Meet 3 animal species on Canada's updated at-risk list

Canada's list of at-risk species is getting longer. 

The federal committee that maintains the list on Thursday added five species that it deems threatened or endangered — the two most severe categories short of disappearing from Canada — bringing the total to 860. It reassessed the status of seven others.  

The list is a snapshot of Canada's rich biodiversity — and the complex challenges it faces. The small army of volunteers behind the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assess about five dozen species every year, trying to bring attention to plants and animals that could disappear from the country. Here's a look at three of the 12 species from today's report.

Northern bottlenose whale

The northern bottlenose whale has two populations in Canada. One, off the coast of Nova Scotia, was reassessed this year and is still considered endangered, meaning it is at imminent risk of disappearing completely from Canada.  

(The second, in the Davis Strait, is not endangered but is of "special concern" for various reasons.) 

John Ford, who co-chairs COSEWIC's subcommittee on marine mammals, says the Nova Scotia group has about 210 whales. But only 95 are mature and can reproduce. Until 2005, the population was declining, but it has since been slowly growing.

They are still considered endangered because of the small populations and the threats they face, he says.

The whales dive up to two kilometres for prey in pitch-dark waters. They use echolocation — a series of clicking sounds that bounce off objects and other animals — to find their way.

Ford says underwater noise, from naval exercises or other activities, can interfere with their echolocation. The populations are also still recovering from whaling in the 1960s and '70s.

"That's a long time ago, but it's within three generations. And so the effects are probably still apparent," he said. 

"So I think it's encouraging that they are increasing even though they're endangered." 

Valley grasshopper

In Canada, the valley grasshopper is found only in B.C.'s south Okanagan Valley, though it also lives in the U.S. The grasshopper, which was first observed in 2010 in Canada, was assessed by the committee for the first time this year and is now considered endangered, because if it loses its very limited habitat it could disappear completely from the country.

It lives "in a very small area … that could potentially be developed in the future, so that potential development is the primary threat to the species," said John Klymko, a zoologist based in New Brunswick who co-chairs COSEWIC's subcommittee on arthropods, a class of animals that includes invertebrates such as insects, spiders and crustaceans. 

That region, like many in the province, is facing a housing crunch. Its habitat is rare in Canada — dry, grassy and desert-like.

"It's some of the hottest, driest habitat in Canada. It's just about like desert habitat," Klymko said. 

"There are no trees. There's shrubs and bunch grasses and some open bare ground. So it's a fairly unique habitat."

There's some potential good news for the grasshopper, though. Klymko points to the proposed national park reserve for the south Okanagan, which will protect the habitat of the grasshopper if established.

Black-tailed prairie dog

This particular prairie dog is found in one place in Canada: Grasslands National Park in southern Saskatchewan. 

They've adapted to "very dry prairies that are prone to droughts," said Stephen Petersen, director of conservation and research at the Assiniboine Park Conservancy in Winnipeg, and co-chair of COSIWEC's subcommittee on terrestrial mammals. 

"But our expectation is that there's going to be more frequent extreme droughts and severe weather. And that's going to really not help them at all."

The black-tailed prairie dog is still considered "threatened" by the committee, meaning it is likely to become endangered if things get worse for the species.

Even though it's in a protected national park, the black-tailed prairie dog's population is so isolated in Canada that a change in the climate or its habitat could lead to it disappearing completely from this country.  

Its small numbers in Canada could be because it is right at the northern edge of its range, he says. The species is more common in the U.S, where its habitat is more widespread, where they can graze on nutritious grasses and burrow into the ground to keep away from the cold and predators.

"They're able to persist in quite a harsh environment," Petersen said.