Fish and Wildlife Branch
Wildlife Viewing
British Columbia
Viewing wildlife is fun and rewarding
- and it is one of the fastest
growing activities in North America.
British Columbia is the most biologically
diverse province or territory in
Canada, with over 95 million hectares
that are home to a rich variety
of flora and fauna, providing some
of the best wildlife viewing opportunities
in Canada.
There are over 1100 species of
vertebrates in BC. These include
488 species of birds, 468 species
of fish, 142 species of mammals,
22 species of amphibians, and 18
species of reptiles.
Three-quarters of Canada's mammal species are found
in British Columbia, and 24 of those species are exclusive
to our province. Additional species of vertebrates are
regularly recorded here, perhaps as a result of the expansion
of home ranges, and of more intensive searching by professional
biologists and naturalists. Over 250 bird species breed
in the province, 162 of those (55%) breed nowhere else
in Canada. Invertebrate species probably number between
50,000 and 70,000, including 35,000 species of insects
so don’t forget butterflies when wildlife viewing.
BC has some of the most beautiful and most rare species
in Canada.
British Columbia has an estimated 2790 native vascular
plants species, (nearly 27% are considered
species
at risk). Approximately 1000 bryophytes (mosses and liverworts),
1600 lichens, 522 species of attached algae and well
over 10,000 species of fungi are present in the province.
The abundance of wildlife species in British Columbia
is a result of the province’s wide range of landforms
and climates. British Columbia’s wildlife habitats
include marine, estuary, wetland, fresh water, grassland,
alpine, desert, coastal interior, and mountain forests.
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