Are you interested in seeing like polar bears and reindeer? Here are five Canadian wildlife encounters you’ll want to try.
Polar bears
Canada is home to more polar bears than any other country. About two-thirds of the world’s population prowls Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Quebec, Manitoba, and Newfoundland and Labrador. But the epicentre of polar bear tourism is Churchill, Manitoba, which has declared itself the polar bear capital of the world. Sitting in a giant, all-terrain Tundra Buggy, visitors can watch safely as the ferocious marine mammals move from the sub-Arctic tundra to the shores of Hudson Bay for their winter seal hunt.
There are lots of sunrise-to-sunset day trip options. For an overnight adventure, the Churchill Northern Studies Centre offers learning vacations and Churchill Wild whisks guests to a fly-in lodge for walking polar bear safaris.
Expert planning tip from Rachel Lalonde from CAA Orleans “If you want to do an expedition to see the polar bears in Churchill, you should plan that trip at least a year in advance – it’s a short season and there’s limited space. It’s also best to book this kind of trip as a package since the excursions are part of a group anyway.”
Puffins
Puffin lovers should visit Newfoundland and Labrador between June and August – when the clowns of the sea briefly return to land to mate. Boat trips to the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve are popular, but there are colonies off Fogo Island and on land at Elliston Point.
Wild horses
The legendary wild horses of Nova Scotia’s remote Sable Island National Park Reserve can only be visited from June to October, after registering in advance with parks Canada. Sable Aviation offers charter flights, and Adventure Canada has an expedition cruise with a Sable Island stop.
Reindeer
Marvel at a herd of 3,000 reindeer in the Western Arctic with Tundra North Tours on a snowmobile trip. The Indigenous-owned business run by Kylik Kisoun Taylor, is based in Inuvik, N.W.T., and has other year-round adventures.
Harp seals
Chateau Madelinot, in Quebec’s Magdalen Islands, hires helicopters for photo safaris to see harp seals and their newborn pups from late February to early March. It’s the only place in the world you can see the creatures in their natural habitat.
Start planning your wildlife encounter
Our Travel Consultants can help you every step of the way on your vacation. Book an appointment online with our trusted CAA Travel Consultant.