The World Under the Snow

canada

by Pete Neilson | Mar 25, 2026 | 0 comments

2 minute read -

After Whitehorse’s snowiest December on record along with a stretch of record-breaking cold (with temperatures dipping as low as -50°C across much of the Yukon) a person might wonder how animals get through it all. Even now, as of the end of March, all of the Yukon still sits under feet of snow.

Many bird species migrate, bears and ground squirrels hibernate, those that winter on top of the snow grow thick winter coats for extra insulation but what about the tiny animals like mice, voles and shrews?
Mice, voles and shrews cannot hibernate as their bodies are too small to retain heat without eating constantly. Shrews, small insect eating mammals, are especially vulnerable; their metabolism is so high they potentially need to consume as much as 3 times their body weight\day to survive. However, they have also evolved a very unique strategy; they actually shrink their body size, including brain and internal organs, in order to require less energy.

We often hear the phrase ‘a blanket of snow’. Well does it really act as a blanket? Yes. Snow is a good insulator. Once snow depth reaches 6 inches or more it creates a warmer, more humid and wind free environment right at ground level. The temperature remains close to 0C, (32F) all winter. Fluffy, fresh snow (containing lots of trapped air) insulates better then icy or compacted snow. An old timer winter travel tip is to warm your feet by sitting with them under the snow at rest stops or while you eat.

Squirrel prints lead to and from a hole in the snow. Beneath lies a fallen tree, creating a haven for small mammals.

Technically this zone under the snow is called the subnivean zone (sub=under, nivean=snow). This world under the snow provides a more stable environment than up at the surface, warmth from the ground helps crystallize the snow creating a small space right at ground level where the smaller critters can live during winter. Mice and voles store food (seeds, berries etc.), often making nests near their food caches living eating and sleeping under the snow. They also create a network of tunnels to move about and search for yet more food.

Chipmunks are a special case. They spend the winter in underground burrows, where they store large amounts of food to last them through the winter but they do not actually hibernate. They enter what is known as torpor, a state much like hibernation, but where they wake up every few days or weeks to eat and relive themselves before returning to torpor. On a very warm sunny winter day you may even see them briefly out on top of the snow.

Red squirrels store food under the snow and dig down to get at it, but they don’t live under it. They create large middens of seed cones from pine and spruce during fall at the base of trees for their winter food. They also hide mushrooms in the branches of trees. They sleep in nests of dried grasses woven into large balls up in the trees.

The photos on the left and right demonstrate squirrel middens. The photo in the middle shows squirrel prints in the snow.

Both photos on the left show places where Snowshoe Hare have bed down. Photos on the right show a Snowshoe Hare and their prints.

Snowshoe hares spend their entire lives above the ground. Their large furry feet let them move easily across the snow and their white fur helps hide them from predators. They will burrow down under the snow a short way to feed on dry grasses from fall and snuggle down into the snow against a tree trunk to keep warm during colder weather.

In very cold weather grouse and ptarmigan access the world under the snow to stay warm. Grouse by flying straight into the snow cover, ptarmigan burrowing or flying into snowbanks up to a foot, sometimes in groups, creating sheltered roosts to last out the storm or the severe cold.

Predators such as foxes, coyotes, weasels and owls hunt the little ones under the snow. Weasels enter the tunnels directly to hunt, the others use their sharp hearing, listening for rustling noises as the ones under the snow scurry about, before pouncing on them.

Photos above (taken at night) show tiny mouse prints leading from one snowy hideaway to another.

So next time the snow is sifting softly down as you gaze out the window, recall there are actually two worlds out there, one on top and one under the snow.

References:
Shrews shrink in winter and regrow in spring October 23, 2017

How do chipmunks prepare for and live through winter? February, 5, 2026

Pete Neilson

Wildlife Interpreter

'Sir' Pete grew up in suburban Southern Ontario north of Toronto. In the late 80's, he followed the lure of London and Service to the Yukon. 'Sir' Pete has lived off grid in the Yukon all along from a wall tent and later a tepee in his earlier years and now a small cabin near Twin lakes. He guided wilderness canoe trips many years in the 90's and early 2000's and got his first sled dog in ’91; currently he has 15 dogs for recreational mushing. 'Sir' Pete enjoys being at home or out with his dogs as much as he can.

Explore by Category

Explore by Author

I Have to Sell!

25/06/10 | History - Yukon 125 Storytelling

canada

by Sally Robinson and Lindsay Caskenette | Jun 10, 2025

This article was made possible thanks to support from the Yukon 125 Fund. Learn the incredible history of the Yukon Wildlife Preserve, and Yukon Game Farm from the people of the past through this series of articles.

Danny Nowlan is one of Yukon’s colourful, and at times, notorious characters. He was a polarizing figure who cared deeply for animals and connecting them to kids. He was also the subject of one of Yukon’s most expensive trials ever. His work on the Yukon Game Farm would eventually result in the creation of the Yukon Wildlife Preserve. That is a legacy that is still experienced by many Yukoners – although many of the stories are not known or well understood.

The stories of Danny Nowlan are important threads that are woven through the tapestry of Yukon’s recent history. This project gives us the opportunity to capture and share this history before its lost. This includes the opportunity to celebrate the positive lasting legacy and to learn about and grapple with the challenging aspects of this legacy.

In 2023 historian Sally Robertson collected oral histories from more than a dozen people who knew Danny. Out of this work, Sally wrote a series of stories about Danny and his adventures.

(9 minute read)

Danny and Erika Nowlan had a dream, and the Yukon Game Farm was established in the mid-1960s. Danny had to struggle several times over the years to keep the Yukon Game Farm operating. It was never profitable until the falcon breeding program was in place. Until 1990, the Nowlans were in business to raise breeding stock and sell young animals to international zoos and wildlife farms. In the case of birds of prey, their market was falconers wherever they happened to live. A Dall’s sheep ram might occasionally bring $2,000 and a trained gyrfalcon might be sold for $13,000, but there were many animals on the Farm, and they all needed care and a constant supply of huge quantities of food.

Danny considered selling the Yukon Game Farm in the 1970s, when it seemed there would be never-ending bank loans. This was a time when Danny had close friendships with Yukon Game Branch employees, both guardians (Conservation Officers) and biologists. Government biologist Dave Mossop came to Danny with a plan to replenish Yukon’s wild stock of peregrine falcons. This was successful and, building on that, the Yukon Game Farm purchased gyrfalcons from the government and embarked on a successful breeding program.

Danny with Gyrfalcon

Danny needed even more money to establish the infrastructure and so, instead of selling the whole property he tried to subdivide and sell some lots along the Hot Springs Road. The government prohibited the sale and Danny’s attitude toward bureaucracy started changing towards antipathy. In the end, the approach of a government official elicited a yell of ‘cops’ from Danny and furious barking from his well-trained dogs. Followed by Danny’s famous laugh.

Prohibited from selling titled property, Danny instead sold 999-year leases. The government challenged this sale, and Danny won in court, so the parcels became titled land. Selling the road frontage kept him in business for a while, and also had the advantage of providing some protection for the animals. Before they were moved away from the road, there were incidents of animals being injured and one ram sheep with trophy-sized horns was killed.

In the mid-1980s, Danny, his second wife Uli, and well-respected biologist Dave Mossop were arrested and dragged into court on charges associated with the capture and illegally selling of endangered falcons to wealthy Saudi Arabians. Operation Falcon was an undercover operation that started in the United States and reached into the Yukon. The Yukoners were judged not guilty of all charges, but the trial affected reputations and bank accounts. After the trial, the Game Farm’s elaborate infrastructure for breeding, raising, and replenishing wild stocks was in shambles, and Danny and Uli were no longer able to realize a profit from selling the birds they were so successful at raising.

In the 1980s, elk farming became a profitable business in Canada and Danny was quick to acquire a herd of about 300 animals. He and a number of other Yukoners became successful elk farmers before the Korean market for Canadian elk antlers and velvet collapsed. Some elk farmers in the United States changed their operations to hunt farms, places where hunters could pay to shoot animals. The only legal option in the Yukon was the sale of elk meat, and that was not part of Danny’s vision of an educational preserve to showcase Yukon wildlife. He told a friend that the day he had to sell a pound of elk meat was the day he was out of business.

Elmer-1st and Danny especially favorite elk bull came from Chuck and Clara from California 1983 visit.

Fortunately, just at this time the Nowlans were approached by Holland America to provide a tourist attraction for the company’s bus tours. This was in line with Danny’s vision. He needed to upgrade the roads and fences, and acquire more northern species, but the Nowlans were still able to sell animals and care for the injured and abandoned ones that were constantly being dropped off at their door. This change in direction was formalized by a change in name; the Yukon Game Farm became the Yukon Wildlife Preserve in 1989.

Original logo created by Peregrine Nowlan in 1989 when the name change occured from Yukon Game Farm. Later when the facility was sold and run as a non-profit the name remained and the logo updated to its current version.

Around 2000, Danny was once again faced with the serious problem of keeping the operation in business. Animal sales were still an option, but there was a dawning awareness in Canada of spreading diseases affecting wildlife. Danny needed permits to move animals across borders, and these became increasingly difficult to obtain. The matter came to a head for the Yukon Wildlife Branch when public attention was drawn to one of Danny’s mountain goats that appeared on a steep hill across the North Klondike Highway from the sod farm. Government officials were worried about the transmission of disease from domestic animals to wildlife, and two escaped mountain goats could have travelled past agricultural farms containing domestic goats.

Danny was unable to recapture his animals, and the Yukon government’s Philip Merchant came to the rescue with a helicopter and a tranquilizer gun. The story of the capture is a harrowing tale for another time, but no animal (human or goat) was terribly injured, and Danny was presented with the bill.

Danny said, “I want to go fishing” and he started looking for buyers. He could have made a lot of money by letting a developer divide the Game Farm into acreages. Many Yukoners were reluctant to see this happen, and the Friends of the Yukon Wildlife Preserve was established in 2002. The Board of Directors included successful businesspeople, educators, and wildlife biologists who recognized the Preserve’s potential economic, preservation, and educational worth to the Yukon. The society tried to raise funds to buy and operate the facility as a business, and they received support from individuals and potential partners.

2002 CBC Interview with Danny Nowlan

In July 2003, the Yukon Fish and Wildlife Management Board wrote a letter to support a proposal where a not-for-profit society would run the facility with assistance from the Yukon Government, as long as the facility obtained accreditation from the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The government, for many reasons, was reluctant to commit to any involvement at that time, and the Board of Directors dissolved the Friends of the Yukon Wildlife Preserve association in August 2003.

The public facing entrance to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve. Photo Rebecca August 2004.

There are many opinions about why the government persuaded a number of the original Friends and others to form an operating society, and then purchased the Yukon Game Farm in April 2004. Danny talked to the media and there was considerable public pressure in support of the sale. It was, and remains, a controversial decision especially for those opposed to seeing wildlife in pens. However, the Yukon Wildlife Preserve is a delight for children of all ages, and the expansive habitats created by Danny Nowlan make the residents very happy.

About his ability to get things done, Wendy Brassard says Danny would get these ideas and he wouldn't abandon them. He wouldn't just let them die or turn away from them. He'd think about it, he'd read because there was no Internet back then, he'd make phone calls, and the next thing you know, everything's changed. And he just kept evolving. He was such a good example of ingenuity and resourcefulness, and never say die. Just if you think it's right and it's going to work and it's a good thing? Do it.” David Smiley says Danny was an amazing character; that guy was different. Both good and bad. He had a rough side and he had a Grade 3 education. But he could develop a plan that somebody from a university would have trouble figuring out the nuances. He was a good planner. Randy Hallock concluded that Danny was interesting and always full of ideas. He just built the place and not much could stop him. He had ideas, and he made them work. People telling him ‘no’ just made him that much more driven.

Minister Dixon, Department of Environment, Yukon Government and YWPOS board member Bill Klasson.
Photo taken 2013 on the signing of a 5 year agreement.

David Mossop is involved with the Game Farm in its current form as the Yukon Wildlife Preserve. He says it's interesting that all these years later, they haven't changed anything. It's basically exactly as Danny and Erika envisioned it – except brought to fruition a lot more. Their idea was to create something where the children of the Yukon could come and see the creatures that live here. And that's basically what happened.

The memories that were collected during this oral history project speak to the impact that Danny had on so many friends, kids, and animals - and the Nowlans’ legacy remains intact for Yukoners and Yukon visitors. We think Erika would be proud to see a fully realized wildlife preserve with its visitation of wide-eyed children. Uli Nowlan often visits the facility and keeps a watchful eye on the operation. Danny didn’t become an avid fisherman, but he did relax knowing his animals, and his legacy, were in good hands.

• • •

On June 12, 2004, was the Grand Opening of the Preserve!

Danny Nowlan Life and Death - June 4th, 1929 - October 23rd, 2011.

Photos gratefully provided by Uli Nowlan.

Sally Robinson, October 2023
with words from interviews with Uli Nowlan, David Mossop, Philip Merchant, Wendy Brassard, Randy & Maria Hallock, David Ford.

Sally Robinson

Vintage Ventures - Researcher & Writer

Sally is currently an independent consultant in the heritage field. Throughout her career, after working 20 years with Yukon museums as a researcher, curator and exhibit designer/producer, she joined the Yukon Government to work for 16 years as the Historic Sites Interpretive Planner.

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.

867-456-7400
Lindsay@yukonwildlife.ca

Explore by Category

Explore by Author

The Curious Case of Dewlaps: Moose and Their Underappreciated and Mysterious Neck Accessories

25/01/30 | Moose

canada

by Lindsay Caskenette | Jan 30, 2025 | 0 comments

10 minute read

When you think of a moose, you might picture an iconic Canadian creature with long legs, a majestic set of antlers, and the undeniable air of someone who really doesn’t care about traffic. What might not come immediately to mind is the subtle yet striking neck accessory that moose wear with... well, little to no fanfare: the dewlap. Yes, that’s right—moose, with their immense size and serene grace, sport a fleshy flap of skin dangling beneath their throat.

Moose bull in winter. A beautiful side view to show off his dewlap. YWP - Nov 2013 - Jake Paleczny

If you've ever had the privilege (or slight anxiety) of encountering a moose here at the Yukon Wildlife Preserve, or on a cross-country road trip, you’ve maybe noticed this particular feature. But what is it, and why does it exist? Let’s explore this underappreciated anatomical feature with a mix of scientific curiosity and the lighthearted humor it deserves.

watson moose antler 2024 JuneL.Caskenette YWP

What is a Dewlap, Anyway?

A dewlap is essentially a flap of skin that hangs from the neck, or throat of an animal and while it may seem like just an odd fashion statement, it often serves practical purposes. Dewlaps appear in all kinds of animals—like lizards, cows, chickens, rabbits, and yes, moose. Depending on the species, dewlaps help with everything from sexual selection, to staying cool to general communication. In moose, the dewlap isn’t just a bizarre fashion accessory, it's also a multi-purpose tool in their biological toolkit - we think!

Moose Bulls watson little guy (marsh lake) YWP Winter Jan 23L.Caskenette_7

Watson on the left, Marsh on the right. 2023-making Watson 4 years old and Marsh 2 years old in this photo. Notice the dewlap difference?

Fun Fact: a dewlap on a moose is also called a bell. If you’re a bird, that fold of skin is called a wattle. For rabbits, dewlaps are basically nature’s way of saying, “Congrats, you’re all grown up now!” Female rabbits flaunt these fluffy neck pillows as a sign of sexual maturity. Later, when they have babies, they even pluck the thicker fur grown here to line the nest. Birds and reptiles, on the other hand, can take it up a notch with their flashy neck frills—bright, colorful, and often retractable like the world’s fanciest pop-up tent, perfect for showing off in romantic or territorial drama.

Sitana ponticeriana. Photo by Niranjan Sant from Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree.

But when it comes to ungulates, like moose, their dewlaps remain a mystery. It’s the unsolved cold case of the animal kingdom, stubbornly dodging scientific scrutiny. Nature can be funny like that sometimes.

Moose Practical Fashion: Is It About to Take Off?

Let’s address the most important question right off the bat: Do moose know they’re rocking a dewlap? Probably not. But if they did, we imagine it would make them feel pretty cool—like the one guest at a party with a trendy outfit no one else can pull off. In the moose world, the dewlap is one of those things you don’t really see in everyday fashion. While antlers get all the glory in the animal kingdom, these enigmatic ornaments quietly steal the show in these hoofed animals.

Moose, who roam the colder reaches of North America, use their dewlaps to help cool off in warmer weather. Male and female moose have dewlaps though their sizes differ considerably with, naturally, the male dewlap being larger than the females. The loose skin beneath their throat appears to expand and contract, and become more or less furry based on seasons which would help release heat from their bodies. This means that on a hot Yukon day (don’t worry, we don’t have too many of those), the dewlap might help prevent a moose from overheating as they browse lazily in the wild.

Moose September 2013 - Justine Benjamin. Cow and bull moose in rut season.

This statement might be contested by research from ungulates evaluated from Bro-Jørgensen given the need to thermoregulate (dissipate heat) is rather limited when you live in a more predominantly cold-climate than comparatively the eland antelopes of South Africa. Large ungulates like bison, elk, and yak do not present this caruncle; they may have evolved alternative, behavioural, cooling mechanisms that are less ‘cool looking’! But, wait, what about caribou? Technically, they fall under the 400kg threshold of the study and live in a cold climate and though they (males particularly) seem to rock the dewlap… sort of, theirs is more of a budget-friendly version compared to the moose’s deluxe mode.

(We’ll admit we’re pretty perplexed that both moose and caribou have flappy neck skin but wouldn’t be considered in the list of animals with evolutionary cooling mechanisms as they both are amazing swimmers, spending a lot of time in water and thus being able to cool themselves via this method—alas we will stick to moose necks!) We appreciate that Bro-Jørgensen recognizes investigations into ungulate dewlap purposes has been left largely unexplored and for some reason, lizards have stolen all the scientists' attention.

Dewlaps and Courtship: The Moose Dating Scene

If you thought moose were all about antlers for impressing mates, think again. Dewlaps are also, or alternatively to thermoregulation, thought to be involved in courtship. During mating season, male moose seem to have enlarged dewlaps to make themselves appear more impressive. After all, what’s a little extra neck real estate if it helps you woo the ladies? This trait can also be found in male leopards—alongside aging the dewlap grows, similar to a lion’s mane thickening, scientists believe this growth helps in intra and inter-specific interactions—the important sexual selection kinds of interactions for attracting mates and staving off competitors.

Moose Bull Watson in Summer 2024 L. Caskenette. Side view here shows a larger by appearance, possibly furry dewlap.

Moose Bull Watson in Winter Jan 23L.Caskenette. Side view here shows a larger by appearance, possibly furry dewlap.

Moose Bull Watson in Summer 2024 and Winter 2024 show a side view of the animal and its dewlap. It appears larger by possibly being more hairy in the winter for protection of the extra skin. In summer lighter and able to dissipate heat like its less hair covered ears in the summer.

In some species (like lizards), males will flare their dewlaps out to signal dominance or interest in a mate. While moose don’t exactly go full "show-off" mode with their dewlaps, the extra skin could play a role in their mating rituals. After all, being a moose isn't all about looking tough with those antlers—it’s also about managing the subtler art of, well, neck presentation.

Winter Snow and two moose bull October 2020 29 YWP Lindsay Caskenette

These photos from young to old, left to right, are of Watson. We see from photos, the size of the dewlap appears to become larger over time. Bro-Jørgensen also explores the idea of the dewlap (in elands) being a detterent to predators as the side view makes the animal look larger and perhaps more intimidating. This would align with mature, genetically inclined animals having a larger dewlap. Though this was taken further and scarring on the dewlap was tested, exploring its advantages or disadvantages to protecting the common area of attack on prey by predators in some inter-species interactions.

A "Dewlap-umentary" Moment

Imagine a scene straight out of a nature documentary: A lone moose stands amidst the wild, its dewlap gently swaying in the wind as it scans the horizon. It’s a thing of beauty, really. But then, a rival moose appears on the scene—let the neck flap show begin! Not much behaviour present in ungulates, as seen in lizards and birds, but the moose may posture, showing off their large body size and then bam - side view of an impressive neck dangle and their rival runs away in fear - perhaps a convincing illusion.

Must Watch Video!

Wrapping It Up: A Love Letter to the Dewlap

So, the next time you visit the Yukon Wildlife Preserve and you catch sight of a moose strolling majestically past, don't just look up at the antlers or marvel at their towering size. Look down (or, more accurately, look to the side) and take a moment to appreciate the dewlap. Despite all the brainpower spent pondering this, no one really knows why moose have dewlaps. Is it a fashion statement? A built-in scarf for chilly mornings? Who knows!

moose in snow . The bull shows off his impressive size, antlers and dewlap. Jake Paleczny.

Since both male and female moose have them and they don't seem to offer any major survival or dating perks, scientists think basically, ungulates got their dewlaps through evolutionary peer pressure, but not the same kind as lizards and birds. While birds and lizards are out there with their flashy, look-at-me neck bling for dating or drama, ungulates might’ve evolved their dewlaps for totally different reasons—like a mysterious club no one’s quite figured out yet. The dewlap might just be a leftover from moose ancestors—like a trendy accessory that’s fallen out of style but still hangs around (sciencey talk calls this a vestigial trait).

Moose watson Jan 22YWP winter L.Caskenette dewlap swing - would this intimidate or attract you - if of course you were a moose?

In the world of wildlife, the moose's dewlap is mysterious, beautiful, and—if we’re being honest—just a little bit stylish. Who knew that this flappy neck skin would be so fascinating? Certainly not us. But we’re glad we found out. Wait, what exactly did we find out!?

Resources:

Bro-Jørgensen, J. Evolution of the ungulate dewlap: thermoregulation rather than sexual selection or predator deterrence?. Front Zool 13, 33 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-016-0165-x

Baeckens, Simon et al. “The brown anole dewlap revisited: do predation pressure, sexual selection, and species recognition shape among-population signal diversity?.” PeerJ vol. 6 e4722. 8 May. 2018, doi:10.7717/peerj.4722

Jonathan Losos. How Many Times have lizard Dewlaps Evolved? August 12, 2011.

Photo credits: L.Caskenette, J.Benjamine, J.Paleczny, M. Mark., (unless otherwise noted).

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.

867-456-7400
Lindsay@yukonwildlife.ca

Explore by Category

Explore by Author

What’s That Scat?

21/07/23 | Canada Lynx, Caribou, Moose, Mountain Goat, Muskox, Red Fox, Thinhorn Sheep, Wildlife, Wood Bison

canada

by Sophia Slater | Jul 23, 2021 | 2 comments

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 into, what they are eating, and how they are digesting it. Just like us, many animals have dynamic diets, and will eat what is available. Scat can be interesting but can also spread diseases, even to humans, so it should be looked at and not touched, especially by our furry companions.

Bears

Black bears are opportunistic omnivores who will eat whatever food they can find, including fish, fruit, meat, insects, and herbs and grasses. Grizzlies have a similar diet, but tend to favour high-energy meat and insects more than the smaller black bears. Like their diets, bear scat appearance is quite varied, and often contains fragments of their last meal, like seeds, bits of berries, or small animal bones. Wildlife Interpreter Maureen recounts seeing a landscape covered in red wine-coloured piles that were actually scat from grizzlies that had eaten a lot of cranberries!

Light brown bear scat with seeds visible.

Bears are relatives of mammalian carnivores, they have a digestive system similar to carnivores, without a cecum or extended large intestine. This limits how efficiently they can process leafy plant material and they must eat a lot if they are relying on these foods, which is common in the spring. As a result, when a bear eats a lot of plant material their scat often has a green tinge from the undigested grasses or a fibrous appearance. Typically, their scat is brown or black and tapered, though sometimes it can appear as more globular if it is loose. Grizzly scat tends to be a bit wider and larger piles than black bear scat. It can be hard to distinguish between the two, but both should make a hiker cautious of the trail ahead. Remember bear spray and noisemakers and stay bear safe!

Left to right: Older bear scat; bear scat that is darker brown in colour with grasses visible.

If you’re interested in getting involved in bear research, the Operation Ursus Research using Scat (OURS) project is aimed at estimating the Yukon grizzly and black bear populations using DNA available in bear scat. Lucile leads the study and shares the project story Bear Poo and You with YWP.

Canines

Foxes, wolves, and coyotes are more exclusively carnivorous than bears, but may occasionally eat berries and seeds. Their digestive system is similar to that of a bear, as is their scat. Wolves' stomachs are specially adapted to hold a lot of food so that after a hunt they can get their share of the reward. Additionally, their stomach is very acidic to kill off any pathogens in the meat. It is tubular and tapered and may contain bits of bones, fur, or berries. It may be lighter, as it varies from tan to dark brown in colour. It is, however, smaller than bear scat: fox scat is about 1.25 cm in diameter, coyote scat is about 2 cm, and wolf scat is usually at least 2.5 cm in diameter.

Wolf scat with fur visible.

There will likely be much less of it as well. Foxes often defecate in obvious areas to mark their territory. The Wildlife Preserve exists as an ecosystem within a larger ecosystem and foxes are one of the many wild animals that visit. They seem to like to use the boardwalks at the front cabin to do their business!

Foxes often defecate in obvious places to mark their territory.

Left photo credit: L.Caskenette.

Feline - Lynx

Unlike generalist bears and canines, lynxes are specialists. Snowshoe hares are their primary food source, and can make up 75% of their winter diet. Meat is highly digestible, meaning that most of what is consumed can be broken down and absorbed easily. Lynx digestive systems, therefore, have shorter small intestines relative to body size and less developed caecum than canines.

Lynx scat of varying ages among grass.

Their scat is black, tubular and tapered, and does not have so much undigested material as the bears or canines. It is also very smelly. Like a house cat, they will cover their scat with dirt or snow, probably to hide their presence from nearby animals. Also like house cats, they often defecate in the same latrine over and over, which can be seen in our lynx habitat.

Lynx, like house cats, often poop in the same places every time. This is one of the latrines in the lynx habitat at the Preserve.

Cervids

The Yukon has a great variety of cervids (antler bearing animals) or members of the deer family. Their diets, digestive systems, and scat have many similarities. In general, they produce uniform, dark brown or black oval-shaped pellets, which result from uniform movements of smooth muscles in the large intestine and its sphincters.

Photo of moose with velvet antlers sitting in grass.

From left to right: Caribou, moose, mule deer and elk. Photo Credit: L.Caskenette & J.Paleczny.

Their diets are often high in fibrous, dry tree materials like leaves and twigs, which is why their feces forms pellets. If they are eating more grasses, in the summer, it may appear softer and more clumpy. Cervids are all ruminants which means that their stomachs have four compartments: the rumen, the reticulum, the omasum and the abomasum. This allows for fermentation by bacteria and other processes that break down vegetation. This is part of the reason that cervid scat does not have as much undigested material as the carnivores’, despite their plant diet having less digestible material. In addition, they will regurgitate their food and chew it again, also called chewing their cud!

Left to Right: Soft caribou scat clumps together versus caribou scat in pellet form.

Deer pellets are small, about 1 cm in diameter, and are left in piles of many pellets. They defecate an average of 13 times per day! Elk scat is similar but 1-1.5 cm in diameter, and moose scat is even larger at 1.5-2 cm in diameter. Deer and elk pellets are rounder than moose pellets.

Softer deer scat often clumps together as seen here.

Moose are more strictly browsers, that eat only tree materials, so mostly their pellets are harder. Caribou scat appears somewhat more rough than deer or moose scat. It is often in harder pellet form in the winter when they eat a lot of lichens and sedges. In the summer, when their diet switches to grasses and vegetation with a high moisture content, their scat often forms larger soft clumps.

Moose scat in pellet form, darker brown because it's older.

Bovids

There are also a wide variety of bovids (horn bearing animals) in the Yukon. Our mountain sheep, mountain goats, muskox, and bison are all ruminants, just like the cervids. They are all herbivores who eat a variety of grasses, sedges, seedlings, and leaves.

Left to Right: Muskox, bison, mountain goat, thinhorn sheep. Photo Credit: L. Caskenette

Muskox, mountain goats, and thinhorn mountain sheep also form pellet scat, even when their diets consist largely of grass. That’s because their digestive tracts are highly evolved to reabsorb as much water as possible, likely an adaptation to their arid alpine (goats and sheep) and tundra (muskox) habitats.

Sheep scat forms pellets.

Goats have varied diets that includes browse, shrubs, lichens, grasses, and even trees. Their alpine foraging sites may be sparse, which doesn’t allow them to be picky eaters. Muskoxen eat grasses, forbs (herbaceous flowering plants), and willows, which they often have to dig out from the frozen arctic ground by smashing the permafrost with their heads and pawing the ice pieces out of the way. Mountain sheep eat mostly grasses and some other low growing sedges.

Muskox scat.

Bison scat is distinct from all the other ruminants mentioned above, because it forms an indistinct pile. Their diet is also primarily grasses and other low-lying herbaceous plants, but they may eat some willows and twigs. Grasses would make their scat more loose, but we’re taking suggestions for what makes their scat so different from the other grass-loving bovids!

Bison patty.

Hopefully after hearing all of these scat facts you can see scat as more than just something gross to be avoided on the side of the trail. It can tell you who’s habitat you are in, but also what they have been eating. It is interesting to watch it change throughout the season. Of course biologists may be able to find out way more about an animal through their scat, for instance genetic samples or presence of pathogens. There is so much to learn from the scat around us!

Although all the different scat we explored above is only a small number of animals, all species do it and we encourage you to:

1. Explore other species scat/defecation/poop - whatever you want to call it!

2. Pack out yours and your furry companions (yours domestic canines) poo in the backcountry and wilderness places you visit!

3. Sing the Scat Rap Song!

It starts with an S and it ends with a T
It comes out of you
and it comes out of me
I know what you’re thinking
But don’t call it that
Let’s be scientific, and call it SCAT
It was a piece of scat
(PIECE OF SCAT!)

You can find it on the ground
It’s usually colored brown
It is shaped in a mound
It is a piece of scat
(PIECE OF SCAT!)

You can smell it with your nose
It’s gonna decompose
It’s where the fungus grows
It is a piece of scat
(PIECE OF SCAT!)

Birds flying through the air
Look out! Beware!
It landed in your hair
It was a piece of scat
(PIECE OF SCAT!)

I was hiking through the fog
When I saw a big log
It came from a dog
It was a piece of scat
(PIECE OF SCAT!)

I was tired of TV
I was checking out the trees
I could smell it on the breeze
It was a piece of scat
(PIECE OF SCAT!)

I know it’s kind of gory
But it’s a true story
It marks territory
It is a piece of scat
(PIECE OF SCAT!)

I picked up a chicken
And something was drippin’
It wasn’t finger-lickin’
It was a piece of scat
(PIECE OF SCAT!)

A squirrel ate a nut
Digested in its gut
It came out of its butt
It was a piece of scat
(PIECE OF SCAT!)

If you park your car
By the woods or a field
You might find something on your windshield
Full of berries
Both purple and white
You just got bombed by a bird in flight
It was a piece of scat
(PIECE OF SCAT!)

Photo Credit: Sophia Slater or as otherwise credited.

References:

Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) sign. ADFG.

Blood, D.A. Mountain sheep. Hinterlands Who’s Who.

Blood, D.A. (2000). Mountain Goat in British Columbia. British Columbia Ministry of Environment Land and Parks.

Bosch, G., Hagen-Plantinga, E., & Hendriks, W. (2015). Dietary nutrient profiles of wild wolves: Insights for optimal dog nutrition? British Journal of Nutrition, 113(S1), S40-S54. doi:10.1017/S0007114514002311

Keith, L.B. Canada lynx. Hinterland’s Who’s Who.

Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center (2018, June 25). What scat can tell you about your wildlife neighbors. CSERC.

Costello, C.M., Cain, S.L., Pils, S., Frattaroli, L., Haroldson, M.A., & van Manen, F.T. (2016). Diet and macronutrient optimization in wild Ursids: A comparison of grizzly bears with sympatric and allopatric black bears. PLoS ONE, 11(5).

Gray, D.R. Muskox. Hinterland’s Who’s Who.

Hatch, K., Roeder, B., Buckman, R., Gale, B., Bunnell, S., Eggett, D., Auger, J., Felicetti, L., & Hilderbrand, G. (2011). Isotopic and gross fecal analysis of American black bear scats. Ursus, 22(2), 133–140.

Howard, W.T., Hutjens, M., Kilmer, L., Linn, A., Otterby, D., & Shaver, R. (2021). The ruminant digestive system. University of Minnesota Extension.

Winand, C.J. (2008, September). Deer Pelletology. Buckmasters Magazine.

Sophia Slater

Wildlife Interpreter & Animal Care Assistant

Sophia is one of the Interpretive Wildlife Guides and animal care assistants at the Preserve. She is new to the Yukon and moved here from Ontario, where she just graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Nipissing University. Hiking mountains is her newfound passion while she’s here, and she’s hoping to summit as many as she can this summer. At the preserve, she loves getting to talk to and learn from guests who come from all over the Yukon and beyond about their experiences with wildlife.

Explore by Category

Explore by Author

The Dangerous and the Benign: distinguishing between big scary bugs

21/03/25 | Meet the North - Yukon Biodiversity, Research, Wildlife

canada

by Joelle Ingram | Mar 25, 2021 | 8 comments

This article was made possible thanks to support from the Environmental Awareness Fund. Engage and educate yourself in this 10-part blog series, about Yukon Biodiversity.

Banner Photo: Yellow-tailed Horntail. Photo credit: iNaturalist griffontrail in Dawson YT.

12 minute read -

I think we can all agree that the past year has been pretty rough with the fires and the pandemic and the political unrest. When you add the appearance of large and intimidating Asian giant hornets on our fair continent, it makes it feel like we’re living through some biblical plagues. For those of you who have not been hysterically following the news, the Asian giant hornet (aka “the murder hornet”) is a massive hornet that earned its ominous nickname from its fun habit of decapitating hundreds of bees at a time and then carrying off the bee babies (the babees) to feed its own young. Also they sometimes kill people. Yikes. In the spring of 2020, they added to the general calamity that was all of last year by popping up in Washington, DC where the U.S. residents were understandably upset to have this horrible serial killer hornet added to their ecosystem.

Obviously, the North American invasion by Asian giant hornets wasn’t kept secret and word traveled all the way to our remote territory. It’s probably because of this news that when a large insect with a prominent “stinger” and suspiciously hornet-like colouring was spotted during the Yukon Wildlife Preserve Bioblitz, some people got very nervous! But fear not, fellow Yukoners! The Yukon is a deeply unappealing habitat for the coast-loving murder hornets. The insect that garnered so much attention at the Bioblitz due to its large, scary appearance and prominent butt-spike is only a threat to felled trees. This benign bug is a horntail also known as a “wood wasp” (of the family Siricidae) and it could not be less like the invasive death machine it was mistaken for.

On the Left: Yellow-tailed Horntail. Found in Yukon. iNaturalist Photo Credit M_Mossop

On the Right: Asian giant Hornet. Not found in Yukon. iNaturalist Photo Credit (c) Alpsdake, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

Before we examine these insects in detail, a quick addendum. While scientists and academic types should never let personal bias cloud their research, I am not a scientist nor particularly academic so prepare for some bias. I HATE insects of the wasp/hornet variety. I mean the kind of loathing that would start a centuries long blood feud between families in olden times. Yes, they get props for being pollinators in their spare time but oooooh my god. These stripey menaces ruin every summer outdoor dining experience by completely disregarding your personal space and then rendering your beverage undrinkable after they drown themselves in it. Also, if they sting me, I die and that dynamic would sour any relationship. With that out of the way, let’s meet these bugs!

The Asian giant hornet or Vespa mandarinia (which sounds like a particularly elegant moped) is aptly named as it is the world’s largest hornet! Worker hornets are 3.5 cm long while queens get up to 5 cm. Their wingspans range between 4-7 cm which is probably more bug than the average person wants to deal with. If their size isn’t a giveaway, their large orange heads and black eyes make them very recognizable.

Asian giant hornet (c) Kim, Hyun-tae, some rights reserved (CC BY)

iNaturalist observation Asian giant hornet. Photo credit: (c) Kim, Hyun-tae, some rights reserved (CC BY)

Unlike a lot of other hornets and wasps, these big hornets only nest in the ground. They favour forested areas in coastal environments which is bad news for our west-coast brethren but good news for the Yukon which is notably low on hospitable coastal regions. During the one-year life cycle of a nest, worker hornets usually forage alone and mostly hunt for beetles. The dark and sinister nature of these hornets rears its head in the fall when the colony needs a lot of protein to raise the next generation of queens.

In order to bring in the protein required to beef up their queens, workers abandon solo-foraging missions and band together for group raids. These raids attack high-value targets like the hives of honeybees or even the hives of other hornets. When these raiding parties hit a hive, they decapitate all the adults like they’re doing a re-enactment of the French Revolution then cart off the brood for food. These murder hornets really live up to the moniker as they can kill off thousands of bees in a few hours. Bees are already on a dangerous decline and Asian giant hornets can absolutely devastate local bee populations. This makes their appearance in America and Canada especially concerning.

Although the sudden appearance of murder hornets would be very on-brand for 2020, Asian giant hornets have been in North America before. They were discovered in Nanaimo, BC in August 2019 when beekeepers found a destroyed nest with a whole heap of headless bees outside of it. Their appearance in Washington is just an extension of their coastal conquest. Fortunately, the number of murder hornets in North America is still pretty low. This is good news for humans as people deaths from Asian giant hornets are usually due to disturbing a nest and incurring many stings. Unless you have an allergy (like some people who wrote this article), you have high chances of surviving a murder hornet attack if you have less than fifty stings. Rest easy, I guess? That being said, the Washington State Department of Agriculture had to order special suits to study Asian giant hornets because their massive stingers can pierce through normal beekeeping gear so maybe rest less easily.

Asian giant hornet iNaturalist (c) grechan, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

iNaturalist image Asian giant hornet. Photo credit: (c) grechan, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

It’s time to ease yourself into the warm waters of relief because the horntails that hang out in the Yukon are nothing like this. They’re not invasive, they don’t sting, and unless you’re a dead tree, they pose absolutely zero risk to your health and wellbeing. Yes, wood wasps are also intimidatingly large and similar in size to Asian giant hornets. They range in size between 1-4 cm with females tending to be larger than their male counterparts. Horntails get their name from their cornus: a stinger-shaped plate on the back of their body. Horn. Tail. Geddit? Even though it looks like a stinger, rest assured that it isn’t. Horntails don’t sting or produce venom and don’t really have any defenses other than looking scary. Females in particular look like they have a MASSIVE stinger but it’s actually an ovipositor that helps them lay their eggs into the wood of conifer trees.

iNaturalist image Yellow-tailed Horntail. Whitehorse YT Photo credit: Jake Paleczny

Here’s a fun fact: female horntails have a symbiotic relationship with a fungus! Similar to horntails, basidiomycete wood decay fungi enjoys a nice rotting log. Female horntails help this fungus spread to new locations by carrying bits of it in a specialized pouch on their abdomen. When the female lays her eggs, she also deposits the fungus inside the rotting wood. The horntail also benefits from this arrangement as the larvae get to snack on the fungus after they hatch.

Unlike the newly arrived murder hornet, we’ve probably had horntails in the Yukon as long as we’ve had conifer trees. The reason you might not run into them all the time is that they spend most of their lives inside a tree. After a female lays her hundreds and hundreds of eggs in the wood of a felled or rotting tree, the young hang out in that log for 1-3 years. After they emerge from their timber home as a fully grown adult, they only live for 3-4 weeks! Because they spend so much time in wood, young adults sometimes show up inside people’s homes because the lumber they’ve been tunneling around in has been used as construction material. So they’re not out there murdering bees and giving horrible stings but they can occasionally give you a nasty surprise by exploding out of your new rocking chair.

iNaturalist Yukon. Yellow-tailed Horntail. Photo Credit: Bruce Bennett

I hope your fears are assuaged and you won’t dread painful stings and bee death when you encounter a big scary bug in the Yukon wilds. The horntail might be intimidating in appearance, but it’s a passive insect that just wants to spend most of its life noodling around in a tree. Asian giant hornets are definitely horrible nightmare insects that were probably manifested into existence as punishment for our sins but at least they’re horrible nightmare insects that don’t live up here.

Asian giant hornet(c) elfsama, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

iNaturalist Asian giant hornet resting on human hand. Photo credit: (c) elfsama, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

References:

CTV News Vancouver: The murder hornet is in B.C. Here’s how to identify it.

CTV News Vancouver: Asian giant hornets - aka 'murder hornets' - expected back in B.C.

Science News: More ‘murder hornets’ are turning up. Here’s what you need to know

The New York Times: ‘Murder Hornets’ in the U.S.: The Rush to Stop the Asian Giant Hornet

Scientific American: Just How Dangerous Is the ‘Murder Hornet’?

Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification: Siricidae (Hymenoptera: Symphyta: Siricoidea) of the Western Hemisphere

PaDil: Yellow-horned horntail

The Wildlife Trusts: Giant horntail

Insect Identification.org: A Banded Horntail seems like it’s a mean wasp with a long, nasty stinger, but its looks don't do its passive nature justice

Joelle Ingram

Human of Many Talents

Joelle is a former archaeologist, former wildlife interpreter, and a full-time random fact enthusiast. She received her master’s degree in anthropology from McMaster University. One of the four people who read her thesis gave it the glowing review “It’s a paper that would appeal to very specific group of people,” which is probably why only four people have read it. Her favourite land mammal is a muskox, her favourite aquatic mammal is a narwhal. She thinks it’s important that you know that.

867-456-7400
info@yukonwildlife.ca

The World Under the Snow

canada

Pete Neilson

Explore by Category

Explore by Author

What’s That Scat?

canada

Bears

Canines

Feline - Lynx

Cervids

Bovids

Sophia Slater

Explore by Category

Explore by Author

The Dangerous and the Benign: distinguishing between big scary bugs

canada

Joelle Ingram

Explore by Category

Explore by Author

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Meta