Our Mammal Collection has ca. 85,000 study skins, pelts, mounts and skeletons, from about 600 species. We have the most comprehensive collection of Canadian mammals, with extensive coverage of Arctic regions. Carnivores, ungulates, rodents and marine mammals are well represented. Our Osteological Reference collection , established in 1972, provides a modern reference for the identification of vertebrate hard tissues recovered from archaeological sites, or from biological studies.
Nature has the world's most extensive collection of Canadian skeletons.
The most valuable specimen in Nature's fur vault is the holotype of the Wood Bison Bison bison athabascae . Collected and mounted in Canada in 1892, the specimen has endured more than a century, including a stint on exhibit at the Victoria Memorial Museum Building, where exposure to light faded some of its pelt.