Page 27 - 2025-2026 Travel Guide to Canada

providing livelihood for Indigenous Peoples,
but they were hunted close to extinction
during the 19th and 20th centuries. Since then
they have made a partial recovery and herds
can be seen in Wood Buffalo National Park
in northeastern Alberta and southern
Northwest Territories, as well as Prince
Albert National Park in Saskatchewan and
Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba.
It is awe-inspiring, but rare, to see an
immense herd of handsomely antlered caribou
stretching far across the tundra. In September,
visitors may view the annual migration of one
of the largest herds in the world at Leaf River
Lodge in the Northern Québec region of
Nunavik (www.leafriverlodge.com).
Also in Nunavik, week-long packages
offered by Inuit Adventures and Ungava Polar
Eco-Tours include excursions with Inuit
guides in search of the polar bear in its natural
habitat, as well as encounters with other
members of the Arctic wildlife, such as small
herds of muskox stranded on islands offshore,
tundra wolves, various species of seals and
even whales (www.inuitadventures.com or
www.ungavapolarecotours.com).
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PUFFINS AT CAPE BONAVISTA LIGHTHOUSE, NL • NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR TOURISM/JACKIE ZHENG
DIVING IN
The beaver, Canada’s national symbol, is an
aquatic rodent with a large paddle-shaped
tail and prized thick fur. Found in
waterways throughout Canada, beavers are
industrious, felling trees with their sharp
buckteeth and building lodges and dams.
Primarily nocturnal, they are best viewed at
dusk. One popular place to spot them is
Jacques-Cartier Park near Québec City.
Beluga whales, not much bigger than
dolphins and white in colour, are called the
canaries of the sea for their constant
singing. Every summer about 3,000 belugas
gather in the Churchill River delta in
northern Manitoba. You can get close by
boat tour and listen to them chattering via a
hydrophone. Belugas are so gentle you can
venture out on the water in kayaks for a
once-in-a-lifetime experience.