Vancouver Island
and the BC Gulf Islands offer a wide range of viewing opportunities
for wildlife. From marine waters to mountain peaks, there is wildlife
viewing to experience in every season.
The marine waters around Vancouver Island offer excellent whale
watching, especially for orcas, and twice every year virtually the
entire global population of Pacific Gray Whales migrates along the
west coast of Vancouver Island. All five species of Pacific salmon
migrate off the east and west coast of Vancouver Island to spawn
in the rivers of British Columbia and Washington.
Over a million birds migrate on the Pacific Flyway, and thousands
stop over or stay through the year, including a large spring migration
of Brant Geese and wintering Trumpeter Swans. Strathcona Park on
Vancouver Island is home to the endangered Vancouver Island Marmot,
with a population of less than 200.
