Canada wildlife holidays: 5 Top Spots for Unforgettable Animal encounters
Published on: August 20, 2024
Imagine waking up to the sight of a Bald Eagle swooping down from its perch to pluck a salmon from the ocean, the sight of a huge male moose grazing in a misty meadow, or the thrill of photography a grizzly bear fishing for salmon in a pristine inland river. Canada, with its vast and varied landscapes, offers some of the best wilderness and wildlife holidays on earth and is where you can easily see all native North American bear species on Wildlife Trails iconic ‘3 bears tour’. This blog is your ultimate guide to the best wildlife holidays in Canada handpicked by our safari experts, who have lived and travelled extensively in the country. Canada is a paradise for nature lovers and adventure seekers alike. Join us as we explore the top wildlife destinations, share our top travel tips, highlight the best places to see bears in Canada and uncover the incredible wildlife that makes Canada a must-visit for any wildlife enthusiast. Prepare to embark on an unforgettable journey through the wild heart of Canada
Wildlife in Canada: 5 iconic Canadian wild animals and where to see them
Grizzly Bears in Canada: Get the ultimate ‘bears catching salmon’ photograph
Coastal brown bears, also known as Grizzly Bears, when seen further inland, are the most iconic and most sought-after bear species in Canada. The best time to see Grizzlies in Canada is during the autumn salmon run from late August to October, when returning salmon from the Pacific Ocean mass in their millions in the estuaries and head upstream to their spawning grounds. Huge male bears stand on their hind legs to ‘spar’ with their competitors, while grizzly bear mothers and cubs stay away from this male testosterone and scavenge for dying fish on the river edges. If you want to get some once in a lifetime photos of the bears catching salmon then our Grizzly Bear Lodge Canada wildlife holiday is for you.
Allans Top Tips
Global warming is another factor we need to consider and do here at Wildlife Trails. A recent lack of rains on the Pacific coast means that some of the best bear viewing is later in the season – we got you covered. Contact Wildlife Trails and we will suggest the perfect dates for peak bear action which happily coincides with less visitor traffic to beautiful Vancouver Island.
Spirit Bear tours: How to see the White Ghost of the Great Bear Rainforest
The Great Bear rainforest is home to these mystical white bears, where they occur in greater numbers than anywhere else in North America. Here 1 in 10 Black Bears are born white due to a recessive gene, and on one island in particular the ratio is as high as 1 in 4. The Great Bear rainforest is also home to grizzly bears, standard coloured black bears, Orcas and Humpbacks, making it without a doubt the premier marine and terrestrial wildlife viewing location in Canada. Your best to see Spirit Bears in Canada is our Spirit Bear lodge fly-in Canada bear safari, where they have been documenting then with camera traps and resident naturalist observations for the last three decades.
Our face to face encounter with a Spirit Bear and her cubs
Led by our Tsimshian guide, myself and the other guests had only just stepped off the boat and got settled in a natural hide when, from the treeline on the other side of a river, a magnificent white mature female emerged. She was followed by her two first year cubs, bundles of mischievous energy, and as black as their father who obviously did not carry the Kermode gene. The small family group wandered the far bank for about 15 minutes before the cubs decided to raid a nearby crab apple tree. In the blink of an eye, as agile as monkeys they had reached the high branches, 50 feet up, soon to be joined by their mother, whose not insubstantial bulk seemed to defy both gravity and the seemingly spindly nature of the branches. Eventually they disappeared beyond the emerald green curtain they had emerged from, but an hour later they appeared again further upstream from us, spent some time fishing for salmon, and then swam across to our side of the river. We shifted our position to get a better look at them, but before long they melted away, back into their green world.
Allans Top Tips
It is important to understand that you will see many more standard coloured black bears and coastal brown bears than Spirit Bears, so every sighting should be treasured. Having said that, Grizzly Bear lodge has a long and sustainable partnership with the indigenous coastal communities and learning from their expertise and employing modern camera trapping techniques increases your chances of seeing them.
Orca whale watching on Vancouver Island: Why your choice of location is so important.
Vancouver Island is world famous for some of the best Orca whale watching in the world. If you travel to either Telegraph Cove, or Port McNeil you are a short boat ride away from Johnstone Strait. The ‘resident’ whales here maintain a strict diet of salmon, whereas the ‘transients’ that pass through the area prefer to prey on marine mammals. Collectively they are the most studied whale population in the world with four decades of scientific monitoring. As a result extensive data is available about the pods and the individuals within them, and most can be reliably identified from their dorsal fins or distinctive markings. Even their genealogy is well known. To my guides the orcas we encountered were akin to old friends they have come to know, love, and care deeply about over many years of leading kayak trips in the area. For me a kayak is the perfect platform from which to view these magnificent creatures, truly the ocean’s apex predator, as you feel completely integrated into the marine habitat, and they’re far less intrusive and damaging to the environment than a motorised vessel.
It is not uncommon to see multiple Orca pods in the one whale watching safari from Telegraph Cove and while keeping a respectful distance you may still witness curious whales coming very close to your vessel. As mentioned above another option is a mult-day kayaking tour to see Orcas and other marine wildlife. Don’t expect to get too close unless the Orca family is curious about you and your fellow kayakers as they can move far faster through the water. Having said that when our North American operations manager, James Manson, did this trip, he was gob smacked to see an Orcas rubbing itself on a beach opposite his campsite; so much so, he nearly spilt his coffee all over himself. Is this the wildlife experience for you? then check out our Vancouver Island bears and whales tour
Allans Top Tips
There are many excellent whale watching companies on Vancouver Island, operating from Victoria in the south, to Port Hardy in the North, If your main focus is seeing Orcas, you need to use either Telegraph Cove, or Port McNeil as your base, as they are opposite Johnstone Strait. Simply put, this means more time whale watching and less time travelling to the best locations to view them.
Moose watching in Quebec: How to see Moose, Caribou and seven species of whales
Quebec City is a fabulous place to visit for those with a love of history, food and the outdoors. In Quebec you are never far from the wilderness, and the capital city is no exception. An easy 45 minute drive north of the city lies Jacques-Cartier National Park, a popular destination for hiking, canoeing, and wildlife observation. Moose sightings are commonplace in the park and organised moose safaris led by park rangers are available. The safaris are conducted on foot or in a 12-person canoe, depending on where moose have been seen recently. During the summer months moose spend a considerable amount of time up to their bellies in water feeding on lush aquatic plants in the Jacques-Cartier River and the park’s numerous lakes, and the autumn mating season also offers excellent opportunities to observe them.
When you find yourself driving along a road called ‘Route de Baleines’ you know you are in a very special part of the world. Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park is home to an astonishing 13 different species of whales and one of them is the biggest and most famous Blue Whale which visitors flock to see from all around the world. The weather on the day always plays a part in the success of your Quebec whale watching trips, as windy conditions with choppy seas make it more difficult to both hear the whale spouts and spot them on the horizon. However, some of the whale watching companies really do give you value for money by spending a full day out on the water in search of this almost mythical animal.
For your chance to see Caribou in Quebec you must visit Gaspésie National Park which borders the Matane Wildlife Reserve to the east. The Chic-Choc and McGerrigle mountains dominate the park which contains 25 of the 40 highest peaks in Quebec, all of them over 3,300 feet (1,000m). On the 2 highest peaks, Mont Albert and Mont Jacques Cartier, visitors may encounter members of the most southerly Caribou herd in North America grazing on ground lichens above the treeline. When we visit the Caribou population stood precariously at around 200 individuals. At this low population level in order for the 3 resident herds to maintain status quo they needed to successfully raise 35 calves per year and the main obstacles to this were predation by black bears and coyotes. Check out all our bespoke Canada wildlife holidays and find the perfect match for you.
Allans Top Tips
Avoid the most famous location for whale watching in Quebec, Tadoussac, and instead contact Wildlife Trails about going whale watching on a smaller boat with a strong scientific background in research and whale studies. They are the only commercial operator in the area which is frequented almost exclusively by blue whales, whereas around Tadoussac the whale watching boats sometimes outnumber the whales, and sightings of blue whales are the exception rather than the norm. They are also unique in that they use only small 10 person inflatable Zodiac vessels, and actively support whale research by creating opportunities for young marine biologists.
Polar Bear tours in Churchill: How to spend longer in Churchill and see more bears for less money
Let’s be honest from the get go, polar bear tours in Churchill are not cheap and this is mainly due to two factors. The Tundra Buggy tours themselves and 90% of hotel space is booked up by just two large local operators more than a year in advance. Which makes self-organising your polar bear tour to Churchill very challenging. In addition, flight from Winnipeg to Churchill are also expensive and unless you are willing to sleep 2 nights/3 days just in a sleeper chair on the train, taking that option – which we have done ourselves – is quite limited.
Our approach at Wildlife Trails has been to form partnerships with smaller local B&B’s and activity providers so we can spend 50% longer in Churchill than the ‘big boys’ at a cheaper price and with more activities provided. This includes at least 2 full day Tundra Buggy tours and 3 half-day road and trails tours – which gives you the chance of photographing polar bears on foot. The owner of Wildlife Trails, Allan Blanchard, who has been visiting Churchill for the last 20 years takes his own group in peak polar bear season (November) and acts as a guide and chef at the B&B so the group is more independent and flexible with their activities. An early booking is essential to secure a space on our budget polar bear tours in Churchill.
Allan’s top tips
If your dream is to see multiple polar bears and amazing sparring action by the males then 100% Churchill is the right location for you and you must get in touch with Wildlife Trails at least one year in advance as our polar bear tours to Churchill sell out fast. However, if you want that iconic image of a polar bear jumping from ice floe to ice floe than a specialist Arctic cruise is what you need to consider, and we are well placed to provide you with personal advice based on our own voyages around Spitsbergen and in the Canadian Arctic.
A Summary of our 5 Keystone species: Why not try to see all of them in one Canada wildlife holiday?
Planning and creating hand crafted wildlife tours for our clients is what we excel in, and you can only do this based on personal experience and regular visits to the regions where they live. Timing really is everything with creating a tour that allows you to see multiple wildlife species and we first made our name with our signature ‘3 bears’ tours to Canada which we started in 2003. However, our clients saw so much more than just Black, Brown and Polar Bears and with add ons, like Riding Mountain national park, you have the chance to see black bears, wolf, Moose and even Lynx, if you are incredibly lucky. So why not contact us at Wildlife Trails and let us design a Canada wildlife holiday based around your dreams and aspirations.
