I encountered was a Wolverine. But I have been around most of these animals. Bears were at the top till I came across the wolverine. I got a good picture of him the second time seeing him.
I also have a great picture of moose, that would blow your mind.
You've seen a wolverine!? I'm jealous.
I have a picture of a young bull moose that came out of the tuck and stopped about 10 metres in front of me. It was an amazing experience - until he false charged us lol.
Wolverines are just a heap of bad attitude. Never trust an animal that will climb up a tree to get into your food cache and then piss of what he doesn’t take
The picture I took of the wolverine was 5 feet away.
@@nightwolf4185 holy crap, that's deadly!
Every year, we have a female moose and her either yearling or new calf, winter in our yard. They do not seem to mind the dogs barking in the house. When the dogs go outside, they and the moose do not seem to acknowledge each other. Some years, the young moose follow my girls to the bus at the end of the drive, but the moose keeps a good distance away. The moose do not like people coming in the yard and like to challenge delivery people. That said, they do not seem to have an interest in us and only come near to lick the salt from the cars. Some years we get bears, sometimes cougar. We live in a forest, so coyotes are nightly visitors, as are beavers and foxes. Great horned owls and snowy owls are all around. Bald eagles and golden eagles are common as are hawks. We get gardre snakes and the very odd rattle snakes, toads, newts as well. Wildlife is abundant in most of Canada, and it is so common, as large parts of Canada are wild or farm land with few people. Most Canadians love our wildlife and do not harm or bother them. 😊
I’m a Montrealer, so there’s a half a dozen raccoons in my backyard any given night, but even I can attest learning some puffin is essential if you’re travelling to the eastern tip of Newfoundland😉
Yesterday I walked outside for a smoke, just happened to notice a bear about 3 feet away coming towards me, luckily I left the door open and just popped back inside and shut the door. I am about 100 miles north of Vancouver, we have bear all over town this time of year.
Moose are extremely lean and probably my favorite meat, I grew up on a homestead, nearest neighbours about 7 km away. There was only forest for about 19 km to the west of where we lived. Have seen many moose, deer, elk, bear, coyotes, wolves, porcupine, skunk, and so on. My sister and her husband raised elk for many years, the big money was in the antlers, so many males that were born had to have vasectomies, so they couldn't mate but would continue to produce antlers. In the late spring, while their antlers were still in 'velvet' the horns would be removed, frozen, and asian buyers would come and buy thse 'velvet antlers' to be used in medications. For a while they also raised ostrich and emus. At one point they hand raised a couple of deer faun. They purchased a fairly tame moose from some college, unfortunately they only had 160 acres, and it was not enough for the moose to forage on, so they sold him to a university. They also had some rocky mountain bighorn sheep for a couple of years. They no longer are involved raising these type of animals, just cows, horses now. In addition to moose we have also eaten venison, elk, caribou (reindeer), musk ox, bison, prairie chicken, and ostrich which tastes more like veal than poultry. My husband, father and mother have all been chased by wild moose, they are big, and not something to mess with, my cousin hit one with a big truck and had his neck broken, my sister in law and her mom hit one with their Lincoln, the car was a write off, but because they had slowed to turn into a driveway the ladies were not injured. We have a couple of trail cameras on my brothers acreage, and have gotten lots of pictures of deer, moose, coyotes, birds, etc. When we camp in his private campground we will usually see deer every day or two. We live in central Alberta.
Many years ago, I worked with beavers in animal rescue. Beavers have very relaxed friendly, family oriented natures but never threaten or corner one.☹️
I suspect that bear caught a beaver traveling to find new territory and the Beaver had to fight to prevent being lunch. He probably suffered some wounds but Beavers do not take shit from anyone.😏
When I was a child we lived in Quebec and one winter a cow moose came into our yards to eat all the carrots out of our snowmen's faces.
We saw her back a few days later, raided the fridge for carrots/apples but carefully stood quietly offering out the food for her to take. We moved slowly and remained positioned so as to not let her feel she was being cornered. She came back daily for weeks before moving on.
Even at 12 years old we were smarter than most of the morons taking those videos.
I've seen a moose turn a 150 pound guard dog into a paste on the ground. You were lucky.
@@viridian4573 Yup.I agree. I once saw a Bull moose in the 1970's tear apart a small car. Luckily the people had escaped before the car became a heap of metal.😂
It is a true honour to see a Wolverine. I saw one hiking in Banff years ago from far away. Seeing a Wolf and a Wolverine together, and so close, is the Canadian wildlife experience of a lifetime.
Mountain lions used to live throughout Canada, but now are mostly in Alberta and British Columbia. Very dangerous.
A lone wolf knows better than to get into an argument with a wolverine. They are the toughest and meanest for their size!
Both Moose and Elk shed their antlers every year. If you find a rack during a hike, you might be able to keep them.
My brother was a trucker before he retired and I made a couple of trips with him to Newfoundland. The moose were something you really had to watch for at night. They looked just like a shadow crossing the road, but were soooo big they could do major damage to the truck and anyone inside the truck. One night at a truck stop I saw a truck that had hit a "baby" moose and there was major damage to the hood of the truck. It was mostly gone. Even baby moose are huge.
On our 20th anniversary my husband and I were camping in Jasper and two doe elk were twenty feet away taking turns eating while the other watched their three young calves playing together. I’ve also been about 40 feet from a grizzly bear while fishing in the Kananaskis area. Moose grow new antlers every year and they get more elaborate and bigger each year with more points as they reach their prime. We often see moose in Kananaskis country, especially in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park.
Once ran into an elk. It was the wee hours in Jasper. Had hitch-hiked down with a friend. Was pitch black when we arrived.
I was taking a whiz behind a building, heard noise, got spooked. So i motored around the building and ran smack into an elk. We were both surprised. Ran faster than i knew i could back around corner, zig-zagging around trees and hopped in a puck-up.
Canadian - Scariest... driving down a logging road in a VW convertible with the top down.. round a corner and 2 bear cubs are in the middle of the road. Rock wall on 1 side... cliff on the other.. no way past. Look in rearview and Momma's coming down the road behind me... not happy. Old VW's you have to get out to put the top up. All I could do as Momma past the car was scootch down into the foot well. If I'd had the stones I could've touched her. She looked in (over the window) gave me the stink eye.. and went and got her kids. They ambled down the road for about 10 minutes with me trying to figure out what to do because I couldn't get past them and it was the only road off the mountain. Eventually it widened out and they went into the bush. There was a few minutes where I really understood we are not actually the top of the food chain.
that woman @2:43 is incredibly wrong for trying to pet that moose. Moose are incredibly territorial and are prone to charging people. Moose encounters can be very deadly. and sometimes the amount of people killed by them rival deaths by bears, depending on the year.
The most interesting bird in canada might be the loon. They're territorial so there's typically one per lake (we have a lot of lakes...) but it can vary. They dive for fish and crestations, look badass, and have a variety if interesting calls. One of their calls is very eerie and is a sound synonymous with canadian wilderness.
It's also the clumsiness bird! Having It's legs so far back on it's body... it doesn't excel at walking. It'll even push itself along the ground on it's belly.
Hence it's name... loon.
In the water? Beautiful... with haunting calls familiar to most Canadians (the outdoorsy ones at least).
I love the sound of the loon! We heard them all the time as a kid living on the farm.
First time I have been scared of birds was this year in Sylvan Lake Alberta. As their babies matured no matter where you walked it was full on attacks screaming like something from a different realm . Ravens, Right out of a hitchcock movie!
i'll buy that for a dollar !
"How did the moose open the door?".
He didn't open it, he probably walked through it.
Great video brother.
Common birds in southern Ontario, Canada, where I live, are predominantly sparrows, chickadees, ducks, geese and robins. Next in numbers are crows. Then occasionally you’ll get the odd blue Jay and cardinal. Very rarely you’ll see a goldfinch.
Unbelievably, we now have bald eagles flying about. So fantastic.
Scotland forever.
Living in a rural area in Northern Canada I have, on more than one occasion, come out of the house to see bears on my sidewalk. 😮
And then there was the visiting Scotsman who exclaimed, after his Canadian friends told him that that was a moose, "if that's a moose, then I'd hate to see a rat!!"
It took me a few seconds, but I got it.😁
I’ve seen a few cougars in downtown Toronto😉 many years ago a friend of mine had a blue jay in his backyard that was so tame it would run up his arm and take food he was holding in his mouth. It disappeared one day, probably trusted someone it shouldn’t. Two other types of birds that can be coaxed to take food from your hand are chickadees and Canada Jays (sometimes called whiskey jacks).
When I was younger I used to find urban cougars most aggressive at " last call ".
@@robertrosicki9290Nasty things and ugly as hell.
All deer species (deer, moose, elk, caribou, reindeer, etc) shed their antlers yearly in the fall/winter and they grow back starting in the spring. It's amazing considering how large some of the species' antlers get.
Lived in the Kootenay mountain region in BC, so many bear encounters that I just got used to them. We kept a metal bin lid in the garden to bang on if they wandered too near. The animals I found more intimidating to deal with were the elk! Big herds, surprisingly large critters and willing to shove through fences or structures to get at food. Quite aggressive at times too. Btw, we'd love to have you for a visit!
From the few times I have been near a moose I realized how big , how majestic and mesmerizing it is to watch their movement. One time fishing in the Cariboo area of British Columbia. It was at a lake called Heningram lake. I am sure there were no other people there except myself and my buddy. We were in a bay of the lake fishing in the morning. The Sun was coming up. We could see the old trappers cabin across from us. A moose and her calf wandered from trees in to the lake to forage on water plants. We had the very special treat of watching from our boat for 20 minutes it felt like. Another time was just outside of town in Mackenzie British Columbia seeing and watching a very large grizzly bear. With it's huge hump back it kept coming closer. When it was less than 500 yards away my Uncle who lived in Mackenzie recommended we get in the car and leave. He explained that at that distance the bear could charge and be on us in only a few seconds. It was coming to the town garbage dump and we were near it. There was another time in Skagit Valley near Hope British Columbia. We had a group of us tent camping on the gravelly shores.The water was low. We were sharing our camp fire , enjoying , chatting . It was not a full moon . It was inky black out. We heard little noises and started to listen. Someone used a flashlight without being too aggressive to see what it was. We were surrounded by a herd of deer going to the water. They took their time. We knew to stay put and be pretty quiet and calm. Another wonderful gift and privilege experienced in beautiful Canada the Country I love!
Wow I never seen this footage, thanks for sharing.
The annual migration of Canadian Geese is almost over, but you can hear them flying over, and calling to each other. The wildlife here is not in the cities so much, but you do encounter it here if you get out and about. Deer are very common, and can be a road hazard. Moose are usually more in farther rural areas, but not always. The beauty and majesty of our wildlife is not overstated. If you ever heard a Loon, or saw them, you would understand how diverse and cool it all is !!
I remember doing night exercises in the bush while in the reserves, and there was a pack of wolves howling pretty much all night nearby. Which was pretty cool... also Coyotes sound pretty crazy at night. A pack of them always hung around where I did overnight security a while back. So id hear them fairly often.
Thankfully I've never had a direct run in with bears, wild cats, or moose while hiking. Plenty of beavers, foxes, porcupines, and little guys like that though. Also deer, lots of deer.
The first time I heard coyotes was in the Hunstville area Ont, parked up for a nap @ 3am before heading to Toronto.
I wasn't sure if I was having a nightmare when woken up by them. Jumped into the front seat and drove off like the clappers.
Now 15 years on I bloody hate them, the way the seek out dogs has been a pain in my backside in BC.
@@briz1965 lol yeah they definitely made my hair stand up the first time I heard them. I haven't heard any by my house, but there's been warnings recently that they're getting worse for targeting pets over here in Ontario aswell.
I live in pg in bc and rent a seasonal camping spot in the summer. It's called loons haven and you can hear the loons all day n evening. Beautiful ❤ we truly do have a beautiful country.
I've had the pleasure of seeing, bear, dear, moose, elk, wild turkey , beaver, humpback whales, beluga, minke, wolf, coyote not counting all the birds . The large woodpecker is a pileated woodpecker beautiful, those and snowy owls are the best. I live in a small ( 10,000) place just outside Ottawa, we have a resident moose that just turns up, wondering through the Comfort Inn carpark, not sure if he's looking for a room.
I'd love to see a polar bear and a puffin.
I'm in Fredericton, New Brunswick. We have a large park in the city, along with a lot of green space and trails throuhg the city.
I've seen small herds of deer all around the city, along the main highways, outside one of the arenas and so forth.
I've also seen a young moose in Odell Park, a big forest park in the middle of the city. I was walking to work and saw him down the trail from me. He looked around and wandered away after a bit. I think others spotted him swimming across the river later on.
Way back in the 80's, my family lived (still lives) in a half acre lot outside of town with a lot of forests and fields behind our house. We built a treehouse among some of the trees. One day, when we were getting ready for school, we looked out and saw a big moose looking into the tree house, calm as he could be.
Years ago, I was driving on the old highway to see my parents, when I spotted a bald eagle on the side of the road. He either had claimed some roadkill or did a kill himself, but he was munching on a small deer carcass as calm as he could be. I think he hopped onto the guardrail as cars went by and went back for more when the traffic was clear.
My mom's spotted black bears multiple times, both when she was out for walks and most recently a week or two ago when she saw a bear and some cubs on the side of the highway.
This year in my small town in Canada I have seen 1wolf 2moose and 7bears
A few things: 1 funny I just responded a few days ago to someone in another TH-cam video's comments, saying they were surprised how big a beaver is. The north american beaver is the second largest rodent in the world, beaten only by the capybara. They get to roughly the weight of an eight year old human, though their body shape makes it hard to tell.
2 that was a mountain goat you were wondering about. There is good reason to be uneasy about them, like most of these animals, they can be dangerous.
3 every deer like animal in the northern parts of the world sheds their antlers. Interesting fact, pet stores sell antlers that have been naturally shed, for dogs.
While out for our daily walk, my sister and I encountered a huge moose with the biggest antlers we've ever seen. It just popped up from the side of the road in front of us, we both froze while he stood looking down at us. We started backing up slowly since it was so close and, thankfully, a truck, my cousin, came along and distracted it, thank God! It crossed the road slowly while we gladly accepted a ride from our cousin. Lol.
LOL. London, Canada 🇨🇦. My cat is mesmerized by you. She's sitting here watching. Glued to the television. LOL ❤😂
If you go hiking in Jasper or Banff, make sure you have a can of bear spray and bear bells. You never want to come across a bear accidentally. Moose are very large, and can be aggressive and can run faster than you think. We have eagles, hawks, seagulls, wood peckers, blue jays, robins…tons of birds. Coyotes are a common sight even in the cities of Alberta. Love watching your videos!
"I wonder if squashed beavers are a problem?" OMG...that was so funny! I love your channel, thanks for learning about our great country!
Canada here. Have been chased by a beaver as a child. 😂❤
Have had 3 black bear encounters first one I literally had my pants down changing from a walk in a stream. Same day watched from above by a mountain lion. Recently had a partridge try to crawl in the cat door in the cabin. Injured coyote just a week ago. Alberta wilds is an amazing place where nature must be respected at all times. Cheers and much love.
We were in Jasper, Alberta for a couple of days when I was about 10 and there was an elk laying down in the front yard of a house just like he owned the place. He was obviously very used to being around humans as my sister and I were no further than about 3-4 ft away from him and we probably could have got right up to pat him except dad stopped us. He was so majestic and we have a photo somewhere of that lovely occasion. I have seen several bear and mountain sheep in the Rockies.
Been blessed to see most of these animals in person and up close. Moose are indeed HUGE! The videos don't do it justice.
I live on the west coast of Canada and have been up close with black bears, lynx, mountain goats, a mountain lion, seals, whales, white tailed deer, moose, beavers, rabbits, blue herons, large cranes, geese, swans, a few types of duck, coyotes, and a wolf. Many, like beavers, fowl, and coyotes are prevalent in local parks within cities. Bears, mountain lions, lynx, and deer roam and shelter in larger residential wooded parks, especially if the park has a lake or large pond. We have a lot of respect for wildlife.
You are a kind and gentle soul,,,I look at your expressions of amazement and i enjoy it as much as seeing the animals,,I am from Labrador,,Tons of wildlife,here,,You deserve a trip to Canada so that you can experience the amazing wildlife here...
A moose is bigger than you expect. Every time. It doesn't matter how many times you've seen one.
When I was a teen, I was at a youth conference in Banff. We stayed at the Banff school of Fine Arts. One day three of my friends and I rented tandem bikes and went for a ride a little ways out of Banff. Suddenly the biggest moose I’ve ever seen charged right across the road not four feet in front of us. It was so quick and paid no attention to us at all, however we were so startled all four of us ended up in the ditch.
Black bears, coyotes and elk are pretty easy to find in the wild. Elk are HUGE, almost as big as moose. A lot of these animals are secretive, they're around you but they are rare to actually see, like wolves, cougars (mountain lions) and lynx. Mountain goats and big horn sheep are really easy to find in the Rocky Mountains.
White tailed deer, beavers, muskrats and Bald eagles can be found in cities. In my city, Winnipeg, we occasionally get Lynx, Black bears and Moose wandering in. We're not in their natural habitat, but we aren't far away.
On the prairies you can see Pronghorn antelope on the highway, they are easily mistaken for white tailed deer so you have to look closely.
There is a wolverine in one of these clips, that's rare to see!
The bird at 7:38 is a Pileated woodpecker. Red-headed woodpeckers are much smaller with it's entire head red.
I was followed by a black bear going home one day. It was lazily following me, only somewhat interested. I just kept my eyes on it and walked slowly. Was about 15 minutes before it got bored and wandered off.
I live in North Dakota, the state that keeps Canada from running into South Dakota. Some years back, my sister found cougar tracks around the farm. Kinda scary, especially when I had to go out after dark to check something in the barn and the flashlight decided to die *right* as I stepped back outside. All I could see were two eyes staring at me.
Thankfully, it the family sheepdog.
Oh, and black bears aren't terribly aggressive. They sometimes get treed by *house cats.*
You mean southern southern Manitoba
@@kanoraguy Yeah, pretty much, but with lower tax rate and population density.
urban - foxes, opossum, owl's coyote's, porcupines, small bunnies are regular occurrences. mountain goats bears lynx puma's are wilderness animals. well more wild than my urban setting
Moose, Deer, Elk, and Cariboo (aka reindeer) all shed their antlers in winter and grow a new set each summer, with antlers growing larger each year
2:28 Brown bear checking it's odds of getting dinner. No they can't take on that terrain like Mountsin Goats can.
3:00 Mountain Goat
3:30 Beaver attacks Black Bear. Black Bears are the least aggressive of all Canadian bears. It was probably curious of beaver and... the beaver wasn’t having any of it lol
4:03 Hence the guy banging noise to deter Black bears on cars.
7:35 That's a Pileated Woodpecker, the largest in Canada (not a "red headed" woodpecker.
Oops, "technical difficulties" o_0
7:55 Bull Elk shedding antlers. Once shed, these antlers are nibbled on by multiple creatures giving them much needed calcium and minerals. Nature doesn't waste anything.
8:20 You mention "massive reindeer" shedding antlers. Fun fact: only males shed antlers in fall so... Santa's Reindeer are ALL females... still having their antlers in winter.
10:00 Lynx taking on a Mule Deer. Size is not an issue for predatory felines. This is why they CAN survive as solitary creatures. They usually (this one missed the target but still hung on) attack on the jugular under the throat and bite thru, holding on as beast tries to run... but the cat continues to bite til bleeding creature weakens and falls. Dinner IS served. Dogs can't hunt like this so they hunt in packs. Now YOU know! lol
11:11 That, which you questioned, is another Mountain Goat.
Btw, should you encounter wildlife and decide to chase it (snowmobilers knew better), you CAN be charged with Harrassing Wildlife. We respect our creatures here (well the majority do).
Hope I've been of some assistance.
Seen badgers put grizzlies on the run.
Moose can swim long distances and dive to 20+ feet.
Out of all the mammals on the planet cow moose are the most protective of their young.
Live in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.. So see grizzly and black bears often. Wolves, mountain lions, lynx, coyote, fox, elk, white and mule deer. Love our Trumpeter Swans..
I lived most of my life in New Brunswick in an area rife with moose. In fact, fencing has been put along one route to help keep them contained. They are so massive. In an area without fencing driving can be tricky at night because they will attack the car when they see the lights.
bear vs bison, that was a quite young bison.
When I lived just outside the city, a bull moose was in my yard for about 2 hours. It turned out that the poor moose was blind. The forest rangers came and had to put him down. They said it could not not survive and would starve to death. I was sad they had to kill him.
My lovely encounter was going out the back door at dusk walking around to the front of the house and seeing a large dark shadow by my truck. I stopped dead in my tracks and when the large dark shadow stood up all I could think was damn I locked the door lol. As I slowly backed away the black bear just dropped to all fours and sauntered away. I then went in to change my pants :)
My dad is a fur trader. He says lynx are timid AF. If you see one its hungry and that is not good. Also they expire quickly when trapped. Moreso than other things.
Also moose are freight trains. Trying to field dress and transport alone is some of the hardest work youll ever do lol
Reindeer is another name for Caribou, yes they are in Canada too, along with moose that Joey Smallwood brought 4 into Newfoundland, and now there are more moose in Newfoundland than you can shake a stick at
I live in the Elk Valley, BC everything in this video is in my backyard with the exception of ocean life and the puffin. It's a gift to live here, you should come visit.
I've encountered a bunch of wildlife in my days but my top three would have to be:
3) A doe deer and two fawns at about twenty feet away. What made this special was that they were in the river valley in Edmonton a literal stones throw from downtown - not where one might expect to find them.
2) A moose from about a foot or two away. I was camping in the back country and when I awoke in the morning I unzipped the door of the tent and there was a moose munching on the plants right in front of my tent. I "froze" for a moment, startled, but the moose just looked me in the eye, took one more bite and then wandered away about 50 yards or so and continued his breakfast.
1) A pack of wolves (about 6 if I remember correctly). We had stopped the car on the shoulder of the highway and while we out if the vehicle, Mama wolf came out of the woods on one side of the highway about 50 yards ahead of us, led a pack of four pups with Papa bringing up the rear across the highway and into the woods on the other side. They all saw us but the magic was just before Papa disappeared into the woods he stopped for a moment, turned to face us and stared us down for a moment. Very eerie but "magical".
I've also encountered Black Bears, Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goats, Elk, Coyotes, Foxes, Golden Eagles and a plethora of smaller creatures. I live in Alberta - al these encounters were in Alberta and British Columbia.
I am canadian and have logged countless canoe trips through the wilderness. I've seen wolves and bears and moose but have had only 2 problems. Once, I was bitten on the toe by a chipmunk. The other was when a bear walked into our campsite one night and drank my brothers scotch. True story!
I grew up on Vancouver Island. My family made road trips every summer across Canada to see our large, spread out family, and we have pictures of encounters with wild bears, mountain goats, deer, elk, buffaloes, skunks and moose. On the island we saw beers, deer, and cougars mostly, with quails, Canada Geese, enormous seagulls, and numerous fish, sea creatures, seals, whales, otters, sealions. We didn't not really "see" cougars so much as we were home in lockdown because one was seen and kids weren't allowed outdoors. But I remember seeing them on the golf course, and the woods near UVIC.
I moved to Toronto for university, and live as close as I can to the centre of Canada's largest city. There is around 7 million people in metropolitan Toronto, and 10 million raccoons and probably more squirrels. However in the middle of this city, in my neighbourhood, I've mistaken skunks for black and white cats, seen whole families of wild hares, orange and black and orange foxes, and a fleeting glance of a rare albino fox that lives in the area.coyote's have also taken up residence and wolves started coming out during the pandemic.
My Australian friends are astounded how calm we are when we encounter these creatures. Mate. At least we can see them coming and they have the right number of legs. Nothings poisonous.
In Canada we call them cougars not mountain lions. That's American terminology. Also, you forgot to include Sasquatch! Lol. Impressive 14 point elk:) Excellent video.
I have had encounters with Orca while canoeing on the Sunshine Coast (a couple of hours from Vancouver), Black Bears (from a safe distance) in Parks and in the local cities near Vancouver that are close to wilderness areas. In the area near my home, we have squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons (aka Trash Bandits), beavers, coyotes, bears, and skunks. From my living room window, I see many birds all year around - Bush Tits, Junkos, Hummbirds, Wrens, Finches, Chickadees, Towees, Sparrows, Robins, Stellar Jays, Northern Flickers, Collared Doves, Pilated Woodpeckers, Bald Eagles, Blue Herons (flying by), Starlings, Crows, Ravens, Glaucous Gulls, Canada Geese, assorted Ducks. and occasionally Hawks. In the Fraser River there are Harbour Seals and Otters. Sea Lions hangout near the docks that the fishing boats tie up and on rocks in the Salish sea between the Mainland and Vancouver Island. While travelling on ships along the BC coast I've seen Orca pods and Dolphins. The Dolphins like to play in the wake of the ships. Vancouver Harbour has been visited by Humpback and Gray Whales. While hiking and Cross Country skiing I have encountered Whiskey Jacks, Loons. 🐦🐦🐦🐦🎸😎
There are tours at a resort here in my town everyday, to feed the resorts collection of Bison, Moose, Elk and various other hoofed animals they keep. Inexpensive, you ride in a trailer with benches, and follow the gamekeeper pulling you by tractor as he does his rounds. It's very unique experience, offered daily at the same time 365 days a year :)
The bright blue bird was a Blue Jay, the symbol of Toronto (Toronto Blue Jays baseball team, for example). You see them now and then lording it over the various peasant birds, and their call is notoriously mocking and nagging. I live in the middle of downtown Toronto, and see them in the trees behind my apartment building fairly regularly. But people often mistake an Indigo Bunting for one at a distance. Much more common is the Northern Cardinal, with it's brilliant red plumage. There are more than 400 bird species within the city limits, but mostly people notice the robins, chicakadees and house wrens. Most Toronto streets are heavily tree-covered, so they support a vast population of these birds. Close to the lake you get seagulls, since they come up the St. Lawrence and fill the Great Lakes, which are essentially inland seas. Lots of ducks near the lake, too, and huge flocks of swallows that nest in the cliffs at the east end of the city. The best place to birdwatch downtown are the Toronto Islands and the Leslie Spit (which projects 5 km into the lake and is mostly left wild). The wild mammal people encounter most frequently in the city is the raccoon. But, on a regular basis, I've seen deer, red fox, coyotes, muskrats, skunks, and porcupines in the ravines that cut right through the middle of the city. Yet Toronto is probably the worst place in Canada to see wildlife --- most of the other cities have much more. We don't have to contend with cougars eating our pets, like they do in Victoria or greater Vancouver!
I've seen every animal shown in this video many, many times, even though I spend most of my time in the city. But I've travelled everywhere in the country. The two animals in the video that most people seldom see are the wolverine and the lynx, which are very wary of humans and good at keeping a low profile. The lynx is an extraordinary creature, and seeing one bounding through the snow is magical. The one animal that only a handful of Canadians have ever seen is the Muskox, which only inhabits remote arctic islands. That one, I've never seen. But I've seen every kind of bear many times, including polars and grizzlies.
Hubby and I went camping in Jasper once at the end of the summer. Sleeping in a tent. We heard some noise outside one morning, and I was afraid it might be a bear. We waited until things got quiet, then came outside to see an entire herd of elk cutting through the campground to forage at the field on the other side of the road.
!!!
It’s hard to stay away and give them space when they walk through your campsite. I always used to think campgrounds were fenced in at the perimeters. Apparently not, lol.
Another time a group we were with went hiking. I couldn’t, so stayed behind to clean up after breakfast. I turned around to see a deer standing about 10 feet away from me, staring at me. That’s twice I thank God for no bears. Saw a bear once, from the front passenger seat of a Greyhound bus. We stopped for it to cross the road. That’s about the only time I really enjoyed seeing a bear close-up, lol. ❤
The smaller animals generally only attack the bigger ones when they are protecting their young. Of course, then there are the wolverines. Just getting one on film is a very long shot, as in almost never. But they are reputed to be among the very fiercest fighters in the animal kingdom.
I was camping in my small truck and camper at Jack Pine Lake in Kaninaskis and in the wee dawn , the whole camper started rocking vigorously. A bull moose was either trying to scratch themselves or mate with my camper. It felt like a whole rugby team was trying to roll the truck.
There is so much wildlife in Canada it is nuts. I have lived in Calgary AB all my life, and IN the city I've seen Mule deer ,White tail deer , Coyotes. Rabbits(lot's of rabbits) , Skunk's , Porcupine, Owls, Eagle, Hawk's, Woodpeckers, Geese, Heron, Falcon, Bobcats, Lynx, Fox, and Beaver. All in the City , did I mention Coyotes, lots of Coyotes . Along the Edge of the city they have had Cougar and a Black Bear sighting as well. I think it is due, in part, to having 3 water sources In the city. Two Rivers and a very long Creek.
On the Moose front, you should see how their antlers look when they lose the fuzz mid-autumn, absolute horror gore on their antlers
I live in Calgary, Alberta and see bobcats, porcupines, coyotes, and deer quite often. Live close to Nose Hill Park.
The general rule with all of these animals is to observe them from a safe distance. Moose can get angry on a hair trigger, and an angry moose is the last thing you want to be near. They’re majestic, but they can be highly aggressive, and they will stomp you out with the fury of a thousand suns. Doesn’t help that they have the road-crossing habits of deer.
The thing about Canada is that it is such a big country that there are many places that are mostly wild. As a result of that, some animals just have absolutely no fear at all of humans. This video also puts on full display just how casual we are about all of it. For most of us, its just part of our backyard. I live in a city of 160k, and deers can sometime be seen in the least expected places.
Yes, waterfowl hunting in Ontario in mid autumn I had a massive bull moose walk right up behind my friend and I. He made no sound coming through the bush, as soon as we moved he darted back into the woods.... was fearing for my life...
Can confirm, growing up in the Rocky Mountains this is exactly what it's like. We had bears going through our grabage cans at least once a week. Moose, bears, deer, etc were all pretty common sights.
I live in the province of Quebec and ride ATVs with one of my good friends. It's not rare to see deers, foxes and turkeys, but a couple weeks ago we went riding to a town called Mont-Laurier about 2 hours north of Montreal and that day a bear came from the forest right into the trail, about 50 feet (15 meters) in front on us. Fortunately, I think that the noise of our machines scared it so it went the opposite direction, but still, it was pretty special! I still remember how beautiful and shiny his fur was in the sun!
During the covid lockdowns here in Québec we were twice under curfew for several months from 8 PM till 7 AM ,
And suddenly at night we had in the curfew hours , dears , coyotes, foxes, marmots,skunks and racoons all over our streets 😃
This is not a small rural village,
This is like the 3rd ? Largest city north of Montréal , we are 53,000 .
And at my old house we had a couple of ducks ,male and female, that at each fall season they dropped in at our place like in a pit stop for their voyage back down south in the US for the winter and swam in our pool for a few days ,this lasted 4 yrs,
They were so cute, but they had retention problem!
The left spots of poo everywhere 😃
That moose was amazing!!
Scariest animal encounter in Canada…anything involving a Canada Goose!!!
I was walking in the forest around Banff around 30 years ago and had to bash a bull elk with my book bag while moving to keep a tree between us. He was annoyed I was between him and his harem. Learned about elk rut behavior after that!
My favorite is so embarrassing. I was smoking a cigarette on my front porch. I noticed my neighbor coming home. A young attractive woman. As she got out of her car, for some reason a buck deer chose that exact moment to do one of those weird mating calls. Neighbor looks up directly at me. I responded “It wasn’t me!”
I don’t think she ever believed me
So many animal encounters. As a kid we used to chase black bears. I was stalked by wolves when I lived up north and was walking home from school in the winter dark. I stuck to the middle of the road which fortunately had a wide clear area on both sides cleared of birch trees. There was a strong moon so I was safe, but I could hear them stalking me in the brush line on both sides of the road.
Had a sea lion toy with me when I was swimming at Wreck Beach in Vancouver. Quite the scary thing because you are so out of your element. It was diving and brushing my legs as it passed, and then popping up to watch me before diving again. I was kind of (trying to be) okay with it, until it (gently) grabbed my foot with its mouth and spun me in a fast 360 in the water. That's when I called it a day for swimming.
In the vid that's a young bear and young buffalo. Older bear would have killed the buffalo, older buffalo would have killed the bear... older one of both would likely give each other space (unless the bear was starving). Bears are an over rated threat... not too likely to attack, and most every Canadian knows bear safety. Even grizzlies are not a big threat. Polar bears are the exception. Very unpredictable, and they attack to kill, while other bears most often attack over dominance and territory. Most of the bears in the vid are juveniles. They are just exploring, and not hunting.
Lynx are uncommon and would almost never be seen, much less tackle a human.
Beavers can get DAM big. :D marmots are also surprisingly big. Pika are tiny, but also the cutest little guys, with their cute little peep sounds echoing across the high mountains.
Coyotes are quite majestic when healthy. I got to observe one at length once as it lay in the sun along the edge of a field. Good encounter.
Herds of Bighorn sheep, deer, elk, and even moose and mountain goats can be common road encounters over many parts of Canada... appropriate to terrain of course. BC has all of the above. Most are nonplussed by cars, so you get to see them up close. As a kid, we used to have deer in our yard all the time. At night they quietly walk through town and nibble people's gardens. Queen Charlotte Islands, Vancouver island, and parts of the coastal rainforest have a specialized variety of small deer, not much bigger than a golden lab or thereabouts. Most people don't realize there are multiple species of each of these kinds of animals.
Rabbits... loads of rabbits. More than ever now. Arctic hares, due to the scarcity of food in their habitat, are the only rabbit that will eat animal corpses, and they commonly gnaw bones they find for the calcium.
Speaking of arctic... arctic foxes are one of the worlds most beautiful and well designed animals.
Mountain lion (cougar) mothers can be quite fierce and territorial, but it is mostly show and they don't live close to humans usually anyway. The cougar you need to fear is the one you can't see since they are ambush hunters. They will seldom tackle an adult man, but pets and children are legit targets if they are unattended. They also like water, and have been found swimming in the open channel between Vancouver Island and the mainland even.
Cedar Waxwing, Blue Jays, robins (iconic signaller of spring), grouse, quail, and wild turkeys, many kinds of geese, numerous other birds. My personal favourite is the loon... amazing sound... iconic of the Canadian wild lands, and beautiful too. Reminds me of big chunk of my wilderness childhood. The cedar waxwing is my favourite song bird because it is super pretty up close (I helped one recover from a window strike as a kid), stellar jays are incredibly smart. Loads of predatory birds like eagles, osprey, a wide variety of owls, hawks and falcons etc. Seen many of all of the above. Quail are such cuties. Hummingbirds are just amazing too. Ptarmigan are a lesser known bird that are super cool. My favourite owl is probably the barn owl, but it is hard to pick a favourite owl (the barred owl is one I have seen quite a lot. The saw whet owl is a little cutie. only ever saw one great horned... stunning... much bigger than you would expect. Also love all of our cranes, herons, cormorants and other marsh/wading birds.
Moose are one of the more dangerous animals. Seen many. As a kid we canoed across Ootsa lake respectfully keeping pace with one which was memorable. Moose will wreck a car if hit, and likely survive. They are super good swimmers and have been known to get aggressive to boats that get too close... so just don't.
Elk sound amazing in rutting season in the mountains. yes... it is not the sound you would expect form these big animals.
Lesser known are muskox, which are amazing. Also pronghorn antelopes... little known about except to those who live in the prairies.
Canadian waters are home to the widest variety and numbers of most whales, and seal relatives.
I recently returned to Canada after years overseas, and was stunned to find out the trumpeter swans have made a strong recovery since my childhood when they were nearly wiped out. I saw flocks, some numbering a hundred or more, all over the Okanagan, Kootenays, and the Lower Mainland (BC) last fall. Got to hear their amazing call for the first time in my life.
Have never seen puffins... REALLY want to spend time in the Maritimes. I imagine they would have quite different bird life over there.
Ravens are less common than crows but common enough.
Woodpeckers (and flickers) are cool. Pretty common in most woodlands.
I'm a bit infatuated with lynx and bobcats. Never seen a lynx... have seen dead bobcats twice but never a live one in the wild.
Squirrels, chipmunks, beavers, raccoons, and skunks are all common encounters. Skunks are not afraid of anything, nor are raccoons either. Best to leave them alone. had multiple close calls, even in the cities since they (and coyotes, foxes, bats, and more), have adapted to urban life. Had my camp raided several times by raccoons, while skunks like to move into house crawl spaces for the winter. Generally though, leave them alone and you won't even notice they are there... until one day your dog takes notice of them... :) Pack rats are a nuisance but also cute. Like a rat and a squirrel had a love child. We also have some amazing smaller predatory mammals, though they tend to be rarer. Mink, ermine, fishers, weasels, badgers, river and sea otters are all rarer but pretty wide spread. Opossums are cool, though not native. Have adapted well to the Lower Mainland. Had to get one out of my ground floor apartment once. Fun. Black bears also often adapt to human settlements, which can be a problem.
Porcupines are intriguing. Find their quills all the time up north... they are cool.
In the Okanagan we have rattle snakes, scorpions, and black widow spiders. Most of our insect, amphibian, and reptile life is sort of less interesting... the tropics of course have us totally beat there, but there are still many cool ones. Of course we have a wide variety of biting flies. We have gnats and midges, loads of mosquitoes... horse flies that actually bite out a meat chunk (and have cool eyes), deer flies, ticks, black flies that come in swarms and are small enough to crawl in your hair and ears, noseeums... many kinds of ants including highly aggressive red ants that form huge mound nests (funny watching young dogs discovering not to roll on or dig in the red ant mounds), and many kinds of wasps and hornets. Few spiders one really needs to worry about (almost all spider species are passive world wide, and in Canada only a couple are venomous enough to be a threat). All these insects aren't too hard to manage though, they are seasonal, and their terrain tends to be predictable. Some nice butterflies (and moths) but not too many super showy ones. As for the reptiles and amphibians, we have quite a few kinds of frogs, a few kinds of snakes, some turtles, lizards, newts, and more, but each species tends to be limited in its habitat. Most every rural Canadian caught garter snakes as a kid. The cold winters through most of Canada tends to limit these kinds of animals, though a few have adapted. Standing cold water is good for blood suckers and leaches.
Most Canadian fish are drab (their main defence), but that doesn't mean they aren't interesting. We do have a few flashy kinds of fish... but few. Lots of good eating fish though. Fresh water fishers love Canada. Pretty much no fish here are dangerous or toxic. Sturgeons are fascinating.
Loved bat watching as a kid (well star watching, with bats spiralling about).
Have eaten several of these animals.
Im a Canadian that has lived all over Canada. ... an adult moose is about the size if a 17 hh tall horse and similar weight.
I knew a woman in 2001 that was killed while cross country skiing in Alberta by a cougar ,.very deadly