page_title: Fauna of Saskatchewan
section_title: Protected species
hierarchical_section_title: Fauna of Saskatchewan / Protected species
caption_attribution_description: Black-footed Ferret (Musela nigripes)
context_page_description: The Fauna of Saskatchewan include several diverse land and aquatic animal species. From the multiplicity of invertebrates and vertebrates, two have been chosen as symbols of Saskatchewan. Cenozoic vertebrate fossils reveal the geological evolution of the interior plains and its prehistoric biogeography. Today, Saskatchewan's ecosystems range from the sub-arctic tundra of the Canadian Shield in north Saskatchewan to aspen parkland, the Mid-Continental Canadian forests in the centre of the province and grassland prairie. Fauna inhabit areas unique to their own specific and varied breeding, foraging and nesting requirements. With a large land and water area, and small population density, the ecoregions of Saskatchewan provide important habitat for many animals, both endangered and not. Naturalists observing wildlife have enumerated shrinking and growing wildlife populations. They advocate programs and methods to preserve or re-introduce endangered species and identify programs of control for outbreaks of wildlife populations.
context_section_description: The burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) is an endangered species.
   They inhabit holes created by other animals such as Richardson's ground squirrel (gopher), prairie dog, fox, coyote, and badger. Their decline is due to habitat loss due to agricultural, residential and highway lands, and pesticide spraying. Another endangered species, the swift fox (Vulpes velox), has been bred in captivity and re-introduced into protected habitat areas. Lake sturgeon is a Species at Risk in the prairie provinces.
  In 1691 the buffalo (bison bison) roamed the prairies by the thousands. "The Buffalo (were) so numerous (that the riders were) obliged to make them sheer out of our way." -Henday Bone beds have been uncovered showing mass kills of bison herds at the base of buffalo jumps and within wood and stone corrals. Habitat destruction from homesteaders breaking the land combined with hunting practices brought the huge population to near extinction. Similarly, vast flights of passenger pigeons (Ectopistes migratorius) were reported by Peter Fidler in the early 19th century. The sky darkened for hours as flocks of migrating pigeons passed. Forest habitat destruction and wholesale hunting brought the passenger pigeon to extinction. The eskimo curlew (Numenius borealis), a shorebird who was also seen historically in great numbers met a similar extinction due to changing habitats and diminishing numbers from hunting.
  Associated with the eradication program of the prairie dog (gopher) in the 1930s was the dramatic decline in population of the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) which relied on the prairie dog as its main source of food. The lowered population was hastened as the natural habitat of the ferret was also being taken over by agricultural machinery and practices.
caption: Black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes)
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