OTTAWA, Ontario, Sept. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF) is pleased to announce that iNaturalist Canada has officially reached a monumental milestone in biodiversity tracking, with wildlife observations surpassing the 20 million mark across the country.
“Each observation uploaded to the free iNaturalist.ca platform contributes to a global understanding of species distribution, phenology (the timing of life cycle events), and even climate change impacts,” said James Pagé, CWF species at risk and biodiversity specialist. “Every photo you share and every species you record adds to a collective effort to understand, appreciate and conserve Canada’s wildlife.”
In the 10 years since the iNaturalist.ca platform initially launched, Canadians have embraced use of the app to contribute to an active database of biodiversity in Canada. That includes nearly 400,000 observations of species at risk, including some highly elusive ones such as the Common Sharp-tailed Snake, Riverine Clubtail dragonfly and Henslow’s Sparrow.
“Canada is the number two country in terms of observations in the world,” said Pagé, “Along with the rise in iNaturalist observations, there has also been a tenfold increase in the number of scientific publications using the data, demonstrating the value that all these observations contribute to rigorous science.”
CWF is inviting all Canadians to join in the next biggest biodiversity tracking event, the second annual CWF Great Canadian Bioblitz. The event runs Sept. 21 to 28, and taking part is as simple as snapping a photo using the iNaturalist app. Scientists are hopeful the campaign will lead to more discoveries of underrepresented species.
“We currently have more than 20 million observations of about 43,000 species in iNaturalist with observations nearly doubling every year, but Canada is a big place, and experts still only have enough data to assess the health of roughly one-third of Canada’s species,” said Pagé. “There are species thought to exist in Canada that have yet to be discovered. Canadians can help by posting photos and sound recordings of any wild plants, animals and fungi to iNaturalist no matter where they are in Canada.”
According to Pagé, wildlife is still very active at this time of year, so it presents a great opportunity to discover more about the natural world around us. Many participants in the CWF Great Canadian Bioblitz are sure to record endangered species, invasive species or something entirely new to an area.
To learn more and get involved, visit GreatCanadianBioblitz.org.
RELATED LINKS:
CWF Great Canadian Bioblitz iNaturalist Project https://inaturalist.ca/projects/the-cwf-great-canadian-bioblitz-le-grand-bioblitz-canadien-de-la-fcf
Canadian Wildlife Federation https://cwf-fcf.org/en/
About the Canadian Wildlife Federation:
The Canadian Wildlife Federation is a national, not-for-profit charitable organization dedicated to conserving Canada’s wildlife and habitats for the use and enjoyment of all. By spreading knowledge of human impacts on wildlife and the environment, carrying out actions to conserve and restore species and habitats, developing and delivering conservation education programs, advocating for changes to government policy and programs, and co-operating with like-minded partners, CWF encourages a future in which Canadians can live in harmony with nature. For more information, visit CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca.
Contacts:
David DeRocco
Sr. Manager, Marketing and Events
[email protected]
(613) 599-9594 x 279
(905) 975 4672 (cell)
James Pagé
Species at Risk and Biodiversity Specialist
[email protected]
(613) 599-9594 x 242
or
[email protected]
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/64f5d22d-22af-4131-a766-fecda1a5bcc1
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3a00e06d-8000-4626-96e9-73f39a9719a6