All 2 in 3 days here: ~80%
Jasper National Park
🇨🇦 Canada
Canadian Rockies, Canada 462 spp. recorded
Jasper National Park is a vast protected sanctuary in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, defined by a dense temperate conifer forest of pine and spruce, jagged mountain peaks, and deep glacial valleys. This landscape supports a thriving community of wildlife adapted to high altitudes and cold winters.
52.872° N 117.969° W
🦜 Nature
261 Species sighted
29,779 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Jul Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
🌙 Most active after dark
+ 265 more species with insufficient data
Challenges you can complete here
All 5 in 3 days here: ~60%
All 4 in 3 days here: ~20%
Recent sightings in Jasper National Park
LIVEiNaturalistSighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
21Jan
20Feb
19Mar
25Apr
33May
37Jun
40Jul
33Aug
28Sep
26Oct
17Nov
14Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
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Maligne Lake
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Pyramid Lake
-
Columbia Icefields Centre
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Jasper (town)
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Athabasca Falls
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 Good
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
GoodHow rich is the wildlife?
3.0
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 364
🐒 Mammals 88
🦎 Reptiles 3
🐸 Amphibians 7
462 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
17 Threatened 2 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
GoodHow likely to see animals?
3.1
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
65% 📊
Coverage (118 species at ≥5% of 462 in the inventory)
26% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (7 bird, 5 mammal)
65% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
83 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
11 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
23 🏕️
Experience
GoodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
2.8
Climate Harsh Low
Entrance Paid Low
Tourism High Low
Trails Hard Low
World Heritage Yes Bonus
What visitors say
Bears like to eat dandelions, so we often saw them in fields of yellow.
Based on both our experience and information from the tour company, the animals most commonly seen include: - Elk - Deer - Bighorn sheep - Black bears - Grizzly bears - Bald eagles Less common sightings may include: - Moose - Mountain goats - Coyotes The important thing to remember is that wildlife viewing is seasonal.
So it’s no surprise that the first animal I saw on my hikes was a chipmunk.
Over the next couple of hours we saw: - A bull elk - Multiple groups of elk - Dozens of bighorn sheep - Beavers - Deer - Various birds and a Bald Eagle At this point the bus had gone from quietly hopeful to constantly scanning every field and roadside looking for movement.
Before you go
What animals can you see in Jasper National Park?
462 species
Jasper National Park has 462 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Elk (wapiti) (about 90%), Bighorn Sheep (about 80%), Yellow-rumped Warbler (about 80%), Dark-eyed Junco (about 70%) and American Robin (about 70%). Among reptiles, the most-seen is Western Terrestrial Garter Snake (about 10%); among amphibians, Western Toad (about 30%).
When is the best time to visit Jasper National Park for wildlife?
June to August
In those months the park's 12 most-seen species average about 70% on a given day, against about 40% in November and December. Those are among Jasper National Park's wettest months, with about 110 mm of rain a month against 55 mm in April.
Can you see an Elk (wapiti) in Jasper National Park?
Yes
About 90% of wildlife watchers report an Elk (wapiti) sighting in Jasper National Park on a given day, based on 1,117 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is June to March (about 90%).
Can you see a Bighorn Sheep in Jasper National Park?
Yes
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a Bighorn Sheep sighting in Jasper National Park on a given day, based on 809 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is November to May (about 90%).
Can you see a Brown Bear in Jasper National Park?
Yes
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Bear sighting in Jasper National Park on a given day, based on 193 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is May (about 60%).
Can you see a Moose in Jasper National Park?
Yes
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Moose sighting in Jasper National Park on a given day, based on 231 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is September to November (about 70%).
Where in Jasper National Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around Maligne Lake
The richest sighting zone is around Maligne Lake, followed by Pyramid Lake and Columbia Icefields Centre, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Jasper National Park good for wildlife watching?
3.1 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Jasper National Park rates 3.1/5: 265th of 316 parks worldwide and 47th in North America. 25 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
