Canada is known for its wildlife. Everyone tells you that simply driving down the road – or even the highway – should suffice in satisfying the cravings we all have to see nature at its finest.
Back home in England, there are several bountiful animals. Pigeons are a primary source of annoyance. Where I live, a strong infestation of sheep contributes to many a timid driver panicking whilst cruising over the moors.
In Yukon, however, the main sources of panic whilst on the roads are the bears. Both grizzly and black/brown. In my short time here I have now seen both. Luckily not whilst hiking by myself (though I was warned it was a possibility), but from the comfort and safety of the tour bus on the way back from Alaska.
The limitations of a phone camera and windows made photographs difficult, and in fact I failed completely at photographing the black bear. I do also now know how to spot the differences between the two, and what to do if you spot one in the wild. I’m not going to share, though, just in case I’ve got it wrong and someone feels obliged to correct me. Not that anyone back home in England would have any reason to know…
I also met an extremely confident fox in and around the campground the hostel is central to. A red one, and it had absolutely no shame. You knew full well that he (or she, I have no idea really) was used to scrounging food from the many campers that stop for the night before moving on.
There is also (which is the main highlight of this post), a Wildlife Preserve about five minutes down the road from my hostel. Very convenient when I need a break from hikes. Though, the preserve itself was probably big enough to classify as a hike.
The views around it were spectacular, even without the wildlife. All the animals had huge areas to themselves – some more than others – and with a backdrop of the mountains, you couldn’t ask for a nicer place to walk.
Now, for the animals. There were a lot. I shall try remember each one that I saw (utilising the many pictures I took) and hopefully tell you some fascinating fact you didn’t previously know about them.
This charming creature, putting on a great show for me to watch as it ate, is an Elk. Male or female, I’m not sure. Both can grow those stumps that look like antlers, but only the males grow them fully. The more spread the antlers are, the more attractive the elk ‘bulls’ are to the elk ‘cows’. They also grow about an inch a day, before shedding them for the winter.
Also, a fact that I just found out now, is that the bulls fills a big hole with its urine and then rolls around in it in order to attract the cows. Imagine if these things worked the same for people…
Following on in a similar ilk to the elk (I enjoyed that more than I should have), we have the Mule Deer. Most notably different to a regular deer due to their large, ‘mule-like’ ears, there was quite a large population of them at the preserve. It’s slightly eerie the way their bodies don’t move but their eyes follow you all the way round…
Interesting fact: the stereotypical hop that you imagine in deer (mostly due to Bambi) stems from this strain of deer. It is known as “stotting”.
Oddly the highlight of my walk around the preserve, possibly because it was a surprise and not signposted anywhere, was the Red Fox. I just thought he (or she – it just seems right to call some animals male) had such a beautiful coat which, of course, pictures don’t show up properly.
On the subject, though silver fox is technically the correct name, this fox belongs to the red fox family. Strange, right? Also the way foxes hunt in general I find fascinating. I read an information panel that said, due to their light stomachs and small features, they’re able to creep up without a sound, and then they spring up high, taking the prey by surprise from above with their front paws.
Continuing in the same vein, directly across from the silver/red fox, were the Arctic Foxes. Difficult to photograph – especially when they don’t move – I enjoyed the novelty of seeing a fox with a pure white coat, rather than the standard red one I am more used to.
Arctic foxes have the warmest pelts of any animal that can be found in the arctic, enduring temperatures of up to -70 (Celsius). Their coats also change colour depending on the season, white for the winter but then brown or grey during the summer. The more you know, eh?
Next to the arctic fox was my new enemy, the Lynx. There were two I could see (though apparently there is a third with just three legs?) and again, they are very fascinating creatures. The Canadian Lynx, which is what I believe these two felines were, naturally has the thickest fur of the rest in its family to adapt to the cold. It can spread its toes out wide like snowshoes for when it walks on soft snow so that it doesn’t fall through.
Also just learnt that the name lynx derives from the Indo-European root ‘leuk’, meaning ‘light’ or ‘brightness’. This stems from the luminescence of their reflective eyes, and they hold an important status in myths of many cultures.
Oh, the reason they’re now my enemy? One did not appreciate its pictures being taken, and hissed rather viciously at me. So I backed off and now view it with a certain apprehension.
Ah yes, this odd looking creature. I actually saw a few from a distance whilst on the bus to Alaska, way up on the mountain where they looked like nothing more than moving white spots. These are Mountain Goats. For some reason, they’re not actually goats. They’re a kind of mountain antelope and are exclusive to the north-western mountains of North America.
Interestingly, due to their shaggy coats and compact bodies, they’re indifferent to the wind or any extreme temperatures. Their hooves allow them to climb the most arduous and steep cliffs in North America, due to being shaped like suction cups, with a strong ridge around a relatively soft central pad.
Once more continuing along a similar vein (perhaps less similar) we now have the Thinhorn Sheep. Two types, in fact: Dall Sheep (the white ones) and Stone Sheep (the dark coats). I can’t say I really understand the thinhorn name, as their horns look anything but thin to me but there you go. They have incredible eyesight, apparently, capable of intently watching something from as far as 1.5km away.
A fun fact about their horns is that rings form on their horns each winter and they can then be counted to determine a sheep’s age.
Very shoddy pictures but that’s what happens when the Muskoxen refuse to come and say hello. I can’t really blame them. It must be quite frustrating to be in constant demand for attention. I’d move as far away from the cameras as possible, too.
The muskox is a survivor of the ice age and, though it resembles a bison, its closest relative in North America is the mountain goat. They’re also very devoted herd animals, forming a ring round the young and weak when threatened.
The Wood Bison (and yes, I still get very confused between the two, too) was the first animal I saw when entering the preserve, albeit from a long way off. Their paddock was extremely large, and my only guess is that every so often that, as a herd, they have the desire to ‘charge’ across. That’d be a sight to see.
Once again, much like the muskox, bison are very much herd-orientated, protecting and watching out for one another during the extreme cold when food is scarce. Male bison have straight horns, whilst the females have curved ones. Both genders also have completely black tongues.
My pride and joy from my visit, and the main reason I went. I feel I can now end my Canadian adventure in relative happiness. Previously I have seen a beaver, one of Canada’s national animals (though nothing will ever be quite as majestic as the British unicorn). Countless bald eagles have been spotted, too, which share an important symbol with the States, Canada’s neighbours.
And now, finally, after eighteen months, I have seen a Moose. Sadly without the antlers but I can’t win it all, eh? I spent a long time waiting for him (this one I am sure is a male, after being told) to do something. I walked all the way round the enclosure, only finding him right at the back as he slept off whatever strenuous exercise he must have struggled through during the early morning. I left feeling crestfallen – the distinct lack of moose pictures a sign of my failure as a Canadian.
Then, once I had walked round the entire preserve, I saw a distant shape in the moose’s area. I came very close to running all the way back, but then realised that my laziness still outweighed by fierce desire to see a moose properly.
Interesting facts time! Moose feed on vegetation both on land and in water. Due to this, their snouts have self-sealing nostrils that allow them to feed underwater without breath difficulties. Moose surprisingly have relatively poor eyesight, so instead rely on their acute senses of smell and hearing to warn them of predators.
A few honourable mentions of animals that were there I just did not manage to see: Ground Squirrel (that I technically did see, just failed to picture), Snowshoe Hare, and Woodland Caribou (which I’ve found out is just the North American name for Reindeer…)
I have now left my reclusive hostel with a mixture of sadness and happiness. My new hostel in Downtown Whitehorse is fully-booked and therefore a lot less reclusive than I was used to.
Stay tuned!
A Weary Traveller 