I went to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve which is just outside of Whitehorse and features 11 species of northern mammals on a site that is over 700 acres, encompassing flat lands, hills, wetlands and steep rocky cliffs. The animals here have all been either injured or orphaned and the goal is to release as many of them back to the wild again as possible.
As will often happen I wasn't able to see/spot all 11 species of animals here - given the enormity of their living space some were definitely relaxing out of sight of the walking trails - but I was successful in seeing most and had a wonderful visit.
The grounds of the Wildlife Preserve
The elk is the second largest member of the deer family; only the moose is larger. Bull elk grow large antlers every year, which they use to spar with other bulls during the rut each fall. In the late winter, the antlers drop off and new antlers start to grow.
Thinhorn sheep live only in the northwestern part of North America, in northwestern Canada and Alaska. Their closest relatives are the snow sheep of Siberia, across the Bering Strait. Thinhorns prefer to live at or above the tree-line, where they can see danger approaching from a long distance. They have exceptional eyesight and will watch something intently from as far as 1.5km away. Thinhorn sheep are found all over the Yukon, wherever there is inaccessible, rugged, mountainous country. They differ from mountain goats in preferring more gentle mountains with more vegetation and tend to be found in grassy basins or on sun-soaked slopes, often at lower altitudes. Both ewes and rams have curved horns, although ram's horns grow much larger. Horns grow for their entire lives and a mature ram's horns can weigh over 13kg. Rings form on the horns each winter when growth slows with limited access to food. These rings or annuli can be counted to determine the sheep's age.
The mule deer was named for its huge ears. It is larger than a white-tailed deer and has a black tip on its tail. They range throughout western North America and live in a variety of habitats. The Yukon represents the northern edge of their range. Mule deer are now seen as far north as Dawson City, however they still remain vulnerable to severe winter conditions. The does (females) commonly have twins. The fawns are born spotted and about the size of a large cat. They are not usually seen for the first few weeks, as they stay hidden as a means of avoiding predators.
Mountain goats aren't really goats at all. They are a kind of mountain antelope more closely related to the mountain antelopes of Europe and Asia, than to farmyard goats. They are found only in the northwestern mountains of North America, and the southern Yukon is the northern edge of their range. The mountain goat feels safest in the most extreme mountain habitats, favouring cliffs and virtually inaccessible rock faces. The goats’ compact bodies and thick, cream-coloured coats allow them to be indifferent to wind, snow and extreme temperatures. They are built for climbing, with strong forelegs adapted to hauling them up almost-impossible slopes. Males (billies) and females (nannies) can be hard to tell apart. Females have thinner horns with a curved tip while males are thicker at the base and curve gradually along the entire length.
Caribou are circumpolar members of the deer family, and the only deer species in which both sexes have antlers. Woodland caribou, found at the Preserve, are larger than barren-ground caribou (the kind I saw in Rankin Inlet) and travel shorter distances. They spend most of the year in small groups that move between the boreal forest and the open mountain habitats where they travel in summer to escape insects.
The arctic fox is the most northerly of the wild canids (dog family). It ranges from the subarctic regions to the high arctic. Arctic foxes have been spotted only 61 km from the North Pole, making it the most northern-ranging of any land mammal. Arctic foxes have the warmest pelt of the arctic animals. The temperature has to drop below -50 degrees Celsius before an arctic fox needs to increase its metabolism. Arctic foxes are known for their spectacular pelts that change seasonally. Their white or sometimes blue-tinged winter coat makes it difficult for their prey to see them, giving them an excellent hunting advantage. Their brown or greyish summer coat allows them to blend in with tundra rocks and plants.
The muskox is an ancient herbivore with an ancestry that can be traced back 90,000 years in North America. During the last ice age, muskoxen roamed the ice-free Beringian steppes with the long extinct woolly mammoth, woolly rhino, and mastodon. Today’s tundra muskox, number between 100,000 and 150,000 worldwide. Although it resembles a bison, the muskox is more closely related to sheep and goats. Its closest relative in North America is, in fact, the mountain goat. The majority of the worldwide population of muskoxen lives in wild herds in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The muskox was eliminated from the northern Yukon and Alaska in the mid-1800s, largely as a result of hunting. In recent years, however, a small population of 150-200 animals has wandered onto the Yukon North Slope from a reintroduced muskox population in Alaska. As one of its adaptations to life in the cold, the muskox has fine under-layer of fur called qiviut. Qiviut is 8 times warmer than sheep wool and finer than cashmere.
After leaving the Wildlife Preserve I was again northward bound, this time driving up the Klondike Highway. The final destination is going to be Dawson City but for today I only went as far as Carmacks. Carmacks is located in the traditional territory of the Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation. Before the Klondike Gold Rush, George Carmack built a trading post here and started to mine coal from the hill behind his post. During the gold rush, in 1898, the North-West Mounted Police established a post in the area to monitor river traffic. In the winter the Carmacks Roadhouse was a key stop along the winter road between Whitehorse and Dawson City for stage drivers to change their horses, and in the summer it was an important stop for the sternwheelers - to both load and unload cargo and to load up on the wood they needed for their boilers.
Hunting, fishing, trapping, berry-picking, hiking and snowmobiling all play an important role in community life here today.
Along the way to Carmacks I passed the remains of what was the third Montague Roadhouse. The Montague Roadhouses were first built in 1900 as part of the Overland Trail and this third building operated until the 1940s.
The geologist George Mercer Dawson first noted coal deposits in Carmacks in 1887 and since then there have been three successful coal mines in the area, with the last one operating until 1978.
Orloff King was a prospector who roamed the country around Carmacks and built this cabin in the 1920s as his "town house". Over the years many other Yukon prospectors have lived in this little cabin. Yukon prospectors usually live solitary and largely unsung lives, but their efforts are responsible for the exploration and development of the most profitable mining regions in the Yukon.
The Carmacks Roadhouse (like the Montague Roadhouse) was built along the Whitehorse-Dawson City winter road when it was being constructed in 1902. The Roadhouses were spaced about every 30 miles along the trail to provide a change of horses and offer travellers a hot meal and a bed.
A walk along the boardwalk which runs along the Yukon river was a great way to end my day today.
Hunting, fishing, trapping, berry-picking, hiking and snowmobiling all play an important role in community life here today.
Along the way to Carmacks I passed the remains of what was the third Montague Roadhouse. The Montague Roadhouses were first built in 1900 as part of the Overland Trail and this third building operated until the 1940s.
This smaller building was used for storing frozen meat
The Montague Roadhouse
The geologist George Mercer Dawson first noted coal deposits in Carmacks in 1887 and since then there have been three successful coal mines in the area, with the last one operating until 1978.
Orloff King was a prospector who roamed the country around Carmacks and built this cabin in the 1920s as his "town house". Over the years many other Yukon prospectors have lived in this little cabin. Yukon prospectors usually live solitary and largely unsung lives, but their efforts are responsible for the exploration and development of the most profitable mining regions in the Yukon.
The Carmacks Roadhouse (like the Montague Roadhouse) was built along the Whitehorse-Dawson City winter road when it was being constructed in 1902. The Roadhouses were spaced about every 30 miles along the trail to provide a change of horses and offer travellers a hot meal and a bed.
A walk along the boardwalk which runs along the Yukon river was a great way to end my day today.
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