On November 27th another juvenile bald eagle made it way back to the wild, eagerly. A public release occurred with a very small group helping send it off.
On November 9th, A juvenile bald eagle was found struggling, entangled in barbed wire fencing in Carmacks. It was found thanks to Bob’s dogs, who alerted him of the eagle stuck. Bob is a resident of Carmacks and would not have noticed the bird, behind a large shed, had it not been for his dogs. He managed to remove the bird from the fencing. He dropped to the ground and wasn’t flying away after free. Bob approached it again and noticed it was shivering and lethargic.
Bob called local Conservation Officer, Blake Vandecamp who eventually had the bird brought into care of the Wildlife Preserve’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.
The eagle weighed only 4kg and had some minor laceration injury to the wing and some swelling in the feet (likely due to the talons being caught up in the fencing. Like the Dawson City eagle, it was very happy to eat, and successfully captured live quail. Shortly before release the bird weighed 5.2kg.
The choice to release it more locally was for a few reasons, including it being a juvenile and underweight possibly indicating unsuccessful hunting in the area it was found. While we generally try to rerelease in the location found, during winter we have elected to release where there are other known successful groups of eagles.
On November 27th, 2024, at 5.2kg in weight and less than a month in our care, the juvenile bald eagle was returned to the wild, at Chasàn Chùa (McIntyre Creek). Further, transport of an eagle long distances can be challenging due to limited personal to arrange this and it can add additional stress to the bird that we want to avoid if possible. While we are helping the animal while in our care, the animal doesn’t necessarily see it this way and it can be a stressful time. Just consider how you feel when you’re out of your comfort zone, your regular routines interrupted and you’re in an unfamiliar place while also possibly sick or injured.
Several groups of bald eagle, mostly mature but a few immature are seen right near the release location. 📸L.Caskenette
A Facebook live video of the full release can also be viewed here!
Help us get them back on their wings. We could use your help. If you are able to support the care of these two animals, please consider donating. Every contribution makes a difference and as a non-profit charitable organization, you can receive a charitable tax receipt for your support.
Lindsay joined the Wildlife Preserve team March 2014. Originally from Ontario, she came to the Yukon in search of new adventures and new career challenges. Lindsay holds a degree in Environmental Studies with honours from Wilfrid Laurier University and brings with her a strong passion for sharing what nature, animals, and the environment can teach us.
The Yukon Wildlife Preserve is deeply saddened to announce the passing of its beloved male lynx on Saturday, November 9th. This exceptional animal, who joined the Preserve’s collection in 2010, was a symbol of resilience and scientific importance, leaving behind a legacy that will not be forgotten.
Photo credit: L.Caskenette 2018
Born in the wild in 2008, the male lynx’s early life was marked by an unfortunate accident during a research project in the Edmonton, Alberta area. The injury required the amputation of his back left leg, a traumatic event that ultimately led to his rescue and relocation to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve. For the first eight years of his time at the Preserve, he remained behind the scenes, away from the public eye, while another male lynx, who had been part of the collection, cohabited with the other lynx.
Photo credit: Jake Paleczny
The passing of this other male lynx, who lived to almost 21 years of age, in December 2017, allowed for the three-legged lynx to join the female lynx, and he quickly became a well-known and cherished resident of the Preserve. His unique physical appearance, the result of his injury, made him stand out as a symbol of adaptability and strength.
Photo credit: Jake Paleczny Male lynz born in 1997. Died in December of 2017.
But the three-legged lynx was not only special because of his physical traits—his genetics were also extraordinary. His wild origins made him an invaluable member of the Species Survival Plan (SSP) program, where he was recognized for contributing genetically to the broader conservation effort for Canada lynx. As part of an ambitious scientific study in 2018, the Yukon Wildlife Preserve facilitated the mapping of this lynx’s genome in collaboration with the University of Toronto. This groundbreaking research provided insights into chromosome structure in mammals and offered important data for comparing the Canada lynx to the highly endangered Iberian lynx, helping to resolve scientific controversies surrounding the phylogenetic classification of this cat species.
Despite his distinct genetic heritage, the lynx’s time at the Preserve also had challenges. Although he made several attempts to breed with both the 2009 and 2014 female lynx, no successful litters were produced. Tragically, the one litter born to the older female lynx in 2021 did not survive. Despite these setbacks, the male lynx’s contributions to both the Preserve’s mission and scientific research were invaluable.
The loss of this remarkable animal is a bittersweet moment for the team at the Yukon Wildlife Preserve. His resilience, both in the face of adversity and throughout his life, will be remembered by all who had the privilege of caring for him.
Taken November 5 2024. Photo credit: L.Caskenette
The Yukon Wildlife Preserve remains committed to preserving and protecting wildlife, and will continue to honor the legacy of this exceptional lynx as part of its broader conservation efforts. As we learn more from the necropsy details we will share.
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In 2017/2018 The Centre for Applied Genomics (TCAG), at The Hospital for Sick Children, and University of Toronto connected with the Preserve to ask for support to study chromosome structures in animals. As apart of the Canada 150 celebrations as well the genome mapping of several iconic Canadian speciesm including first a beaver, were completed. A blood sample was provided by our three legged lynx.
The karyotype (chromosome complement) of this resident Canada Lynx, was determined to be 38, XY (see picture). Having 38 chromosomes of the ascribed size is identical to that found in the domestic cat, indicating close relationship. The presence of a X- and a Y-chromosome confirmed the sex of the animal, as a male.
Background
The Centre for Applied Genomics (TCAG), at SickKids is headed by Stephen Scherer who is a recognized expert in the field of neurogenomics. Neurogenomics combines classical neurobiology (study of the brain) with the study of the genome (our genetic material) in the context of disease, such as Autism. The human genome is represented by a string of 4 chemical bases, over 3 billion bases long that is found in each cell of the body. The precise order or the sequence of these four chemical bases constitutes the organism’s genome, which defines who and what the organism is, whether it is a cat, a bird, or a tree etc. Essentially, the genome is the organism’s blueprint that is inherited to future generations. It is not hard to imagine that changes in the order of these bases in the genome could give rise to disease. In fact, most cancers are due to such changes, either due to plain bad luck or from exposure to chemicals or radiation and the like.
The technology exists to determine the “sequence” of the genome to give a heads up on disease or treatment. Scientists are in the era of the “$1,000 genome” a term coined by the marketing people. SickKids is the largest genome sequencing centre in Canada and they “sequence” about 10,000 patient genomes a year. You would recall the Human Genome is 3 billion bases long. But in order to produce a genome for only $1,000, the sequencing machine reproduces a patient’s genome as tiny low cost pieces, 400 million of them in fact, with each piece only about 300 bases long. These highly fragmented pieces of the genome are useful only because we already sort of know what the human genome looks like. These pieces are mapped individually onto the official “Human Reference Genome” and the differences between the two sequences (i.e. bases that are different, missing, or extra bases inserted when compared to the mapped position on the Human Reference Genome) are tabulated to produce a list of “mutations” for each patient. The current (2017 reference) official “Human Reference Genome” took nearly 15 years to build from scratch (from little pieces) at a cost of more than $US 3 billion dollars, paid for by the US government and various philanthropic organizations. This reference-based mapping method for genome sequencing works, and many human disease-causing mutations have been identified in this way.
So what is the problem?
The problem is that sequencing a patient’s genome by mapping and comparing short segments against the Human Reference Genome will not identify all the mutations. Many regions of a patient’s genome could be so different from the Reference Genome such that many short pieces derived from patient would not map at all; hence, large segments of the patient’s genome are not amenable to analysis. They estimate about 50% of mutations are missed. To get at all the mutations, they would need to move away from the current mapping approach and reconstruct the patient’s entire genome from the little pieces from scratch. This is process is called “de novo sequencing” (new or from scratch) and is similar to how the original Human Reference Genome was constructed. The trick is that, unlike the creation of the Human Reference Genome, we cannot take 15 years and $3 billion dollars to assemble the genome of each patient.
So what are we doing?
We are now working on methods to perform de novo sequencing and genome assembly there are fast and cheap. To perfect de novo sequencing in an unbiased manner, we used a genome that previously had not been sequenced before. This was one of the reasons why we sequenced and assembled the Canadian Beaver Genome early this year. Other reasons, but just as important: it was Canada’s 150 anniversary and the beaver was not only named after Canada (Castor canadensis), but it had played an important role in the founding of this country; it was great for educational and environmental outreach; and finally, we want to beat an American group who wished to sequence the genome of their beaver football team mascot. At the end, we decisively won the Beaver Genome Race and our paper was published in Feb this year (See attached). We even made the cover of the journal, and had great response form the media.
Why the Lynx?
Despite the good progress made on the de novo sequencing of the beaver genome, the process is still too expensive for routine use at the hospital. We have new ideas on how to make the process better and cheaper. Hence, we need another un-sequenced genome to test the system. Moreover, the beaver genome was so well received; we decided to perform de novo sequencing and assembly of up to ten or more notable animal, bird, fish or plant in the next couple of years. The actual number we would do would depend on how low we can drive the price down. The short list of candidates include the organisms that are named after Canada (there are over eighty of them), have notable ties with Canada, or have compelling scientific rationale.
This is where the Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis) comes in. No one had sequenced a Canada Lynx so far. From a scientific perspective, a Canada Lynx genome sequence would address a lot of the controversies relating to the phylogenetic assignments of this branch of the cat family, and it would also allow a detail comparison with the recent published genome of the highly endangered Ilberian lynx. Finally, the lynx has considerable public appeal. To push the technical envelope, we aim to sequence and assemble the Lynx genome at less half the cost of beaver genome whilst keeping the quality at the same level. Eventually, we would arrive at an efficient and cost-effective process for clinical use.
Lindsay joined the Wildlife Preserve team March 2014. Originally from Ontario, she came to the Yukon in search of new adventures and new career challenges. Lindsay holds a degree in Environmental Studies with honours from Wilfrid Laurier University and brings with her a strong passion for sharing what nature, animals, and the environment can teach us.
Imagine a bald eagle walking around, it’s like the fierce sky warrior forgot its wings. When it’s on the ground, its swagger is… questionable. Instead of the majestic glide we all picture, it’s more like a grumpy grandpa strutting through the yard, a bit hunched, stepping carefully as if it’s got somewhere important to be. It’s as if it’s trying hard to act casual, but can’t quite hide the fact that it’s totally out of its element. You just know it’s thinking, “I’m supposed to be flying right now…”
On October 18th, we admitted a juvenile bald eagle into the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. The young eagle came all the way from Dawson City. Apparently, this bird was found struttin’ its stuff on the main street sidewalk of DC. This bird certainly was supposed to be flying but due to being slightly underweight, 4.4kg, not fueled well and muscles not strong enough, it was flightless. Damage to the tail feathers suggest it spent a fair amount of time, flightless.
The eagle spent one week inside, eating well and gaining weight. The second week in care and until her release she is working on her flight hours, gaining strength before going back to the wild.
On November 7th, 2024, at 6kg in weight and less than a month in our care, the juvenile bald eagle was returned to the wild, at Chasàn Chùa (McIntyre Creek). she was not transported back to Dawson City for the release. This added travel can be stressful and Dawson City in the winter can be a challenging place for a young eagle to succed.
Help us get them back on their wings. We could use your help. If you are able to support the care of these two animals, please consider donating. Every contribution makes a difference and as a non-profit charitable organization, you can receive a charitable tax receipt for your support.
Lindsay joined the Wildlife Preserve team March 2014. Originally from Ontario, she came to the Yukon in search of new adventures and new career challenges. Lindsay holds a degree in Environmental Studies with honours from Wilfrid Laurier University and brings with her a strong passion for sharing what nature, animals, and the environment can teach us.
On August 15th 2024 the Preserve’s Animal Care team with the support of one of our veterinarians’, Dr. Julianna Campbell made the difficult decision to say goodbye to JB the moose. Her condition had declined rapidly over the last 6 weeks when our team noticed she was starting to look thin. She developed diarrhea which dramatically impacted her body condition. She had lost a significant amount of weight (she was estimated to be 200-300 lbs under her normal weight). Unfortunately in that time, physical exams and fecal / blood tests did not reveal the cause. Nor did she respond to attempted treatments. Despite enthusiastically eating browse, our Animal Care Team was seeing her increasingly displaying signs of distress or pain. She also now lacked the body condition to handle colder winter temperatures (and now the ability to regain the necessary body condition in the next couple of months). In order to mitigate her suffering we made the decision to euthanize her.
JB the moose. Summer 2024. Photo credit: Melissa Mark
The morning of the 15th, after she was immobilized the euthanizing drugs were administered and she passed away quickly and easily. Our Animal Care Team conducted a necropsy which includes a physical exam of the internal body systems as well as taking a series of tissue samples that will be sent out for testing. The goal is to understand the root cause of her sudden decline in health. Very preliminary necropsy results show hemorrhaging / ulcers in one of her stomachs and intestines, but understanding why will be more challenging. Once we have more information and a better understanding of what happened, we’ll share more information. Testing of samples can take several weeks, so we won’t know right away.
JB the moose. Winter 2016. Photo credit: Jake Paleczny
JB was well known to many visitors over the years. She was generally calm mannered and smaller than the other female moose, Jesse, who was 2 years younger than JB. Jesse has been known to have a lot more attitude and dominant behaviour.
JB arrived as an orphaned moose in spring 2014. Orphaned moose are notoriously difficult to hand raise and we hadn’t received an orphaned moose in many, many years. Under Dr. Maria Hallock, the Animal Care Team threw themselves at the situation – feeding every 3 hours at first, spending nights with her, etc.
JB the moose First Day. She arrived May 26th, 2014. Photo credit: Justine Benjamin
In a near-tragic twist, JB broke her leg. Although it might have been the end for any other moose, Maria put a cast on JB’s leg. Because JB was growing so quickly the cast had to be cut off and redone just 2 weeks later, but eventually the cast came off.
The Animal Care Team put in a huge effort that spring. Among others, Dr. Julianna was at the YWP as a summer student in 2014 and was part of the team that bottle raised JB.
Another person on the team that year was Justine Benjamin. Justine spent more time than anybody else with the young moose, right through to when she was moved into the main habitat in February 2015.
Because of that special connection and dedication from Justine, Maria proposed we name the moose JB. Justine is now a part of our Board of Directors and Chair of the Animal Care Committee.
At that time we didn’t have a laser therapy machine (for reducing inflammation) but All Paws Vet Clinic and their team continued their support of the moose, bringing out their machine for regular treatments. Further, we received support for a local physio therapist, Natasha Bilodeau after the brace was off to help continue the healing and recovery. Normally we’d be starting to decrease our time spent with a calf, but with the cast leg she continued to need a lot of support.
Later in the winter she was introduced into the main habitat with our bull moose. Years later as Jesse joined the group, the three of them roamed the 40 acre moose habitat.
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The following is an article created in our original newsletter, the Preserve Post in Spring 2015.
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The Yukon Wildlife Preserve is a zoological institution and a non-profit charity dedicated to connecting our visitors with the natural world. As ambassadors of the Yukon Wildlife Preserve’s animals, lands, and operations, the operating society proudly maintains populations of 10 species of Yukon wildlife in large natural habitats. The society also conducts educational programming and funds a wildlife rehabilitation program for Yukon’s injured and orphaned wildlife. The facilities and the level of care provided to the Preserve’s animals successfully meets the stringent criteria of Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums, to which the Yukon Wildlife Preserve is a long-time member.
Lindsay Caskenette
Manager Visitor Services
Lindsay joined the Wildlife Preserve team March 2014. Originally from Ontario, she came to the Yukon in search of new adventures and new career challenges. Lindsay holds a degree in Environmental Studies with honours from Wilfrid Laurier University and brings with her a strong passion for sharing what nature, animals, and the environment can teach us.
Jake Paleczny is passionate about interpretation and education. He gained his interpretative expertise from a decade of work in Ontario’s provincial parks in addition to a Masters in Museum Studies from the University of Toronto. His interests also extend into the artistic realm, with a Bachelor of Music from the University of Western Ontario and extensive experience in galleries and museums.
A Bonaparte’s gull was brought into the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre at the Yukon Wildlife Preserve after it was found flightless on the side of the road. The bird has no significant injuries, some feather damage and was likely concussed. A short time in the centre to recover, eat fish and get strong meant a successful release of the animal to Tàa’an Män — Lake Laberge on the traditional territory of the Ta’an Kwach’an Council.
Lindsay joined the Wildlife Preserve team March 2014. Originally from Ontario, she came to the Yukon in search of new adventures and new career challenges. Lindsay holds a degree in Environmental Studies with honours from Wilfrid Laurier University and brings with her a strong passion for sharing what nature, animals, and the environment can teach us.
