Fauna of Saskatchewan - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...

of Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

include several diverse land and aquatic animal

Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...

species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

. From the multiplicity of invertebrate

Invertebrate

An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...

s and vertebrate

Vertebrate

Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...

s, two have been chosen as symbols of Saskatchewan

Symbols of Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is one of Canada's provinces, and has established several provincial symbols.-Symbols:...

. Cenozoic

Cenozoic

The Cenozoic era is the current and most recent of the three Phanerozoic geological eras and covers the period from 65.5 mya to the present. The era began in the wake of the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous that saw the demise of the last non-avian dinosaurs and...

vertebrate fossil

Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

s reveal the geological evolution

Geology of Saskatchewan

The geology of Saskatchewan can be divided into two main geological regions, the Precambrian Canadian Shield and the Phanerozoic Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. Within the Precambrian shield exists the Athabasca sedimentary basin. Meteorite impacts have altered the natural geological...

of the interior plains

Interior Plains

The Interior Plains is a vast physiographic region that spreads across the Laurentian craton of central North America.-Geography:The Interior Plains are an extensive physiographic division encompassing 8 distinct physiographic provinces, the Interior Low Plateaus, Great Plains, Central Lowland,...

and its prehistoric biogeography. Today, Saskatchewan's ecosystems range from the sub-arctic

Subarctic

The Subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Alaska, Canada, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and northern Mongolia...

tundra

Tundra

In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...

of the Canadian Shield

Canadian Shield

The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier Canadien , is a vast geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American or Laurentia craton. It is an area mostly composed of igneous rock which relates to its long volcanic history...

in north Saskatchewan to aspen parkland

Aspen parkland

Aspen parkland refers to a very large area of transitional biome between prairie and boreal forest in two sections; the Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta crossing the border into British Columbia, and a much larger area stretching from central Alberta, all across central Saskatchewan to...

, the Mid-Continental Canadian forests

Mid-Continental Canadian forests

-Setting:This ecoregion extends from south of the Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories through most of northeastern Alberta, central Saskatchewan and parts of west-central Manitoba and consists of three main areas: the Slave River basin in northeastern Alberta, the lowlands of the northern...

in the centre of the province and grassland prairie

Prairie

Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...

. Fauna inhabit areas unique to their own specific and varied breeding, foraging and nesting requirements. With a large land and water area, and small population density, the ecoregions of Saskatchewan

Flora of Saskatchewan

The native flora of the Saskatchewan includes vascular plants, plus additional species of other plants and plant-like organisms such as algae, lichens and other fungi, and mosses...

provide important habitat for many animals, both endangered and not. Naturalists observing wildlife have enumerated shrinking and growing wildlife populations. They advocate programs and methods to preserve or re-introduce endangered species

Endangered species

An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

and identify programs of control for outbreaks of wildlife populations. A broad diversity of wildlife habitats are preserved as parks and reserves protecting the feeding and breeding grounds of protected and indigenous fauna of Saskatchewan.

Provincial symbols

The Sharp-tailed Grouse

Sharp-tailed Grouse

The Sharp-tailed Grouse, Tympanuchus phasianellus , is a medium-sized prairie grouse. It is also known as the sharptail, and is known as "fire grouse" or "fire bird" by Native American Indians due to their reliance on brush fires to keep their habitat open.-Taxonomy:The Greater Prairie-chicken,...

(Pedioectes phasianellus jamesi) was declared the symbol of Saskatchewan

Symbols of Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is one of Canada's provinces, and has established several provincial symbols.-Symbols:...

in 1945. As of 2001, the provincial Animal

Animal

is the White-tailed deer

White-tailed Deer

The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...

(Odocoileus virginianus).

Ancient fauna - paleontology

Fossils have been uncovered which have dated back to the Paleocene

Paleocene

The Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era...

, Eocene

Eocene

The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...

, Oligocene

Oligocene

The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...

, Miocene

Miocene

The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...

, and Pleistocene

Pleistocene

The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....

periods. These Cenozoic

Cenozoic

vertebrates include mammals, amphibians and reptiles. There have been fossils of birds unearthed as well which have dated back (55.8±0.2 to 33.9±0.1 Ma) to the Eocene

Eocene

and 23.03 to 5.33 Ma to the Miocene

Miocene

period. Historically mammoths and mastodons roamed the plains which migrated across the Bering land bridge

Bering land bridge

The Bering land bridge was a land bridge roughly 1,000 miles wide at its greatest extent, which joined present-day Alaska and eastern Siberia at various times during the Pleistocene ice ages. Like most of Siberia and all of Manchuria, Beringia was not glaciated because snowfall was extremely light...

from Eurasia. Black bear

American black bear

The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...

, Bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...

antiquus, Bison latifrons, bobcat

Bobcat

The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...

, Bos bison, caribou, cheetah

Cheetah

The cheetah is a large-sized feline inhabiting most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The cheetah is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, most notable for modifications in the species' paws...

, Columbian mammoth

Columbian Mammoth

The Columbian Mammoth is an extinct species of elephant of the Quaternary period that appeared in North America during the late Pleistocene. It is believed by some authorities to be the same species as its slightly larger cousin, M...

, elk

Elk

The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...

, grizzly bear

Grizzly Bear

The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...

, horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

, ice age

Ice age

An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...

elephant, llama

Llama

The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....

, lion

Lion

The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...

, moose

Moose

The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

, one-hump camel

Camel

A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...

, pronghorn antelope, saber-toothed cat

Saber-toothed cat

Saber-toothed cat or Sabre-toothed cat refers to the extinct subfamilies of Machairodontinae , Barbourofelidae , and Nimravidae as well as two families related to marsupials that were found worldwide from the Eocene Epoch to the end of the Pleistocene Epoch ,...

steppe bison

Steppe Wisent

The Steppe Bison or steppe wisent was a bison found on steppes throughout Europe, Central Asia, Beringia, and North America during the Quaternary...

(Bison priscus), white-tail and mule deer

Mule Deer

The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...

, wooly mammoth populated the plains in pre-historic eras. American Bison

American Bison

The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...

, commonly known as "buffalo" is the largest and most notable mammal found in Saskatchewan dating back to its ancestors Bison antiquus, and Bison latifrons. Large reptiles such as Mosasaur, Plesiosaur, Ichthyosaur and Sea Turtle lived in the seas which covered Saskatchewan, Triceratops fossils were also unearthed. A scampering non-hopping rabbit

Lagomorpha

The lagomorphs are the members of the taxonomic order Lagomorpha, of which there are two living families, the Leporidae , and the Ochotonidae...

Palaeolagus
Palaeolagus
Palaeolagus is an extinct genus of lagomorph. Palaeolagus lived in the Oligocene period which was about 33-23 million years ago. The earliest leporids described from the fossil record of North America and Asia date to the upper Eocene some 40 million years ago. Selective pressure ostensibly drove...

temnodon and Megalagus were some of the Eocdene-Oligocene mammalian paleofauna uncovered at the Cypress Hills Formation

Cypress Hills Formation

The Cypress Hills Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Oligocene age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It takes the name from the Cypress Hills, and was first described in outcrops on the slopes of the Cypress Hills by M.Y. Williams and W.S. Dyer in 1930...

of Saskatchewan. An abundance of Calf Creek Local Fauna has been unearthed at the Cypress Hills Formation. Eastend

Eastend, Saskatchewan

-Infrastructure:The Saskatchewan Transportation Company provides intercity passenger and parcel express service to Eastend.-Attractions:Local Attractions:...

is about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) southeast of this site. The following microvertebrates have been located Daphoenacyon dodges, Daphoenus
Daphoenus
Daphoenus is an extinct member of the family Amphicyonidae belonging to the class Mammalia, an extinct order of terrestrial carnivores belonging to the suborder Caniformia, which inhabited North America from the Early Eocene subepoch to the Early Miocene subepoch 42—16.3 Mya, existing for...

, Daphoenine or bear-dog; Parictis parvas, P. Nimravid

Parictis

Parictis is the earliest genus of bear known. It was a very small and graceful ursid with a skull only 7 cm long. Parictis first appeared in North America in the Late Eocene , but it did not arrive in Eurasia and Africa until the Miocene...

or small bear; Hesperocyon gregarious

Hesperocyon

Hesperocyon is an extinct genus of canids, family of Canidae and subfamily Hesperocyoninae which was endemic to North America from southern Canada to appearing during the Uintan age-Bridgerian age of the Mid-Eocene 42.5 mya—31.0 Ma. . Hesperocyon existed for approximately .-Taxonomy:Hesperocyon...

or small fox-dog

Canidae

Canidae is the biological family of carnivorous and omnivorous mammals that includes wolves, foxes, jackals, coyotes, and domestic dogs. A member of this family is called a canid . The Canidae family is divided into two tribes: Canini and Vulpini...

; Hemipsalodon grandis or subjective synonym of Pterodon

Pterodon

Pterodon is a game developer located in the Czech Republic. In the year of 2006 they joined Illusion Softworks. Pterodon was founded in 1997 by Jarek Kolář and Michal Janáček.The logo of this company is a pterosaur, presumably a Pteranodon...

, and Hyaenodon horridus H. microdon

Hyaenodon

Hyaenodon is an extinct genus of Hyaenodonts, a group of carnivorous creodonts of the family Hyaenodontidae endemic to all continents except South America, Australia and Antarctica, living from 42—15.9 mya, existing for approximately .-Morphology:Some species of this genus were amongst the largest...

or carnivorous

Carnivore

A carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging...

hyaena. Artiodactyls are even toed hoofed mammals such as deer, pigs, camels, goats and cattle. Among the 53 mammalian taxa of fossils from the Swift Current area are the Cypretherium coactatum or terminator pig

Entelodont

Entelodonts, sometimes nicknamed hell pigs or terminator pigs, is an extinct family of pig-like omnivores endemic to forests and plains of North America, Europe, and Asia from the middle Eocene to early Miocene epochs , existing for approximately .-Taxonomy:Entelodontidae was named by Richard...

; Ibarus storer, I. ignotus, or herbivorous

Herbivore

Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...

fast running small

Dichobunidae

Dichobunidae is an extinct family of early even-toed hoofed mammals known from the early Eocene to late Oligocene of North America, Europe, and Asia. Dichobunidae includes some of the earliest known artiodactyls, such as Diacodexis....

deer

Muntjac

Muntjac, also known as Barking Deer and Mastreani Deer, are small deer of the genus Muntiacus. Muntjac are the oldest known deer, appearing 15–35 million years ago, with remains found in Miocene deposits in France, Germany and Poland....

the size of a rabbit; Merycoidodon culbertsoni Leidy

Merycoidodon

Merycoidodon is an extinct genus of terrestrial herbivore of the family Merycoidodontidae, subfamily Merycoidodontinae ,...

or camel type mammal that lived in herds; Limnenetes anceps or a cud chewing

Cud

Cud is a portion of food that returns from a ruminant's stomach in the mouth to be chewed for the second time. More accurately, it is a bolus of semi-degraded food regurgitated from the reticulorumen of a ruminant. Cud is produced during the physical digestive process of rumination, or "chewing the...

plant eating

Herbivore

sheep sized hippopotamus

Oreodont

Oreodons, sometimes called prehistoric "ruminating hogs," were a family of cud-chewing plant-eater with a short face and tusk-like canine teeth...

; Hendryomeryx esulcatus, Leptomeryx
Leptomeryx
Leptomeryx is an extinct genus of ruminant of the family Leptomerycidae, endemic to North America during the Eocene through Oligocene 38—24.8 Mya, existing for approximately .-Taxonomy:...

speciosus and L. mammifer or small hornless ruminant

Ruminant

A ruminant is a mammal of the order Artiodactyla that digests plant-based food by initially softening it within the animal's first compartment of the stomach, principally through bacterial actions, then regurgitating the semi-digested mass, now known as cud, and chewing it again...

; Didelphodus serus

Didelphodon

Didelphodon is a genus of stagodont marsupials from the Late Cretaceous of North America. Three species are known: Didelphodon vorax, D. padanicus, and D. coyi. Although perhaps little larger than a Virginia Opossum, it was one of the largest mammals of the Mesozoic...

or meat eating marsupial

Marsupial

Marsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by giving birth to relatively undeveloped young. Close to 70% of the 334 extant species occur in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, with the remaining 100 found in the Americas, primarily in South America, but with thirteen in Central...

about the size of a Virginia Opossum

Virginia Opossum

The Virginia opossum , commonly known as the North American opossum or tlacuache in Mexico, is the only marsupial found in North America north of Mexico. A solitary and nocturnal animal about the size of a domestic cat, and thus the largest opossum, it is a successful opportunist...

or house cat; Thylacaelurus campester; Wallia scalopidens is a fossilised proscalopid insectivore

Insectivore

An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....

bat; Auxontodon processus; Microparamys solidus
The K–T boundary

K–T boundary

The K–T boundary is a geological signature, usually a thin band, dated to 65.5 ± 0.3 Ma ago. K is the traditional abbreviation for the Cretaceous period, and T is the abbreviation for the Tertiary period...

marks the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event which saw the extinction of many of these prehistoric animals which remain only as fossil remnants.

Mammals - Mammal fauna

Mammal

Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...

species differ between the various ecoregions of Saskatchewan. Members of six orders of placental mammals which inhabit Saskatchewan. They are the bat

Bat

Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...

s, carnivores

Carnivora

The diverse order Carnivora |Latin]] carō "flesh", + vorāre "to devour") includes over 260 species of placental mammals. Its members are formally referred to as carnivorans, while the word "carnivore" can refer to any meat-eating animal...

(including the pinniped
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...

s), artiodactyls

Even-toed ungulate

The even-toed ungulates are ungulates whose weight is borne about equally by the third and fourth toes, rather than mostly or entirely by the third as in odd-toed ungulates such as horses....

, cetacea

Cetacea

The order Cetacea includes the marine mammals commonly known as whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Cetus is Latin and is used in biological names to mean "whale"; its original meaning, "large sea animal", was more general. It comes from Ancient Greek , meaning "whale" or "any huge fish or sea...

ns, insectivores

Insectivora

The order Insectivora is a now-abandoned biological grouping within the class of mammals...

, and rodent

Rodent

Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....

s (including the lagomorphs).

There are fewer variety of species as elevation increases which corresponds to the Taiga and Boreal Shield

Boreal shield

The Boreal Shield Ecozone is the largest ecozone in Canada.-Formation:Canadian Shield rock forms the nucleus of the North American continent. Other geological structures assumed positions around or on top of the Shield millions of years after it was formed. The Rocky Mountains are relative...

and Cypress Hills Uplands econzones. Mammals which endure the harsh environment in the far north Taiga shield

Canadian Shield

, Boreal

Boreal forest of Canada

Canada's boreal forest comprises about one third of the circumpolar boreal forest that rings the northern hemisphere, mostly north of the 50th parallel. Other countries with boreal forest include Russia, which contains the majority, and the Scandinavian and Nordic countries . The boreal region in...

Shield and Boreal Plain ecozones are American black bear (Ursus americanus)

American black bear

, barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus)

Barren-ground Caribou

Barren-ground Caribou is a subspecies of the caribou that is found mainly in the Canadian territories Nunavut and the Northwest Territories and western Greenland. It sometimes includes the similar porcupine caribou, in which case the barren-ground caribou also is found in Alaska...

, western moose (Alces alces anderson)

Moose

, hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus)

Hoary bat

The hoary bat is a species of bat in the vesper bat family, Vespertilionidae. It occurs throughout most of North America and much of South America, with disjunct populations in the Galapagos and Hawaiian Islands...

, wolverine (Gulo gulo)

Wolverine

The wolverine, pronounced , Gulo gulo , also referred to as glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or quickhatch, is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae . It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear than other mustelids...

, American marten (Martes americana)

American Marten

The American marten is a North American member of the family Mustelidae, sometimes referred to as the pine marten. The name "pine marten" is derived from the common but distinct Eurasian species of Martes...

, timber wolf (Canis lupus)

Gray Wolf

The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...

, arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus)

Arctic fox

The arctic fox , also known as the white fox, polar fox or snow fox, is a small fox native to Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and is common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. The Greek word alopex, means a fox and Vulpes is the Latin version...

, mink (Neovison vison)

American Mink

The American mink is a semi-aquatic species of Mustelid native to North America, though human intervention has expanded its range to many parts of Europe and South America. Because of this, it is classed as Least Concern by the IUCN. Since the extinction of the sea mink, the American mink is the...

, snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus)

Snowshoe Hare

The Snowshoe Hare , also called the Varying Hare, or Snowshoe Rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. It has the name "snowshoe" because of the large size of its hind feet and the marks its tail leaves. The animal's feet prevent it from sinking into the snow when it hops and walks...

, and red-backed vole (Myodes)

Red-backed vole

The red-backed voles are the members of the genus Myodes, a group of small slender voles found in North America, Europe and Asia. The genus name comes from the Greek "keyhole mouse". In the past, the genus has been called Evotomys or Clethrionomys, but Myodes takes precedence.They inhabit northern...

.

The Athabasca Plain ecoregion supplies lichen as winter forage for the woodland caribou. The arctic fox as their predator is also found in this region. As well as the mammals of the Taiga Shield ecozone, little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus)

Little brown bat

The little brown bat is a species of the genus Myotis , one of the most common bats of North America...

, Canadian lynx (Lynx canadensis), timber wolf, Canadian beaver (Castor canadensis)

American Beaver

The North American Beaver is the only species of beaver in the Americas, native to North America and introduced to South America. In the United States and Canada, where no other species of beaver occurs, it is usually simply referred to as "beaver"...

, muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus)

Muskrat

The muskrat , the only species in genus Ondatra, is a medium-sized semi-aquatic rodent native to North America, and introduced in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands and is a very successful animal over a wide range of climates and habitats...

are found in the Boreal Shield ecozone

The beavers dam small streams throughout Saskatchewan. The muskrat and beaver were exploited for their fur and beaver pelts. Beavers are still trapped for the fur trade

Fur trade

The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...

industry and were almost extirpated in the first half of the 20th century. The Mid-Boreal Upland ecoregion within the Boreal Plains Ecozone features White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

White-tailed Deer

, mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus)

Mule Deer

The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...

, big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus)

Big brown bat

The Big Brown Bat is larger in size than comparative species of bats, from about 4 to 5 inches in body length, with a 11-13 inch wingspan and weighing 1/2 to 5/8 ounce. The fur is moderately long, and shiny brown...

, silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans)

Silver-Haired Bat

The Silver-haired Bat is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae and the only member of the genus Lasionycteris.- Habitat :...

and the other mammals of the northern boreal forests

Taiga

Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...

. There is a lower population of mammalian wildlife amidst the fens, marshes, bogs and swamps that demark the muskeg area of the Mid-Boreal Lowland. The large mammals of the northern Taiga Shield and Boreal ecozones can still be supported in this transitional area, however elk, reindeer, wolf are animals of the boreal forest.

As well smaller mammals such as Keen's myotis (Myotis keenii)

Keen's Myotis

Keen's Myotis is a species of vesper bat in the Vespertilionidae family.It is found in British Columbia in Canada and in Washington and Alaska in the United States. It is named after the Rev...

, northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus)

Northern Flying Squirrel

The Northern flying squirrel is one of two species of the genus Glaucomys, the only flying squirrels found in North America . Unlike most members of their family, flying squirrels are strictly nocturnal...

, fisher (Martes pennanti)

Fisher (animal)

The fisher is a medium-size mammal native to North America. It is a member of the mustelid family, commonly referred to as the weasel family. The fisher is closely related to but larger than the American Marten...

, ermine (Mustela erminea)

Ermine

Ermine has several uses:* A common name for the stoat * The white fur and black tail end of this animal, which is historically worn by and associated with royalty and high officials...

, North American river otter (Lontra canadensis), least chipmunk (Tamius minimus)

Least Chipmunk

The least chipmunk is the smallest chipmunk in North America. It is also the most widespread species of chipmunk in North America occurring across north-central and western United States and from British Columbia and southern Yukon to western Quebec in Canada...

and short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda)

Northern Short-tailed Shrew

The Northern Short-tailed Shrew is the largest shrew in the genus Blarina, and occurs in the northeastern region of North America. It is a semifossorial, highly active and voracious insectivore and is present in a variety of habitats. It is notable in that it is one of the few venomous mammals...

are sighted along with snowshoe hares, white-tailed deer in the Boreal Transition ecoregion. Carnivores which prey on these creatures such as lynx and wolves are also located in the area.

The Aspen Parkland

Aspen parkland

is agricultural land.The most prominent wildlife species which may be found are coyote (Canis latrans)

Coyote

The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...

, hare, striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis)

Striped Skunk

The striped skunk, Mephitis mephitis, is an omnivorous mammal of the skunk family Mephitidae. Found over most of the North American continent north of Mexico, it is one of the best-known mammals in Canada and the United States.-Description:...

, North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)

North American Porcupine

The North American Porcupine , also known as Canadian Porcupine or Common Porcupine, is a large rodent in the New World porcupine family. The Beaver is the only rodent larger than the North American Porcupine found in North America...

, Richardson's ground squirrel (Spermophilus richardsonii)

Richardson's Ground Squirrel

Richardson's ground squirrel , or the flickertail, is a North American ground squirrel in the genus Urocitellus...

, snowshoe hare, cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)

Eastern Cottontail

The eastern cottontail is a New World cottontail rabbit, a member of the family Leporidae. It is one of the most common rabbit species in North America.-Distribution:...

, northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides)

Northern Pocket Gopher

The Northern Pocket Gopher, Thomomys talpoides, was first discovered by Lewis and Clark on April 9, 1805 at the mouth of the Knife River, North Dakota. These animals are often rich brown or yellowish brown, but also grayish or closely approaching local soil color and have white markings under chin...

, Franklin's ground squirrel (Spermophilus franklinii)

Franklin's ground squirrel

Franklin's ground squirrel is a species native to tallgrass American prairie, from Canada to the northcentral United States.The species hibernates from early fall to spring, and bears a litter of 6–8 pups at a time...

and red fox

Red Fox

The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...

. The Aspen Parkland is the environment of choice for the White-tailed deer.

The Moist Mixed Grassland ecoregion is characterized by White-tailed deer, pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana)

Pronghorn

The pronghorn is a species of artiodactyl mammal endemic to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the prong buck, pronghorn antelope, or simply antelope, as it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and...

, coyote, rabbit, American Badger (Taxidea taxus)

American Badger

The American badger is a North American badger, somewhat similar in appearance to the European badger. It is found in the western and central United States, northern Mexico and central Canada, as well as in certain areas of southwestern British Columbia.Their habitat is typified by open...

, red bat (Lasiurus borealis)

Eastern Red Bat

The Eastern Red Bat is a species of bat from the family Vespertilionidae. See also the Desert red bat , a related species....

and ground squirrel

Ground squirrel

The ground squirrels are members of the squirrel family of rodents which generally live on or in the ground, rather than trees. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones are more commonly known as marmots or prairie dogs, while the smaller and less...

such as Black-tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus)

Black-tailed Prairie Dog

The black-tailed prairie dog , is a rodent of the family Sciuridae found in the Great Plains of North America from about the USA-Canada border to the USA-Mexico border. Unlike some other prairie dogs, these animals do not truly hibernate. The black-tailed prairie dog can be seen aboveground in...

. Animal populations of the Mixed Grassland enumerate pronghorn antelope, white-tailed and mule deer, long-eared myotis (Myotis evotis)

Long-eared Myotis

The Long-eared Myotis is a species of vesper bat. It can be found in western Canada, the western United States, and Baja California in Mexico....

, small-footed myotis (Myotis subulatus), jack rabbit

White-tailed Jackrabbit

The White-tailed Jackrabbit , also known as the Prairie Hare and the White Jack, is a hare found in western North America. Briefly reputed to have been extirpated , it is now clear from observations, roadkilled specimens and historical records that white-tailed jackrabbits are still extant in...

, coyote, Richardson's ground squirrel. The only Canadian site of black-tailed prairie dog is in the Mixed Grassland prairie ecoregion. The raised elevation of the Cypress Upland results in white spruce and aspen forests and an ecoregion more resembling the boreal forested areas than the prairielands. Moose, pronghorn antelope, mule and white-tailed deer, elk, rabbit, and ground squirrel coyote are common in this ecoregion.

Birds - Avifauna

Across Saskatchewan there are breeding, wintering, migration, breeding and wintering, and summering (non-breeding) grounds for 414 species of bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

s.(recorded 1998) migrants

Bird migration

Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...

follow flyway

Flyway

A flyway is a flight path used in bird migration. Flyways generally span over continents and often oceans.-Flyways of the Americas:*Atlantic Flyway*Central Flyway*Mississippi Flyway*Pacific Flyway*Allegheny Front...

s which can be determined by banding

Bird ringing

Bird ringing or bird banding is a technique used in the study of wild birds, by attaching a small, individually numbered, metal or plastic tag to their legs or wings, so that various aspects of the bird's life can be studied by the ability to re-find the same individual later...

Owls, grouse, and finches overwinter in the province. Bird species which can be found in the northern Taiga Shield ecozone, Selwyn Lake Upland ecoregion, include Harris's sparrow (Zonotrichia querula,)

Harris's Sparrow

The Harris's Sparrow, Zonotrichia querula, is a large sparrow.Their breeding habitat is the north part of central Canada . In fact, this bird is Canada's only endemic breeder...

, pine grosbeak, (Pinicola enucleator)

Pine Grosbeak

left|thumb|Adult femaleThe Pine Grosbeak is a large member of the true finch family, Fringillidae. It is found in coniferous woods across Alaska, the western mountains of the United States, Canada, and in subarctic Fennoscandia and Siberia...

, grey-cheeked thrush, Catharus minimus, tree sparrow (Passer montanus)

Tree Sparrow

The Eurasian Tree Sparrow is a passerine bird in the sparrow family with a rich chestnut crown and nape, and a black patch on each pure white cheek. The sexes are similarly plumaged, and young birds are a duller version of the adult...

, Spruce Grouse (Dendragapus canadensis)

Spruce Grouse

The Spruce Grouse or Canada Grouse is a medium-sized grouse closely associated with the coniferous boreal forests or taiga of North America. It is one of the most arboreal grouse, fairly well adapted to perching and moving about in trees...

, willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus)

Willow Grouse

The Willow Ptarmigan , also known as the Willow Grouse, is a bird of the grouse subfamily. It is a sedentary species, breeding in birch and other forests and moorlands in the tundra of Scandinavia, Siberia, Alaska, northern Canada, in particular the province of Newfoundland and Labrador...

, crane (Grus canadensis)

Sandhill Crane

The Sandhill Crane is a large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird references habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills in the American Midwest...

, waterfowl

Waterfowl

Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans....

and shorebirds. As a part of the Tazin Lake Upland, prominent birds are red-throated loon (Gavia stellata)

Red-throated Diver

The Red-throated Loon or Red-throated Diver is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere. It breeds primarily in Arctic regions, and winters in northern coastal waters. It is the most widely distributed member of the loon or diver family. Ranging from in length, the Red-throated...

, greater yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)

Greater Yellowlegs

The Greater Yellowlegs, Tringa melanoleuca, is a large North American shorebird, similar in appearance to the smaller Lesser Yellowlegs. Its closest relative, however, is the Greenshank, which together with the Spotted Redshank form a close-knit group...

, white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)

White-crowned Sparrow

The White-crowned Sparrow is a medium-sized sparrow native to North America.- Description :Adults are long and have black and white stripes on their head, a grey face, brown streaked upper parts and a long tail. The wings are brown with bars and the underparts are grey. Their bill is pink or yellow...

and golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)

Golden Eagle

The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...

.

The Athabasca Plain ecoregion in the Boreal

Boreal ecosystem

The term boreal is usually applied to ecosystems localized in subarctic and subantarctic zones, although Austral is also used for the latter....

Shield provides breeding grounds for the bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)

Bohemian Waxwing

The Bohemian Waxwing is a member of the waxwing family of passerines. A sleek bird, 18–21 cm long with a pointed crest, it travels in large, nomadic groups with a strong, direct flight. It breeds in coniferous forests throughout the most northern parts of Europe, Asia and western North America...

, white-winged crossbill (Loxia leucopteraTwo-barred Crossbill
The Two-barred Crossbill , known as the White-winged Crossbill in North America, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae...

, Cape May warbler (Dendroica tigrina)Cape May Warbler
The Cape May Warbler, Dendroica tigrina, is a small New World warbler. It breeds in northern North America. Its breeding habitat spans across all but the westernmost parts of southern Canada, and into the Great Lakes region and New England. It is migratory, wintering in the West Indies...

, Canada goose (Branta canadensis)Canada Goose
The Canada Goose is a wild goose belonging to the genus Branta, which is native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, having a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body....

and blackpoll warbler (Dendroica striata

Blackpoll Warbler

The Blackpoll Warbler, Dendroica striata , is a New World warbler. Breeding males are mostly black and white. They have a prominent black cap, white cheeks and white wing bars. The Blackpoll breeds in northern North America, from Alaska, through most of Canada, and into the Great Lakes region and...

. In the south west area of the Boreal Shield ecozone lays the Churchill River

Churchill River (Hudson Bay)

The Churchill River is a major river in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Canada. From the head of the Churchill Lake it is 1,609 km long. It was named after John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and governor of the Hudson's Bay Company from 1685 to 1691...

Upland which has the second highest population of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...

This Upland area is home to waterfowl, such as the common loon (Gavia immer, red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator)

Red-breasted Merganser

The Red-breasted Merganser is a diving duck.-Taxonomy:The Red-breasted Merganser was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th-century work, Systema Naturae.-Description:...

, as well as other ducks, and geese on the many lakes of the region. The raven (Corvus corax)

Common Raven

The Common Raven , also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids...

, spruce grouse, gray jay (Perisoreus canadensis)

Gray Jay

The Gray Jay , also Grey Jay, Canada Jay, or Whiskey Jack, is a member of the crow and jay family found in the boreal forests across North America north to the tree-line and in subalpine forests of the Rocky Mountains south to New Mexico and Arizona...

, Connecticut warbler (Oporornis agilis)

Connecticut Warbler

The Connecticut Warbler Oporornis agilis is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.These 15 cm long birds have light yellow underparts and olive upperparts; they have a light eye ring, pink legs, a long tail, pale wing bars and a thin pointed bill...

, northern three-toed woodpecker (Picoides dorsalis)

American Three-toed Woodpecker

The American Three-toed woodpecker, Picoides dorsalis is a medium-sized woodpecker .This woodpecker has a length of 21 cm and a wingspan of 38 cm and closely resembles the Black-backed Woodpecker, which is also three-toed. Until recently, it was considered to be the same species as the Eurasian...

, Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Osprey

The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...

and hawk owl (Surnia ulula)

Northern Hawk Owl

The Northern Hawk-Owl is a non-migratory owl that usually stays within its breeding range. It sometimes irrupts southward.-General:It is the only living species in the genus Surnia...

can be sighted in the boreal forests. The Mid-Boreal Upland ecoregion features these characteristic birds white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

White-throated Sparrow

The White-throated Sparrow is a passerine bird of the American sparrow family Emberizidae.-Description:The White-throated Sparrow is a passerine bird of the American sparrow family Emberizidae...

, red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

Red-tailed Hawk

The Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard sized chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West...

, American redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)

American Redstart

The American Redstart is a New World warbler. It is the only member of its genus and is unrelated to the Old World redstarts. It derives its name from the male's red tail, start being an old word for tail.-Description:...

, bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)

Bufflehead

The Bufflehead is a small American sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Anas albeola.-Description:...

, ovenbird, (Seiurus aurocapillus)

Ovenbird

The Ovenbird is a small songbird of the New World warbler family . This migratory bird breeds in eastern North America and moves south in winter.-Taxonomy:...

and hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus)

Hermit Thrush

The Hermit Thrush is a medium-sized North American thrush. It is not very closely related to the other North American migrant species of Catharus, but rather to the Mexican Russet Nightingale-thrush.-Description:...

. The ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus)

Ruffed Grouse

The Ruffed Grouse is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is non-migratory.The Ruffed Grouse is frequently referred to as a "partridge"...

, Canada warbler (Wilsonia canadensis)

Canada Warbler

The Canada Warbler is a small 13 cm long songbird of the New World warbler family.These birds have yellow underparts, blue-grey upperparts and pink legs; they also have yellow eye-rings and thin, pointed bills. Adult males have black foreheads and black necklaces...

, ruby-crowned kinglet (Regulus calendula) and white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

White-breasted Nuthatch

The White-breasted Nuthatch is a small songbird of the nuthatch family which breeds in old-growth woodland across much of temperate North America. It is a stocky bird, with a large head, short tail, powerful bill and strong feet. The upperparts are pale blue-gray, and the face and underparts are...

, American white pelican(Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)

American White Pelican

The American White Pelican is a large aquatic bird from the order Pelecaniformes. It breeds in interior North America, moving south and to the coasts, as far as Central America, in winter....

are common sightings in the Mid-Boreal Lowland ecoregion.

Diverse bird species populate the Boreal Transition ecoregion such as black and white warbler (Mniotilta varia)

Black-and-white Warbler

The Black-and-white Warbler is a small New World warbler. It breeds in northern and eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida....

, boreal chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus)

Boreal Chickadee

The Boreal Chickadee is a small passerine bird in the tit family Paridae.-Description:...

, great-crested fly-catcher (Myiarchus crinitus)

Great Crested Flycatcher

The Great Crested Flycatcher is a large insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family. It is the most widespread member of the genus, Myiarchus, in North America and is found over most of the eastern and mid-western portions of the continent...

and neotropical migrant bird species.
The predominant avifauna

Bird

of the Aspen Parkland are house wren (Troglodytes aedon)

House Wren

The House Wren, Troglodytes aedon, is a very small songbird of the wren family, Troglodytidae. It occurs from Canada to southernmost South America, and is thus the most widely distributed bird in the Americas. It occurs in most suburban areas in its range and it is the single most common wren...

, least flycatcher ( Empidonax minimus)

Least Flycatcher

The Least Flycatcher , , is a small insect-eating bird...

, yellow warbler (Dendroica petechia)

Yellow Warbler

Dendroica petechia is a New World warbler species or superspecies; the subspecies group around D. aestiva is increasingly treated as good species Dendroica aestiva again. The name for the entire cryptic species complex is Mangrove Warbler, and another group of subspecies is known as Golden Warbler...

and western kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis)

Western Kingbird

The Western Kingbird is a large tyrant flycatcher.Adults are grey-olive on the upperparts with a grey head and a dark line through the eyes; the underparts are light becoming light orange-yellow on the lower breast and belly. They have a long black tail with white outer feathers...

. sharp-tailed grouse (Tympahuchus phasianellus)

Sharp-tailed Grouse

, ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus), black-billed magpie (Pica pica)

Black-billed Magpie

The Black-billed Magpie is a bird in the crow family that inhabits the western half of North America. It is notable for its domed nests, and for being one of only four North American songbirds whose tail makes up half or more of the total body length The Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia) is a...

, cormorant (Phalacrocorax spp.)

Cormorant

The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.- Names :...

, ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis)

Ring-billed Gull

The Ring-billed Gull is a medium-sized gull.Adults are length and with a wingspan. The head, neck and underparts are white; the relatively short bill is yellow with a dark ring; the back and wings are silver gray; and the legs are yellow. The eyes are yellow with red rims...

, glaucous-winged gull (Larus glaucescens)

Glaucous-winged Gull

The Glaucous-winged Gull, Larus glaucescens, is a large, white-headed gull residing from the western coast of Alaska to the coast of Washington. It also breeds on the northwest coast of Alaska. During non-breeding seasons they can be found along the coast of California...

and neotropical migrant bird species. The Aspen Parkland with its many sloughs and saline lakes provides breeding grounds for ducks and other waterfowl, black Tern (Chlidonias niger)

Black Tern

The Black Tern, Chlidonias niger, is a small tern generally found in or near inland water in Europe and North America. As its name suggests, it has predominantly dark plumage.- Description :...

, Forster's tern (Sterna forsteri)

Forster's Tern

The Forster's Tern, Sterna forsteri, is a member of the tern family Sternidae. It breeds inland in North America and winters south to the Caribbean and northern South America....

, American white pelican.

Typical birds of the Moist Mixed Grassland ecoregion include waterfowl around ponds and sloughs and the western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)

Western Meadowlark

Not to be confused with Eastern MeadowlarkThe Western Meadowlark is a medium-sized icterid bird, about 8.5 in long. It nests on the ground in open country in western and central North America. It feeds mostly on insects, but also seeds and berries...

, yellow-headed blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus)

Yellow-headed Blackbird

The Yellow-headed Blackbird is a medium-sized blackbird, and the only member of the genus Xanthocephalus....

, piping plover (Charadrius melodus)

Piping Plover

The Piping Plover is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange legs, a black band across the forehead from eye to eye, and a black ring around the neck...

, sharp-tailed grouse, eastern kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)

Eastern Kingbird

The Eastern Kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus, is a large Tyrant flycatcher.Adults are grey-black on the upperparts with light underparts; they have a long black tail with a white end and long pointed wings. They have a red patch on their crown, seldom seen...

, and Franklin's gull. The Mixed Grassland in southern Saskatchewan features these characteristic birds ferruginous hawk Buteo regalis

Ferruginous Hawk

The Ferruginous Hawk , Buteo regalis , is a large bird of prey. It is not a true hawk like sparrowhawks or goshawks, but rather belongs to the broad-winged buteo hawks, known as "buzzards" in Europe...

, long-billed curlew (Numenius americanus)

Long-billed Curlew

The Long-billed Curlew, Numenius americanus, is a large North American shorebird of the family Scolopacidae. This species was also called "sicklebird" and the "candlestick bird". The species is native to central and western North America...

, yellow-breasted chat (Icteria virens)

Yellow-breasted Chat

The Yellow-breasted Chat is a large songbird, formerly considered the most atypical member of the New World warbler family, though the long-standing suspicion is that it does not actually belong there. Its placement is not definitely resolved. It is the only member of the genus Icteria...

, chestnut-collared longspur (Calcarius ornatus)

Chestnut-collared Longspur

The Chestnut-collared Longspur, Calcarius ornatus, is a small ground-feeding bird from the family Calcariidae which also contains the longspurs.-Overview:...

, burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia)

Burrowing Owl

The Burrowing Owl is a tiny but long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing Owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or any other open dry area with low vegetation. They nest and roost in burrows, such as those excavated...

and sage grouse Centrocercus urophasianus. Characteristic birds of the Cypress Upland ecoregion are trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator)

Trumpeter Swan

The Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator, is the largest native North American bird, if measured in terms of weight and length, and is the largest living waterfowl species on earth. It is the North American counterpart of the European Whooper Swan.-Description:Males typically measure from and weigh...

, sage grouse, Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)

Golden Eagle

, yellow-rumped warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Four closely related North American bird forms—the eastern Myrtle Warbler , its western counterpart, Audubon's Warbler , the northwest Mexican Black-fronted Warbler , and the Guatemalan Goldman's Warbler —are periodically lumped as the Yellow-rumped Warbler .-Classification:Since...

, MacGillivray's warbler (Oporornis tolmiei)

MacGillivray's Warbler

The MacGillivray's Warbler, Oporornis tolmiei, is a small species of New World warbler. Like all members of the genus Oporornis, these birds are sluggish and heavy warblers with short tails, preferring to spend most of their time on, or near the ground, except when singing.The MacGillivray's...

, dusky flycatcher (Empidonax oberholseri)

Dusky Flycatcher

The American Dusky Flycatcher, or simply Dusky Flycatcher, is a small, insectivorous passerine of the tyrant flycatcher family....

and townsend's solitaire(Myadestes townsendi)

Townsend's Solitaire

Townsend's Solitaire is a medium-sized thrush, the only solitaire native to America north of Mexico.-Range and habitat:...

. There is one species of avifauna found only in the Cypress Upland, Audubon's warbler (Dendroica coronata auduboni)

Audubon's Warbler

The Audubon's Warbler, Dendroica coronata auduboni, is a small New World warbler.This passerine bird was long known to be closely related to its eastern counterpart, the Myrtle Warbler, and at various times the two forms have been classed as separate species or grouped as the Yellow-rumped Warbler,...

Amphibians and reptiles - Herpetofauna

Typical reptile

Reptile

Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...

s in the Mixed Grassland ecoregion are the horned lizard (Phrynosoma)

Horned lizard

Horned lizards are a genus of lizards which are the type genus of the family Phrynosomatidae. The horned lizard is popularly called a "horned toad", "horny toad", or "horned frog", but it is neither a toad nor a frog. The popular names come from the lizard's rounded body and blunt snout, which...

, common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)

Common Garter Snake

The Common Garter Snake is a snake indigenous to North America. Most garter snakes have a pattern of yellow stripes on a brown or green background and their average length is about , maximum about .-Subspecies:...

, Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina), and prairie rattlesnake

Prairie rattlesnake

Prairie rattlesnake may refer to:* Crotalus viridis, a.k.a. the plains rattlesnake, a venomous pitviper species native to the western United States, southwestern Canada, and northern Mexico....

, and western painted turtle (C. p. bellii)

Painted Turtle

The painted turtle is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to Louisiana and northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The turtle is the only species of the genus Chrysemys, which is part of the pond turtle...

. The Leopard frogs (Rana pipiens)

Northern Leopard Frog

The Northern Leopard Frog is a species of leopard frog from the true frog family, native to parts of Canada and United States. It is the state amphibian of Minnesota and Vermont.-Physical description:...

and chorus frogs (Pseudacris)

Chorus frog

Chorus frogs are a genus of frogs in the Hylidae family, and are found in North America on both sides of the Rocky Mountains from the San Francisco Bay Area to the Gulf of Mexico....

are typical amphibian

Amphibian

Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...

s of the Grasslands National Park.

Fish - Ichyofauna

The Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush)

Lake trout

Lake trout is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, lake char , touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, they can also be variously known as siscowet, paperbellies and leans...

, Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus)

Arctic grayling

Arctic grayling is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. It comprises five subspecies native to the Nearctic and Palearctic ecozones. T. a. arcticus is widespread throughout the Arctic and Pacific drainages in Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, as well as the upper...

, White sucker (Catostomus commersoni)

White Sucker

The White Sucker is a bottom-feeding freshwater fish inhabiting North America from Labrador in the north to Georgia and New Mexico in the south. It is a long, round-bodied fish with a dark green, grey, copper, brown, or black back and sides and a light underbelly. When fullgrown, it is between 12...

, Longnose sucker (Catostomus catostomus)

Longnose sucker

The longnose sucker, Catostomus catostomus, is a freshwater species of fish inhabiting cold, clear waters in North America from northern USA to the top of the continent. In addition, it is one of two species of sucker to inhabit Asia, specifically the rivers of eastern Siberia...

, burbot (Lota lota)

Burbot

The burbot is the only gadiform fish inhabiting freshwaters. It is also known as mariah, the lawyer, and eelpout. It is closely related to the marine common ling and the cusk...

, lake herring(Coregonus artedi)

Northern cisco

Coregonus artedi is a species of freshwater whitefish in the family . It is also known as the cisco, lake herring, chub, or tullibee, northern cisco....

, Lake whitefish, (Coregonus clupeaformis)

Lake whitefish

The lake whitefish , also called the Sault whitefish or gizzard fish, is a species of freshwater whitefish from North America. Lake whitefish are found throughout much of Canada and parts of the northern United States, including all of the Great Lakes. A valuable commercial fish, they are also...

, walleye or pickerel (Sander vitreus)

Walleye

Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...

, and northern pike (Esox lucius)

Northern Pike

The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...

are fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

found in the freshwater lakes in Saskatchewan.

Perch (Perca flavescens)

Yellow perch

The yellow perch is a species of perch found in the United States and Canada, where it is often referred to by the shortform perch. Yellow perch look similar to the European perch, but are paler and more yellowish, with less red in the fins. They have six to eight dark, vertical bars on their sides...

swim alongside the Northern pike, walleye, lake trout in the Mid-boreal lowland. The Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)

Lake sturgeon

The lake sturgeon is a North American temperate freshwater fish, one of about 20 species of sturgeon. Like other sturgeons, this species is an evolutionarily ancient bottomfeeder with a partly cartilaginous skeleton and skin bearing rows of bony plates...

, goldeye {Hiodon alosoides)

Goldeye

The goldeye, Hiodon alosoides, is a species of fish in the mooneye family . It occurs from as far down the Mackenzie River as Aklavik in the north to Mississippi in the south, and from Alberta in the west to Ohio south of the Great Lakes, with an isolated population south of James Bay. It is...

, and bigmouth buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus)

Bigmouth buffalo

The bigmouth buffalo, Ictiobus cyprinellus, also known as the gourd head, redmouth buffalo, buffalo fish, bernard buffalo, roundhead, or brown buffalo, is a large species of the Catostomidae or "sucker" family....

are fish species of the Saskatchewan river

Saskatchewan River

The Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada, approximately long, flowing roughly eastward across Saskatchewan and Manitoba to empty into Lake Winnipeg...

. Streams and ponds throughout the Saskatchewan prairies may be stocked with rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Rainbow trout

The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....

, brook (Salvelinus fontinalis)

Brook trout

The brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is a species of fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. In many parts of its range, it is known as the speckled trout or squaretail. A potamodromous population in Lake Superior are known as coaster trout or, simply, as coasters...

, and brown trout (Salmo trutta morpha fario and S. trutta morpha lacustris)

Brown trout

The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....

. Catfish (Sluriformes)

Catfish

Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...

and carp (Cyprinidae)

Carp

Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...

range through the Frenchman river.

There are significant commercial fisheries for both freshwater and salt-water species. The Fort Qu'Appelle

Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan

These figures do not include the substantial population living along the shores of the Fishing Lakes.-Origins:The current site is the third Fort Qu'Appelle. The first was a North West Company trading post , also in the valley but near what is now the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border...

Fish Culture Station stocks lakes and streams in this way winter killed lakes are replenished.

Invertebrates

Amongst the invertebrate

Invertebrate

s, typical insects of the Moist Mixed Grassland ecoregion are monarch (Danaus plexippus), mosquito (Anopheles quadrimaculatus), rose weevil Rose Curculi

Curculionidae

Curculionidae is the family of the "true" weevils . It was formerly recognized in 1998 as the largest of any animal family, with over 40,000 species described worldwide at that time...

, yellow jacket wasp (Vespula pennsylavanica)

Yellowjacket

Yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory wasps of the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries...

, sow bug (Malacostraca Isopoda)

Isopoda

Isopods are an order of peracarid crustaceans, including familiar animals such as woodlice and pill bugs. The name Isopoda derives from the Greek roots and...

, bumblebee (Bombus Ternarius)

Bumblebee

A bumble bee is any member of the bee genus Bombus, in the family Apidae. There are over 250 known species, existing primarily in the Northern Hemisphere although they are common in New Zealand and in the Australian state of Tasmania.Bumble bees are social insects that are characterised by black...

, blue-winged olive (Ephemerella Cornuta), daddy longlegs (Opiliones)

Opiliones

Opiliones are an order of arachnids commonly known as harvestmen. , over 6,400 species of harvestmen have been discovered worldwide, although the real number of extant species may exceed 10,000. The order Opiliones can be divided into four suborders: Cyphophthalmi, Eupnoi, Dyspnoi and Laniatores...

, dragonfly

Dragonfly

A dragonfly is a winged insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera . It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body...

, grasshopper (Melanoplus differentialis)

Differential grasshopper

The differential grasshopper is a species of grasshopper belonging to the genus Melanoplus found throughout northern Mexico, central United States and southern Ontario, Canada. It is considered a pest in most of its range....

, harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex)

Pogonomyrmex

Pogonomyrmex is a genus of harvester ants, occurring primarily in the deserts of North and South America. The genus name originated from the Greek language and refers to a beard-like structure, the psammophore, below the head , which can be found in most species of the subgenus sensu stricto...

, and two-spotted lady beetle (Adalia bipunctata)

Two-spotted lady beetle

Adalia bipunctata, commonly known as the two-spot ladybird, two-spotted ladybug or two-spotted lady beetle, is a carnivorous beetle of the family Coccinellidae that is found throughout the holarctic region. It is very common in western and central Europe and North America...

. Gardeners and horticulturists have identified various hemiptera

Hemiptera

Hemiptera is an order of insects most often known as the true bugs , comprising around 50,000–80,000 species of cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, shield bugs, and others...

ns during the growing season

Growing season

In botany, horticulture, and agriculture the growing season is the period of each year when native plants and ornamental plants grow; and when crops can be grown....

affecting their cash crop

Cash crop

In agriculture, a cash crop is a crop which is grown for profit.The term is used to differentiate from subsistence crops, which are those fed to the producer's own livestock or grown as food for the producer's family...

such as aphid

Aphid

Aphids, also known as plant lice and in Britain and the Commonwealth as greenflies, blackflies or whiteflies, are small sap sucking insects, and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants in temperate regions...

s, including the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum), English grain aphid (Macrosiphum avenae), and green peach aphid (Myzus persicae), spruce gall adelgid (Adelges cooleyi)

Gall Adelgid

Gall adelgid refers to adelgid species that produce galls in spruce trees, conifer species. Such galls can be produced by an infection by Adelges cooleyi , a species of aphid-like woolly adelgids ...

pine needle scale (Chionaspis pinifoliae)

Christmas tree pests and weeds

Pine and fir trees, grown purposely for use as Christmas trees, are vulnerable to a wide variety of pests, weeds and diseases. Many of the conifer species cultivated face infestations and death from such pests as the Balsam woolly adelgid and other adelgids. Aphids are another common insect pest...

, tomato psyllid

Psyllid yellows

Psyllid yellows is a disease of potatoes infested by the potato/tomato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli. The symptoms are a marked yellowing of the leaves, an upright appearance to the leaves, with severe cases resulting in early death of the plant. Tuber initiation and growth is affected. Many...

(Bactericera cockerelli)

Bactericera cockerelli

Bactericera cockerelli, also known as the potato psyllid, is a potato/tomato psyllid native to southern North America. As its name suggests, it is commonly found on potato and tomato crops, where feeding of the nymphs causes a condition called psyllid yellows, presumed to be the result of a...

, greenhouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum)

Greenhouse whitefly

Trialeurodes vaporariorum, commonly known as the glasshouse or greenhouse whitefly inhabits the world's temperate regions. It is a primary insect pest of many fruit, vegetable and ornamental crops, frequently being found in glasshouses and other protected horticultural environments...

, aster leafhopper (Macrosteles quadrilineatus)

Aster yellows

Aster yellows is a chronic, systemic plant disease caused by a bacterium-like organism called a phytoplasma. The aster yellows phytoplasma affects 300 species in 38 families of broad-leaf herbaceous plants, primarily in the aster family. Symptoms are variable and can include phyllody, virescence,...

alfalfa plant bug (Adelphocoris lineolatus)

Adelphocoris lineolatus

Adelphocoris lineolatus, the alfalfa plant bug, is about long and wide. These plant bugs are found in fields and other grassy areas, and tend to be attracted to lights such as porch and street lights. The adults can be seen between May and late October, ranging from Southern Ontario and the...

, tarnished plant bug (Lygus lineolaris)

Tarnished plant bug

The tarnished plant bug is one of the most serious pests of small fruits and vegetables in North America. No truly effective or reliable management options currently exist. Growers routinely make 3-5 applications of insecticides each year to control this insect. The cost is $200-$500/acre....

, and black grass bug (Labops hesperius). Freshwater invertebrates of Saskatchewan typically consist of clams (Pelycypoda)

Clam

The word "clam" can be applied to freshwater mussels, and other freshwater bivalves, as well as marine bivalves.In the United States, "clam" can be used in several different ways: one, as a general term covering all bivalve molluscs...

(Mollusca Bivalvia)

Bivalvia

Bivalvia is a taxonomic class of marine and freshwater molluscs. This class includes clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, and many other families of molluscs that have two hinged shells...

, mollusca (Gastropoda and Pelecypoda)

Mollusca

The Mollusca , common name molluscs or mollusksSpelled mollusks in the USA, see reasons given in Rosenberg's ; for the spelling mollusc see the reasons given by , is a large phylum of invertebrate animals. There are around 85,000 recognized extant species of molluscs. Mollusca is the largest...

, leech (Hirudinea)

Leech

Leeches are segmented worms that belong to the phylum Annelida and comprise the subclass Hirudinea. Like other oligochaetes such as earthworms, leeches share a clitellum and are hermaphrodites. Nevertheless, they differ from other oligochaetes in significant ways...

, freshwater earthworm Oligochaeta

Oligochaeta

Oligochaeta is a subclass of animals in the biological phylum Annelida, which is made up of many types of aquatic and terrestrial worms, and this includes all of the various earthworms...

, virile crayfish (Orconectes virilis)

Orconectes

Orconectes is a genus of freshwater crayfish, native to the eastern United States. It includes the rusty crayfish, an invasive species in North America, and Orconectes limosus, an invasive species in Europe.-Taxonomy:...

, Scud (Amphipoda)

Amphipoda

Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. The name amphipoda means "different-footed", and refers to the different forms of appendages, unlike isopods, where all the legs are alike. Of the 7,000 species, 5,500 are classified...

, fairy shrimp (Anostraca)

Fairy shrimp

Anostraca is one of the four orders of crustaceans in the class Branchiopoda; its members are also known as fairy shrimp. They are usually long . Most species have 20 body segments, bearing 11 pairs of leaf-like phyllopodia , and the body lacks a carapace...

, Copepod

Copepod

Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in the sea and nearly every freshwater habitat. Some species are planktonic , some are benthic , and some continental species may live in limno-terrestrial habitats and other wet terrestrial places, such as swamps, under leaf fall in wet forests,...

, water flea (Cladocera)

Cladocera

Cladocera is an order of small crustaceans commonly called water fleas. Around 620 species have been recognised so far, with many more undescribed. They are ubiquitous in inland aquatic habitats, but rare in the oceans. Most are long, with a down-turned head, and a carapace covering the apparently...

, clam shrimp (Conchostraca)

Clam shrimp

Clam shrimp are a taxon of bivalved branchiopod crustaceans that resemble the unrelated bivalved molluscs. They are extant, and known from the fossil record, from at least the Devonian period and perhaps before...

, water mite (Hydrachnida) caddisfly (Trichoptera)

Trichoptera

The caddisflies are an order, Trichoptera, of insects with approximately 12,000 described species. Also called sedge-flies or rail-flies, they are small moth-like insects having two pairs of hairy membranous wings...

, damselfly (Zygoptera)

Damselfly

Damselflies are insects in the order Odonata. Damselflies are similar to dragonflies, but the adults can be distinguished by the fact that the wings of most damselflies are held along, and parallel to, the body when at rest...

, mayfly (Ephemeroptera)

Mayfly

Mayflies are insects which belong to the Order Ephemeroptera . They have been placed into an ancient group of insects termed the Palaeoptera, which also contains dragonflies and damselflies...

, alderfly (Megaloptera)

Megaloptera

Megaloptera is an order of insects. It contains the alderflies, dobsonflies and fishflies, and there are about 300 known species.The Megaloptera were formerly considered part of a group then called Neuroptera, together with lacewings and snakeflies, but these are now generally considered to be...

, seed shrimp (Ostracod)

Ostracod

Ostracoda is a class of the Crustacea, sometimes known as the seed shrimp because of their appearance. Some 65,000 species have been identified, grouped into several orders....

, and tadpole shrimp (Notostraca)

Notostraca

The order Notostraca comprises the single family Triopsidae, containing the tadpole shrimp or shield shrimp. The two genera, Triops and Lepidurus, are considered living fossils, having not changed significantly in outward form since the Triassic. They have a broad, flat carapace, which conceals the...

Invasive species

The zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)

Zebra mussel

The zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, is a small freshwater mussel. This species was originally native to the lakes of southeast Russia being first described in 1769 by a German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in the Ural, Volga and Dnieper rivers. They are still found nearby, as Pontic and Caspian...

, a non-native species is currently posing a serious threat to Saskatchewan waterways, as it has overtaken nearby freshwater habitats.

During the 1930s gophers (Richardson's ground squirrel

Richardson's Ground Squirrel

Richardson's ground squirrel , or the flickertail, is a North American ground squirrel in the genus Urocitellus...

, Spermophilus richardsonii, and thirteen-lined ground squirrel

Thirteen-lined ground squirrel

The thirteen-lined ground squirrel , also known as the striped gopher, leopard ground squirrel, squinney, and as the leopard-spermophile in Audubon’s day, is a ground squirrel....

, Spermophilus tridecemlineatus) by the thousands were eating crops and burrowing holes which endangered horses. The government offered a nickel for every tail turned in.

The Rocky Mountain locust (Melanoplus spretus)

Rocky Mountain locust

The Rocky Mountain locust was the locust species that ranged through almost the entire western half of the United States until the end of the 19th century...

was a small invertebrate which darkened the skies. In 1875 they covered the American and Canadian plains eating everything in the grasslands. By 1902 they disappeared mysteriously and went extinct. Growing resistant crops, and utilising oats and peas are new methods of control where and when there are Grasshopper (Camnula pellucida)

Grasshopper

The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...

outbreaks.

Protected species

The burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea)

Burrowing Owl

is an endangered species.

They inhabit holes created by other animals such as Richardson's Ground Squirrel (gopher), prairie dog, fox, coyote, and badger. Their decline is due to habitat loss

Habitat destruction

Habitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, the organisms that previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity. Habitat destruction by human activity mainly for the purpose of...

due to agricultural, residential and highway lands, and pesticide spraying. Another endangered species, the swift fox (Vulpes velox)

Swift Fox

The swift fox is a small light orange-tan fox around the size of a domestic cat found in the western grasslands of North America, such as Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. It also lives in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta in Canada, where it was previously extirpated...

, has been bred in captivity and re-introduced into protected habitat areas. Lake sturgeon is a Species at Risk in the prairie provinces

Canadian Prairies

The Canadian Prairies is a region of Canada, specifically in western Canada, which may correspond to several different definitions, natural or political. Notably, the Prairie provinces or simply the Prairies comprise the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, as they are largely covered...

In 1691 the buffalo (bison bison)

American Bison

The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...

roamed the prairies by the thousands. "The Buffalo (were) so numerous (that the riders were) obliged to make them sheer out of our way." -Henday Bone beds have been uncovered showing mass kills of bison herds at the base of buffalo jumps and within wood and stone corrals. Habitat destruction from homesteaders breaking the land combined with hunting practices brought the huge population to near extinction. Similarly, vast flights of passenger pigeons (Ectopistes migratorius)

Passenger Pigeon

The Passenger Pigeon or Wild Pigeon was a bird, now extinct, that existed in North America and lived in enormous migratory flocks until the early 20th century...

were reported by Peter Fidler in the early 19th century. The sky darkened for hours as flocks of migrating pigeons passed. Forest habitat destruction and wholesale hunting brought the passenger pigeon to extinction. The eskimo curlew (Numenius borealis)

Eskimo Curlew

The Eskimo or the "Northern Curlew" is a critically endangered shorebird, now considered by many to be extinct.-Taxonomy:The Eskimo Curlew is one of eight species of curlew, and is classed with them in the genus Numenius. It was formerly placed in the separate genus Mesoscolopax. Numenius is...

, a shorebird who was also seen historically in great numbers met a similar extinction due to changing habitats and diminishing numbers from hunting.

Associated with the irradication program of the prairie dog (gopher
Gopher (animal)
The term gopher as it is commonly used does not relate to any one species, but is a generic term used to describe any of several small burrowing rodents endemic to North America, including the pocket gopher , also called true gophers, and the ground squirrel , including Richardson's ground squirrel...

) in the 1930s was the dramatic decline in population of the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes)

Black-footed Ferret

The Black-footed Ferret , also known as the American polecat or Prairie Dog Hunter, is a species of Mustelid native to central North America. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN, because of its very small and restricted populations...

which relied on the prairie dog as its main source of food. The lowered population was hastened as the natural habitat of the ferret was also being taken over by agricultural machinery

Agricultural machinery

Agricultural machinery is machinery used in the operation of an agricultural area or farm.-Hand tools:The first person to turn from the hunting and gathering lifestyle to farming probably did so by using his bare hands, and perhaps some sticks or stones. Tools such as knives, scythes, and wooden...

and practices.

Biodiversity conservation

Chaplin, Old Wives, Reed Lakes (Hemispheric) - Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) Site

Chaplin, Saskatchewan

Chaplin is a rural village in Saskatchewan, Canada situated on the Trans-Canada Highway approximately 85 km from Moose Jaw and 90 km from Swift Current. The main industries of Chaplin are Saskatchewan Minerals and farming/ ranching. Chaplin consists of eight streets, two crescents, and...

is a designated Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network protecting three saline lakes, saline and freshwater marshes. This area is a breeding site for the endangered Piping Plover. 67,000 other birds in over 30 species make use of this area. The Prince Albert National Park

Prince Albert National Park

Prince Albert National Park covers in central Saskatchewan, Canada and is located north of Saskatoon. Though declared a national park March 24, 1927, it had its official opening ceremonies on August 10, 1928 performed by Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. The park is open all year but...

affords protection to a breeding ground of the American White Pelican

American White Pelican

The American White Pelican is a large aquatic bird from the order Pelecaniformes. It breeds in interior North America, moving south and to the coasts, as far as Central America, in winter....

which has been designated as a threatened species

Threatened species

Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...

. Quill Lakes International Bird Area

Quill Lakes

The Quill Lakes is a wetland complex in Saskatchewan, Canada that encompasses the endorheic basin of three distinct lake wetlands: Big Quill Lake, Middle Quill Lake and Little Quill Lake. On May 27, 1987, it was designated a wetland of international importance via the Ramsar Convention...

whch houses over one million shorebirds annually is a RAMSAR international wetlands area recognized by the Western Hemisphere

Western Hemisphere

The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...

Shorebird REserve Network Site (WHSRN). Redberry Lake World Biosphere Reserve

Redberry Lake (Saskatchewan)

Redberry Lake is a lake near Hafford, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is a medium sized salt water lake which is rather unique in an area characterized by mostly freshwater aquatic environments. The lake is surrounded by a regional park, and includes a federal bird sanctuary of the same name. It has also...

is a United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

saline lake

Salt lake

A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water which has a concentration of salts and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes . In some cases, salt lakes have a higher concentration of salt than sea water, but such lakes would also be termed hypersaline lakes...

bird sanctuary.Last Mountain Lake or Long Lake

Last Mountain Lake

Last Mountain Lake, also known as Long Lake, is a prairie lake formed from glaciation 11,000 years ago. It is located in south central Saskatchewan, Canada, about 40 km northwest of the city of Regina adjacent to the Qu'Appelle Valley, which it flows south into through Last Mountain Creek...

the first federal bird sanctuary, and the Dundurn Military Reserve are preserved areas of natural habitat. Protected area

Protected area

Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...

s include Cypress Hills Provincial Park

Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park

Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park is an interprovincial park straddling the southern Alberta-Saskatchewan border, located southeast of Medicine Hat...

, Douglas Provincial Park

Provincial park

A provincial park is a park under the management of a provincial or territorial government in Canada.While provincial parks are not the same as national parks, their workings are very similar...

, Danielson Provincial Park, Blackstrap Provincial Park

Blackstrap Provincial Park

Blackstrap Provincial Park is a conservation area with a man made lake, a provincial campground, and a man made mountain; Blackstrap Ski Hill. Blackstrap Provincial Park is located east of Dundurn and accessed via Saskatchewan Highway 211 which is approximately 7 km long...

, Pike Lake Provincial Park

Pike Lake Provincial Park

Pike Lake Provincial Park is a primarily recreational park located approximately 32 km southwest of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It is located at the southern terminus of Highway 60 on the shore of Pike Lake, an oxbow created by the South Saskatchewan River...

. Approximately 80% of the werlands in this ecoregion have been lost. The only Canadian colony of prairie dogs is protected in the Grasslands National Park

Grasslands National Park

Grasslands National Park is one of Canada's newer national parks, located in southern Saskatchewan, and one of 43 parks and park reserves in Canada's national park system...

. Ord's kangaroo rat (Dipodomys ordii)

Ord's Kangaroo Rat

Ord's Kangaroo Rat, Dipodomys ordii, is a kangaroo rat that is native to Western North America, specifically the Great Plains and the Great Basin with its range extending from extreme southern Canada to central Mexico....

is found only in the Great Sand Hills

Leader, Saskatchewan

Leader is a town in southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada, located approximately 350 km directly east of Calgary, Alberta and is near the border between Saskatchewan and Alberta. It has a population of 881 as of 2006.-History:...

. High populations of sharp-tailed grouse and mule deer reside in the Great Sand Hills area. The Aspen Parkland has been mainly converted to agricultural cropland and grazing lands. Bronson Forest is original parkland, Pasquia Hills provincial forest, Porcupine Forest, and Nisbet Forest

Nisbet Provincial Forest

The Nisbet Provincial Forest is a provincially protected mixed-wood forest surrounded by Aspen parkland in Central Saskatchewan Canada. It consists of a north block north of the city of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and a south block between Duck Lake, Saskatchewan and MacDowall, Saskatchewan...

are reserved tracts of land.

Highways are threat to wildlife populations. The porcupine's defense mechanism against predators is to crouch and raise quills which results in highway accidents and roadkill of this rodent. Deer and other large ungulate

Ungulate

Ungulates are several groups of mammals, most of which use the tips of their toes, usually hoofed, to sustain their whole body weight while moving. They make up several orders of mammals, of which six to eight survive...

s are a hazard to traffic resulting in potential animal or human deaths especially in the autumn mating months or when deer are searching for feeding grounds in the spring. The defense mechanism of deer in the face of a threat is to freeze. There are over 3,500 deer - auto collisions per year in Saskatchewan. A number of measures have been implemented to increase awareness such as fencing, feeding programs, automobile whistles. Deer mirrors along the edges of highways were installed for reducing deer-vehicle collisions. The Wildlife Warning System is triggered by highway vehicles, setting off lights, sounds and or odours ahead of the approaching vehicle to frighten away animals. A system that detects vehicle was installed in 2002 near Harris

Harris, Saskatchewan

-Climate:- See also :* List of communities in Saskatchewan* Villages of Saskatchewan-External links:**-Footnotes:...

to reduce the quantity of mule deer - automobile accidents for a two year testing period. Another system detects large animals and sets off a warning system to drivers of vehicles alerting them that an animal is on or near the highway ahead of time.

The major threats to natural habitat are logging, pesticide use and oil and gas exploration. Destruction of habitats by forestry or agriculture change population levels. Removal of forests raising prairieland increases the population of Aspen Parkland and prairie habitat animals. Increasing prairieland and reducing the boreal forest reduces animals which depend on the forest for survival. Trapping, shooting and poisoning are direct threats to mammals. Dumping sand, clearing vegetation on shorelines, leaking septic tank

Septic tank

A septic tank is a key component of the septic system, a small-scale sewage treatment system common in areas with no connection to main sewage pipes provided by local governments or private corporations...

s, dams and weirs are threats to fish populations. Removal of forests to increase agricultural lands creates a habitat loss which is a threat to the avifauna population.

Naturalists

Peter Fidler

Peter Fidler may refer to:*Peter Fidler , the English explorer and surveyor*Peter Fidler MBE, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sunderland since 1999...

(1762–1822) naturalist, surveyed and mapped Saskatchewan and wrote reports on wildlife observation. Loring Woart Bailey

Loring Woart Bailey

Loring Woart Bailey was an educator, geologist, botanist, and author. He was born at West Point, New York, the son of a professor at the academy....

(1839–1925), naturalist studied algae and identified diatom

Diatom

Diatoms are a major group of algae, and are one of the most common types of phytoplankton. Most diatoms are unicellular, although they can exist as colonies in the shape of filaments or ribbons , fans , zigzags , or stellate colonies . Diatoms are producers within the food chain...

s in Saskatchewan. Archibald Stansfeld Belaney, Grey Owl

Grey Owl

Grey Owl was the name Archibald Belaney adopted when he took on a First Nations identity as an adult...

(1888–1938) conservationist lived in the Prince Albert National Park and appeared in films advocating wildlife preservation.

External links

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