Canada's Greatest Animal
Posted on Friday, May 19, 2017, 03:12 PM, by Nicole Schurott, under
Canada News, Did You Know
This year marks Canada's 150th birthday. In honour of the country's century and a half existence, the Calgary Zoo hosted a seven-week contest to see which animal would rise to fame as Canada's Greatest Animal.
The greatest animal is chosen from a list of the countries endangered species. According to Lindsey Galloway, senior director of the zoo, there are currently 532 species at risk under Canada's Species at Risk Act -- 11 of which were added during the campaign. The contestant and previous icons were the grizzly bear, bison, whooping crane, Rocky Mountain goat, grey wolf, great grey owl, and the beaver. Since the contest's start date (March 23), more than 11,000 ballots were cast in the competition.
Coming in ahead of the pack was the grey wolf with 3,000 votes. It beat out previous icon, the beaver, by just 500 votes.
While the campaign is over, Galloway argues that their work now is more crucial than ever. Something needs to be done about the 532 species at risk in
Canada alone.