ANIMAL LIFE

Canada has always had a great variety of wild animals. Most of the world's woodland caribou, grizzly bears, mountain sheep, wolves, and wolverines live in Canada. But many native species were severely reduced by uncontrolled hunting and the destrucionof animal habitats by human settlement. Wood bison, once on the prairies in vast numbers, now can only be found in protected parklands. Passenger pigeons, which once darkened the skies of the St. Lawrence Lowlands, became extinct early in the 20th century. Harp seals, inhabitants of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, are not endangered but have become the focus of worldwide attention. This is because of the manner in which day-old pups are clubbed to death in great numbers by hunters.

The waters of Canada's continental shelf teem with fishes. In the Pacific the cold waters of the California Current mix with the warmer Alaska Current, resulting in perfect conditions for feeding grounds for fishes and, therefore, for an active fishing industry. Particularly valuable are the salmon that spawn in the many rivers and streams of the Coast Mountains and later migrate to the open sea to feed and to mature. Herring as well are attracted to the area and account for a large portion of the fishes caught. In the Atlantic cod is by far the most important species caught in the open sea, while lobsters and shellfish are the main catch of fishermen closer to shore.