Wildlife by region in Canada and the US | Campground Safety and Wildlife Guide

Find your region for the animals that matter most where you camp or work. Then read the stay-away rules and how to protect yourself.

Canada

British Columbia · Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba · Ontario and Quebec · Atlantic Canada · Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut

British Columbia

Bears and cougars throughout the province, rattlesnakes in the dry southern Interior.

Guides: British Columbia

Animal	Where and what to know
Black bear	Found almost everywhere, including Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. The most common bear in campgrounds.
Grizzly bear	Mainland coast, the Interior and the Rockies. Rare on Vancouver Island.
Cougar	Throughout southern BC. Vancouver Island has one of the highest cougar numbers in North America.
Wolf and coyote	Province-wide. Coastal wolves on Vancouver Island have approached campers.
Moose, elk and deer	Moose in the Interior and North, elk in the Kootenays and on Vancouver Island, deer everywhere. Watch for them on roads.
Western rattlesnake	Dry valleys of the southern Interior: Okanagan, Similkameen, Thompson, Nicola and Kettle River areas.
Ticks	Rocky Mountain wood ticks in spring in the Interior; western blacklegged ticks on the coast carry a low risk of Lyme disease.

Report bear, cougar and wolf problems to the Conservation Officer Service: 1-877-952-7277.
WildSafeBC (wildsafebc.com) has local wildlife alerts and campground programs.

Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba

Grizzlies in Alberta's mountains, black bears across the boreal forest, rattlesnakes in the southern grasslands.

Guides: Alberta · Saskatchewan · Manitoba

Animal	Where and what to know
Grizzly bear	Alberta's Rocky Mountains and foothills, including Banff, Jasper and Waterton. Some on the prairie east of the mountains.
Black bear	Mountains, foothills and the boreal forest in the northern half of all three provinces.
Polar bear	Hudson Bay coast in northern Manitoba, around Churchill.
Cougar	Alberta's mountains and foothills, and the Cypress Hills.
Wolf and coyote	Wolves in the mountains and boreal forest; coyotes everywhere, including towns.
Elk, moose and deer	Elk are common in Banff and Jasper townsites and campgrounds, and dangerous in calving season and the rut. Moose in the parkland and boreal forest.
Bison	Plains bison in Elk Island, Grasslands and Prince Albert national parks; wood bison along northern highways.
Prairie rattlesnake	Dry grasslands and river valleys of southern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan.
Ticks and mosquitoes	Wood ticks in spring; blacklegged ticks that carry Lyme disease in southern Manitoba. Heavy mosquitoes in wet years.

Alberta and Saskatchewan have tornadoes and severe hail in summer. See the weather page.

Ontario and Quebec

Black bears and moose across the forest, Lyme-carrying ticks in the south, Ontario's one venomous snake.

Guides: Ontario · Quebec

Animal	Where and what to know
Black bear	Throughout central and northern Ontario and Quebec, including Algonquin Park and the Laurentians.
Polar bear	Hudson Bay and James Bay coasts in the far north.
Moose and white-tailed deer	Moose in central and northern forests are a major highway danger at dawn and dusk. Deer in the south.
Wolf and coyote	Eastern wolves in Algonquin and central forests; coyotes everywhere, including farm country and cities.
Eastern massasauga rattlesnake	Ontario only: the eastern shore of Georgian Bay, the Bruce Peninsula and a few small areas. Quebec has no venomous snakes.
Blacklegged ticks	Lyme disease risk is rising in eastern and southern Ontario and southern Quebec.
Raccoons, skunks and foxes	Common around campgrounds. Rabies is present in some wildlife.
Blackflies and mosquitoes	Heavy in the boreal forest from May to July.

Ontario Bear Wise reporting line for non-emergency bear problems: 1-866-514-2327.
Report wildfires in Ontario: 310-FIRE (310-3473).

Atlantic Canada

Black bears and moose, coyotes in the woods, Lyme-carrying ticks in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. No venomous snakes.

Guides: New Brunswick · Nova Scotia · Prince Edward Island · Newfoundland and Labrador

Animal	Where and what to know
Black bear	New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. Prince Edward Island has no bears.
Moose	Newfoundland has a very large moose population and frequent moose-vehicle collisions. Also common in New Brunswick and Cape Breton.
Coyote	In all four provinces. A coyote attack killed a hiker in Cape Breton Highlands National Park in 2009; keep children close and report bold coyotes.
Red fox	Prince Edward Island foxes are often fed by visitors and become bold. Never feed them.
Polar bear	Labrador's coast, and sometimes northern Newfoundland in spring on sea ice.
Blacklegged ticks	Nova Scotia has some of the highest Lyme disease rates in Canada. Also in southern New Brunswick.

Hurricanes and post-tropical storms can reach the region from August to October.

Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut

Grizzly, black and polar bears, wood bison on the highways, and very heavy insects.

Guides: Yukon · Northwest Territories · Nunavut

Animal	Where and what to know
Grizzly and black bear	Throughout Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Barren-ground grizzlies in the tundra of Nunavut.
Polar bear	Arctic coasts of all three territories and across Nunavut. In Nunavut, travel with a guide or bear monitor.
Wood bison	On and beside the Alaska Highway in Yukon and northern BC, and the highways of the Northwest Territories. Very hard to see at night.
Moose and caribou	Common on roads. Caribou herds cross highways in spring and fall.
Wolf	Throughout. Report any wolf that approaches people.
Muskox	Arctic tundra. They charge when crowded; keep well back.
Mosquitoes and blackflies	Very heavy in June and July. Bring head nets.

Long distances between services. Carry a satellite messenger on remote highways.

United States

Pacific Northwest · California · Southwest · Rocky Mountains · Great Plains and Midwest · Southeast and Gulf · Northeast and Mid-Atlantic · Alaska · Hawaii

Pacific Northwest

Black bears, cougars and elk; rattlesnakes east of the Cascades.

Guides: Washington · Oregon

Animal	Where and what to know
Black bear	Throughout the forests of Washington and Oregon.
Grizzly bear	Very few, in the North Cascades and the Selkirk Mountains of northeast Washington.
Cougar	Throughout both states.
Roosevelt and Rocky Mountain elk	Coastal and mountain areas. Dangerous in calving season and the rut.
Western rattlesnake	Dry country east of the Cascades and southern Oregon.
Ticks	Western blacklegged ticks west of the Cascades; wood ticks in the east.

California

Black bears that break into cars and coolers, mountain lions, rattlesnakes and poison oak.

Guides: California

Animal	Where and what to know
Black bear	Sierra Nevada, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe and northern mountains. Bears break into vehicles for food; use the bear lockers provided.
Mountain lion	Throughout the state, from coast to mountains.
Rattlesnakes	Several species across most of the state below the high mountains.
Coyote	Everywhere, including campgrounds and towns.
Ticks	Western blacklegged ticks carry Lyme disease, mainly in the north coast and Sierra foothills.
Poison oak	Not an animal, but the most common reason campers see a doctor. Learn to spot it.

Vehicles towing a trailer are limited to 55 mph in California.

Southwest

Rattlesnakes, scorpions and heat in the desert; black bears and mountain lions in the mountains.

Guides: Arizona · New Mexico · Nevada · Utah · Texas

Animal	Where and what to know
Rattlesnakes	Many species, including the Mojave and western diamondback. Most active on warm nights.
Arizona bark scorpion	Arizona and nearby areas. Stings are dangerous for small children.
Gila monster	Venomous lizard in Arizona and southwestern Utah, Nevada and New Mexico. Leave it alone.
Black bear and mountain lion	Mountains and high forests across the region, including the Wasatch, Mogollon Rim and Sangre de Cristo.
Javelina and coyote	Common around desert campgrounds. Javelina defend themselves and attack dogs.
Africanized honey bees	Defend hives aggressively. Move away fast and get indoors if bees attack.
Rodents	Hantavirus and plague are present in the Four Corners area. Do not touch rodents or their nests.

Flash floods in canyons and washes. Heat is the main danger from May to September.
East Texas is more like the Southeast: alligators, cottonmouths, copperheads and coral snakes.

Rocky Mountains

Grizzly country around Yellowstone and Glacier; bison, moose, elk and mountain lions.

Guides: Montana · Wyoming · Idaho · Colorado

Animal	Where and what to know
Grizzly bear	Greater Yellowstone (Wyoming, Montana, Idaho) and northwest Montana, including Glacier National Park.
Black bear	Mountains and forests throughout.
Bison	Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Bison injure more visitors in Yellowstone than bears do.
Moose	Common in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Colorado moose regularly charge people with dogs.
Elk	Throughout. Dangerous in calving season and the rut.
Wolf and mountain lion	Wolves in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho; mountain lions throughout.
Prairie rattlesnake	Lower, drier elevations.
Ticks	Rocky Mountain wood ticks carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Colorado tick fever.

Some areas allow only hard-sided camping units when grizzlies are active.

Great Plains and Midwest

Bison in western parks, black bears and wolves in the northern woods, rattlesnakes and Lyme-carrying ticks.

Guides: North Dakota · South Dakota · Nebraska · Kansas · Oklahoma · Minnesota · Wisconsin · Michigan · Iowa · Missouri · Illinois · Indiana · Ohio

Animal	Where and what to know
Bison	Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Custer State Park, Wind Cave and other parks.
Black bear	Northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, and growing numbers in Missouri and Oklahoma.
Wolf	Northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
Rattlesnakes	Prairie rattlesnakes in the western Plains; timber rattlesnakes and massasaugas in parts of the Midwest.
Copperhead and cottonmouth	Southern Missouri, Oklahoma, southern Illinois and Indiana, and Kansas.
Blacklegged ticks	Minnesota and Wisconsin have among the highest Lyme disease rates in the US. Lone star ticks in the southern Plains.

Tornado season runs mostly from April to July. Learn the campground's shelter.

Southeast and Gulf

Alligators, several venomous snakes, black bears in the mountains and Florida, and fire ants.

Guides: Florida · Georgia · Alabama · Mississippi · Louisiana · South Carolina · North Carolina · Tennessee · Kentucky · Arkansas · Virginia

Animal	Where and what to know
American alligator	Fresh and brackish water from the Carolinas to Louisiana and Arkansas, and almost every lake in Florida.
Venomous snakes	Copperhead, cottonmouth (water moccasin), timber and eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, pygmy rattlesnake and coral snake.
Black bear	Great Smoky Mountains and the Appalachians, Florida, coastal North Carolina and Arkansas.
Feral hogs	Widespread. Can be aggressive, especially sows with young.
Fire ants	Painful stings. Dangerous for people with allergies.
Ticks	Lone star ticks can cause alpha-gal syndrome (a red-meat allergy). Blacklegged ticks in Virginia and North Carolina.

Hurricane season runs June to November, peaking August to October.
Heat and humidity are the main day-to-day danger in summer.

Northeast and Mid-Atlantic

Black bears and moose in the north woods, and the highest rates of Lyme disease in North America.

Guides: Maine · New Hampshire · Vermont · Massachusetts · Rhode Island · Connecticut · New York · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Delaware · Maryland · West Virginia

Animal	Where and what to know
Black bear	Throughout the forests, with dense populations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the Adirondacks.
Moose	Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and northern New York. A major highway danger at night.
Blacklegged ticks	Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and babesiosis are common across the region.
Timber rattlesnake and copperhead	Scattered in rocky, wooded hills from New England to West Virginia.
Coyote	Everywhere. Eastern coyotes are larger than western ones.
Raccoons and foxes	Rabies is present in raccoons in much of the region.

Alaska

Brown, black and polar bears, and moose, which injure more people than bears do.

Guides: Alaska

Animal	Where and what to know
Brown (grizzly) bear	Throughout the state, including the coast and Kodiak.
Black bear	Forested areas of the state.
Polar bear	Arctic coast.
Moose	Common in towns, campgrounds and on roads. Cows with calves in spring are especially dangerous.
Wolf	Throughout.
Mosquitoes	Very heavy in summer.

Long distances between services. Carry a satellite messenger on remote roads.

Hawaii

No bears or large predators. The main dangers are the ocean, heat and freshwater infections.

Guides: Hawaii

Animal	Where and what to know
No large predators	Hawaii has no bears, big cats, wolves or native land snakes.
Ocean life	Box jellyfish arrive on some beaches about 8 to 10 days after a full moon. Sharks are rare but present. Never touch monk seals or sea turtles; both are protected.
Centipedes	Large and painful bites. Shake out shoes and bedding.
Feral pigs	In forests. Can be aggressive.
Leptospirosis	Bacteria in fresh streams and ponds. Do not swim with cuts, and do not drink untreated water.

Strong currents and shore breaks cause most visitor deaths. Swim at lifeguarded beaches.

General safety information for campground hosts, workers and campers in Canada and the US, compiled by CampHostJobs from Parks Canada, the US National Park Service, provincial, territorial and state agencies, and public health sources, October 2026. It does not replace training or the rules where you are. Always follow your employer, park staff and local officials. In an emergency, call 911.