A Destination Canada camper takes a fun selfie with Canadian wildlife

Canada’s forests, plains, and beautiful natural landscapes are home to many different animals, from giant moose and bison to small squirrels and beavers.

For many of these animals, Canada’s busy capital city isn’t their ideal habitat. But, just a short bus drive away, there’s plenty of space and food for them to live comfortably. At Park Omega, students at Destination Canada might get to see many different Canadian animals – from wild turkeys to chipmunks and more! In fact, because many of these animals are gentle herbivores, visitors are sometimes even allowed to get up close and feed them treats like carrots.

Here are some of the animals you might see if you spend a summer in Canada and get to visit Park Omega:

Spot Bison During a Weekend Visit to Park Omega

When European pioneers first arrived in Canada, they found huge herds of bison living in the Canadian prairies. Some estimates suggest that there could have been as many as 10 million bison. Unfortunately, once early pioneers began hunting them, these animals soon came close to extinction. By the 19^th century, the pioneers had almost completely wiped out wild bison herds.

In fact, one variety of bison known as the plains bison had completely vanished from Canada, and new animals had to be bought from the United States.

The Canadian government soon realised just how important these animals were, and established national parks to help protect them. And, as a result, bison populations are starting to grow again.

Campers can see bison from the safety of a bus

See Squirrels While You Study English at ESL Summer School in Ottawa

Squirrels are very common in Canada and you’ll definitely see a few while you learn English at ESL summer school in Ottawa. On the Carleton University campus in Ottawa, you’ll most likely see a species known as the grey squirrel. Like its name suggests, the grey squirrel has grey fur. But, thanks to a mutation in its genes known as melanism, some grey squirrels were born with deep black fur instead. These new black squirrels have started to spread and are now so common that many people mistakenly think that it’s a new species of squirrel. In reality they’re actually the same species except with different fur colours!

See if you can spot one of these squirrels at ESL camp!

There are a couple of other squirrel species that live in Canada, which you might be able to see at Park Omega. You could catch a glimpse of the rarer American red-brown squirrel or cute little chipmunks.

See Canada’s National Animal (The Beaver) While at English Language Summer Camp

If you take a close look at Canada’s 5-cent coin, you’ll find the picture of a beaver sitting on top of a log. If you peer even closer, you might see its long flat tail which helps propel it through water.

Beavers like to live in Canada’s many lakes and streams. During the summer months, they use their sharp buck teeth to cut down trees and make intricate dams, which have an underwater entrance that leads to a warm and dry home inside the dam.

A couple of beavers work on building a dam together

Then, during the cold winter months when the water freezes over, beavers live in their dams and only make short trips outside to grab food from underwater stashes they made earlier in the year. Even in these cold waters, a beaver’s thick, oily fur keeps it warm and dry.

See Deer While You Attend English Language Summer Camp in Canada

There are many different kinds of deer that live in Canada. When you visit Park Omega while you attend English language summer camp, you might see many of them.

Park Omega is home to red deer, white deer, fallow deer and other species. It’s even the home of the caribou (also called wapiti in Canada), which is the second-biggest species of deer in the world and is also featured on Canada’s 25 cent coin.

At Park Omega deer are very tame and it is safe for campers to approach them

Do you want to learn English at an ESL summer program in Canada?

Find out how you could make friends from all over the world at Destination Canada!