3 minute read

The snow lay thick and quiet across the Yukon and the Yukon Wildlife Preserve, softening the edges of the land and turning the hillside into a winter canvas. At first glance, it seems still, but a closer look tells a different story.

Those criss-crossing tracks aren’t random doodles, they’re proof that the animals have been busy. At the Preserve, the sheep set the best route across the slope and once formed, stick to this path of least resistance. 

 Beyond, a fox is on patrol, a hare in a hurry, deer are deep in the woods. Winter doesn’t slow things down as much as it changes the rules. 

Thick winter coats do the heavy lifting, wide hooves act like built-in snowshoes, and many animals conserve energy by moving only when it’s worth it. 

When the wind picks up, trees, rock faces, and deep snowbanks become natural windbreaks, much cozier than they look. Beneath all that snow, insulated and sheltered, small mammals tunnel and rest, protected from the harshest cold.

The Yukon, winter is not a season of silence, it’s a season of resilience. Every track tells a story of endurance, and every snowy landscape holds evidence of life shaped by the North.