Just a few years ago, the fin whale, the second-largest animal on our planet, reappeared in the fjords of northern B.C.’s Great Bear Sea after being gone for decades. But in the summer of 2025, a new LNG transport facility put this thriving new habitat in danger. In this episode of This Is Wild, we’re learning all about the elusive fin whale, and the tenuous recovery they’re making on Canada’s north Pacific coast. We’ll explore how these giants of the deep are reshaping life in the Great Bear Sea, and why the recent surge of tanker traffic could undercut their comeback. To learn more about fin whales, you can go to www.wwf.ca/thisiswild. If you have any questions or suggestions for the show, you can email us at thisiswild@wwfcanada.org.

Every fall, monarch butterflies all across Canada start flying south. They travel thousands of kilometres, braving storms and food shortages, to make it to their wintering grounds in Michoacan, Mexico. In this episode of This Is Wild, we’ll meet the iconic little insects that make this extraordinary journey every year. From the monarchs’ remarkable navigation skills to the dangers that put their migration at risk, we’ll uncover what these fragile travellers reveal about the health of the natural world. To learn more about monarch butterflies, you can go to www.wwf.ca/thisiswild. If you have any questions or suggestions for the show, you can email us at thisiswild@wwfcanada.org.

In the 1930s, wolves were eradicated from Yellowstone National Park…and then the entire ecosystem went haywire. In this episode of This Is Wild, we explore the power of apex predators to impact their environments, both culturally and ecologically. From the ripple effects wolves had on rivers and forests to the deep cultural connections between people and these oft-misunderstood animals, we’ll uncover how their presence (or absence) can shape entire landscapes. To learn more about grey wolves and Algonquin wolves, you can go to www.wwf.ca/thisiswild. If you have any questions or suggestions for the show, you can email us at thisiswild@wwfcanada.org.

For millennia, the members of Katzie First Nation have seen salmon as family. So in 2018, when a landslide put an already endangered population of Chinook salmon in grave danger, they knew it was time to act. In this episode of This Is Wild, host Ziya Tong tells the story of the salmon in B.C.’s Upper Pitt River. Once home to a thriving population of Pacific salmon, numbers have been declining in the area for decades. But how did we reach the point where one landslide can endanger an entire population? And how do we secure a brighter future for these remarkable fish? To learn more about Pacific salmon, you can go to www.wwf.ca/thisiswild. If you have any questions or suggestions for the show, you can email us at thisiswild@wwfcanada.org.

This Is Wild is a new podcast from WWF-Canada about the incredible species that call Canada home—and the people working to protect them. In each episode, we’re diving into the life of one species to learn all about how it survives, the threats it faces, and the conservation solutions that could change everything. Hosted by Ziya Tong.