20 minute read -How Animals Talk: An IntroductionAll creatures communicate with one another and others by using the primary methods of sound, sight, touch, body language (visual cues) and scent. The Limits of Human SensesSome of these communications methods are not as...
Muskox Articles
Little Muskox, Big Journey
2 minute read -Nature is beautiful — and often unpredictable. On April 30th, the Yukon Wildlife Preserve welcomed its first muskox calf of the year. But shortly after his arrival, it became clear that something wasn’t quite right. Despite hopes for a strong maternal...
A Tale of Chasing the Sun and Losing the Clock
6 min read - this is a crosspost from Avery's website Snail Tales.I think about how my first few months living in the Yukon feel like the drawn-out, long sunrises and sunsets up here. They are often multicoloured, with bright hues and dark contrasts, and they seem to...
An Impertinent Question – What is the dumbest animal on the Preserve?
3 min read - Cover photo credit Mark Newman.The guest on my bus tour with the British accent began his comment, ‘this is an impertinent question, so you don’t have to answer it… ‘Oh’? I thought,‘What is the dumbest animal on the Preserve?’ he continued.We were at the...
Bison vs. Muskox
2 minute read - Bison versus muskox! What's the same? What's different? Who is more cool? Top 5 reasons muskox and bison are NOT the same animal, at all. One of the first animals visitors see when they explore the Preserve is bison. As folks continue to explore the...
Muskox – I’m a Survivor!
4 minute read - The muskox is an adaptable animal. In the face of climate change a generalist diet with a slow metabolism helped this species survive through the last ice age and to today while other megafauna, like woolly mammoths, went extinct. During Beringia there...
What’s That Scat?
4 minute read. As we are out enjoying some of the many trails the Yukon has to offer, we often have to watch our step to make sure we’re not putting our boots in something smelly! These unexpected trail obstacles can be great indicators of whose habitat we are walking...
The Animals are Quite Fine Outside
5 minute read -After a beautiful, drawn out fall (by Yukon standards), winter arrived in force at the end of October 2020. Record setting snowfall on November 2nd 2020 kicked winter into full gear. Shutdowns were widespread (including here at the Preserve). It was...
Fall In to Autumn
5 minute read - Autumn is a season of change! It’s the bridge which helps us transition from summer towards winter. What a beautiful bridge it is, with leaves blazing colour in vibrant hues of red, orange and yellow. Fireweed has flowered and the leaves are crimson....