Two species are in danger of local extinction as wildfires spread across Canada
CTV
As Canada faces an unprecedented wildfire season, Calgary's Wilder Institute is looking for ways to preserve at-risk species which could become locally extinct if wildfires reach their habitat.
As Canada faces an unprecedented wildfire season, Calgary’s Wilder Institute is looking for ways to preserve at-risk species which could become locally extinct if wildfires reach their habitat.
Local extinction, or extirpation, is when a species or population no longer exists within a certain geographical location, meaning at least one other population of the species still exists in other areas, as described in biology dictionary.
The institute focuses on wildlife conservation by reintroducing threatened species such as the greater sage grouse, the burrowing owl and the half-moon hairstreak butterfly into the wild.
During this fire season, they are focusing on two species, the whooping crane—a species of bird in Alberta—and the wood-poppy, a flower in Ontario.
Gráinne Michelle McCabe, chief conservation officer at the Wilder Institute, told CTVNews.ca on Thursday they are working with local partners, such as researchers at the University of Lethbridge, to bolster these endangered wild populations and protect them from the threats of fires.
“If particular species are lost, an ecosystem can be thrown out of balance,” she said.
McCabe said the whooping cranes migrate from Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico in Texas.
