Stanley Park is home to a variety of organisms – plants, animals and everything in between! Identifying what species live here helps us protect them and support their habitat needs. SPES maintains a Species Life List for Stanley Park that is generated from a variety of sources including literature, online citizen database monitoring programs (e.g. eBird, iNaturalist), Bioblitzes, experts, students, and incident sightings reported by the public, naturalists, volunteers, and staff.

We’ve created an interactive version of the Life List

You will be able to query the species by categories (taxa, last year observed in the Park, species at risk, etc.). When available, the year a given species was last documented is indicated to help track which species are still present in the Park and which ones require more information.

A younger raccoon scavenging at Lost Lagoon. Photo by Gerry Bates.

The life list covers life big and small

Since 2010, 1030 native species were confirmed present in Stanley Park, including 20 species listed federally under the Species at Risk Act (SARA), and 41 species listed blue or red by the B.C. Conservation Data Centre (CDC). 

Knowing what lives in Stanley Park is crucial in guiding conservation efforts. In 2012, SPES created the Best Management Practices for Species of Significance in Stanley Park report to provide background information on species and ecosystems at risk present in the Park, as well as what can be done to limit impacts on them during Park operations and other human activities. SPES implemented monitoring programs for species of special significance that are breeding in the Park, such as the Pacific Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagles, Barn Swallows, various bat species, and North American beavers. Monthly bird counts and coastal waterbird surveys provide information on other species at risk.

Many introduced species are present in Stanley Park, including 89 invasive species of plants and animals confirmed in the last decade. SPES developed and follows an Invasive Plant Management Plan to mitigate the spread and impacts of invasive plant species in the Park.

We are excited for the species life list to be used for collaborative research purposes with scientists, post-secondary students, schools, Park visitors and anyone keen to participate in citizen science in Stanley Park!