Calgary Zoo reveals winner of Canada’s Greatest Animal campaign

The Calgary Zoo has revealed which critter won the title of Canada’s Greatest Animal.

The campaign, launched by the zoo in March, was a lighthearted way of celebrating Canada’s 150^th birthday.

Seven Canadian animals were nominated, including the grizzly bear, bison, grey wolf, whooping crane, Rocky Mountain goat, great grey owl and the beaver. 

Ballots were cast, and on Friday, the Calgary Zoo announced the winner — the grey wolf.

The animal came in first place with 26 per cent of the vote, while the beaver was a close second place with 2,500 votes.

Speaking with Global Calgary on Friday morning, Calgary Zoo senior director Lindsey Galloway called the grey wolf a “truly Canadian species.”

The grey wolf is Canada’s Greatest Animal! from Calgary Zoo on Vimeo.

“It was a fun campaign, but at the core of it was a really serious message – which was, ‘We should be talking about Canada’s wildlife because they’re actually in trouble,’” Galloway said.

Currently, there are 532 species at risk under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, and of those, 66 range in Alberta, while 12 species are found only in the province.

Galloway called the moose a “sentimental favourite,” saying it was the most nominated write-in ballot.

In total, more than 11,000 ballots were cast in the campaign.