The Story of PEI Part 7: Early Wildlife

Last week, we explored the PEI landscape of three centuries ago, around the time Europeans arrived. Those pre-settlement forests and shores were home to wild animals no longer present on the Island. Let’s take a closer look at some of those. 

Photo 1: Herds of Walrus were once common on PEI shores.

Today, our Island beaches are popular with human sun-seekers, but centuries ago another boisterous animal gathered there: Walrus (Photo 1). Herds in the thousands frequented PEI, feeding on shellfish in our shallow inshore waters and hauling out to rest on our gently sloped, sandy shores. The scene must have been incredible!  These are large and loud animals, weighing as much as 1,500 kilograms (more than 3,300 pounds) and communicating with a range of bellows, growls and grunts.

Walrus were prized by the first Europeans for their tough hides, ivory tusks and rich oil, and so were exploited unrelentingly; by the early 1800s, they had disappeared from the Island. Today, the place names Sea Cow Pond and Seacow Head are among the only remnants of these once-magnificent herds. 

Photo 2: Caribou once roamed the Island landscape.

Caribou (Photo 2) arrived on the Island not long after the last glaciation when our landscape was more tundra-like. They roamed our forests, bogs, wetlands, and meadows for millennia, and provided an important food source for early Indigenous people. Caribou herds are migratory and occupy huge tracts of land, often thousands of square kilometres (many hundreds of square miles) and so it is unlikely they were ever truly abundant here. By the mid 1700s, they were no longer present on the Island. 

Photo 3: Canada Lynx were present on PEI until the late 1800s.

PEI once had a native wild cat – the Canada Lynx (Photo 3). This tufted-eared, large-footed feline is well adapted to Canadian winters and thrives on a diet of Snowshoe Hare. While it may not appeal to modern appetites, Lynx are very tasty and would have been consumed by both Indigenous people and early Europeans. Unfortunately for the Lynx, they developed a taste for livestock and in the mid-1800s a bounty was placed on them. This persecution, coupled with extensive land clearing during the 1800s, eradicated Canada Lynx from PEI by the end of that century. There are occasional reports of Bobcats on PEI today, but those are not native. 

Photo 4: American Marten were once abundant in Island forests.

American Marten (Photo 4) were once abundant in Island forests. These are small animals – roughly the size of a mink, weighing less than a kilogram (about two pounds) – and can be inconspicuous in the landscape. Feeding on small mammals and Snowshoe Hare, Marten were unlikely to have come into much conflict with humans. However, extensive land clearing in the 1800s removed much of their habitat and by the early 1900s they had disappeared from the Island.

Photo 5: Black Bear were on PEI until 1927 (though reports persisted into the 1950s).

One of the last large animals to be extirpated from PEI was the Black Bear (Photo 5). Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Bears would have been common on the Island and a source of food, fat, and fur for Indigenous people. Europeans valued those products as well but also feared Bears and saw them as a threat to livestock. A bounty was put in place in the 1790s (starting at 15 shillings per Bear, the equivalent of about $250 today) and continued for more than 60 years. Like the Canada Lynx, Black Bears were eradicated by a combination of persecution and land clearing, and the last confirmed Black Bear on PEI was killed in 1927 (although reports of sightings persisted into the 1950s).

While Bears were a perceived threat to the Island’s settlers, the truly dangerous wildlife came in a much smaller package. Next week, I’ll tell you more about that part of PEI untamed!