Fall In to Autumn

Fall In to Autumn

20/09/19 | Moose, Muskox, Wildlife

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. Against this backdrop the first snows fall on the mountaintops.

Birds begin their migration back to their southern overwintering grounds, after a summer spent mating, nesting, rearing young, and eating well. Before we see the V’s flying overhead, we often hear them honking and calling to each other.

In the world of ungulates, it is the time of the rut. Antlered animals have finished growing this season’s antlers; their velvet has sloughed off and now they sport their hardened, ready-to-duel finery. We can see and hear as the males clash, challenging each other for the right to breed the females. Elk stags bugle, bull moose softly grunt – calling to interested females in the area and warning off competing males.

Watson, in the foreground, has shed the velvet on his first year’s full antler growth.

Those with horns are also clashing. This looks less like a duel and more like a train crash. Thinhorn Mountain Sheep rams, both Stone and Dall subspecies, run at each other and smash heavy horns together – the echo of this collision ricochets like a rifle shot. Muskox bulls have been rumbling since early August, chasing each other, establishing dominance and finally banging horns as they work to impress the females for breeding rights.
We begin to notice a lack of Arctic Ground Squirrel activity. We no longer hear the constant shrill warnings as nearby predators hunt; where are these industrious rodents? Hibernation comes early – females are already underground for the long winter ahead, and the last of the males aboveground continue to harvest and stockpile their midden, into early October. Predators such as Red Foxes can be seen traveling from one burrow-entrance to another…..looking for a disappearing meal of ground squirrel which used to be in abundance. Soon they’ll be gone completely, hibernating through the winter, under a thick layer of blanketing snow – but not just yet.

Autumn means hibernation is coming.  We’ve noticed a lessening of Arctic Ground Squirrel activity at Yukon Wildlife Preserve.

Humans are adding clothing layers, finding sweaters, mitts and toques in storage. We need these warm additions on the crisp, cold autumn mornings. Afternoon sunshine heats up; we turn our faces to the sun and shed those layers – it’s not winter yet! So too are the animals growing coats of winter fur, wool and hair. Mountain goats have spent all summer shedding last winter’s wool; almost immediately it’s time to grow in this winter’s layer of hair. Arctic Foxes are beginning to add some white to their brown and grey camouflage. They not only change colour with their winter fur, they also add seeming bulk. All those layers of white fluffy fur help them stay warm, maintain body core temperature and thrive in the harsh winter environment of the Far North.
Enjoying this short season is highly recommended – there’s nothing as seasonally relevant or celebratory as jumping into a pile of autumnal leaves. Cranberries are ripening, harvesting continues. Underneath the beauty of the changing season, there is a sense of urgency. Whether we are human or animal, we know winter is coming, and while it’s not here yet, time and opportunity are limited to eat, put enough weight on, or store food to survive the coming months.

Summer is over, the cycle continues. Autumn is the clear signal to prepare for what’s ahead. Fall in to Autumn; experience the sights and sounds with enjoyment, wherever you are.

Julie Kerr

Julie Kerr

Visitor Services Coordinator

Julie is a Registered Veterinary Technologist, living and working in Whitehorse since 2012. She joined the team in May 2018. She is passionate about wildlife, nature and living in a conscious manner with both. Her free time is spent outdoors observing wild animals and ecosystems; her connection to the natural world around her brings great joy – joy she loves to share with anyone interested. Honestly? Work and life blend rather seamlessly.

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Golden Eagle: Scapular Fracture

Golden Eagle: Scapular Fracture

20/08/08 | News, Rehabilitation, Wildlife

Golden Eagle: Scapular Fracture

This story was originally published August 8, 2020 in the e-blast newsletter to Yukon Wildlife Preserve’s membership.

Are you a member but don’t receive these email Newsletters?  Contact us at info@yukonwildlife.ca to update your email preferences.

Banner photo credit:  L. Caskenette

The golden eagle is a young one – it arrived on August 7th. Conservation Officers brought the eagle from Watson Lake to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.

Upon arrival the eagle weighed 2.3kg. It had a fracture to scapular (not much we can do just needs time to heal). With some rest time and observation the eagle was then moved to the large flight pen on August 11th. He weighed 2.6kg at that time. A healthy individual should weigh in around 4-5.5kg, while females are slightly larger and heavier.

This individual needs to gain some more weight to get stronger before it will attempt any flying. On Thursday, our Veterinarian, Dr. Maria Hallock weighed the eagle in at 3.25kg. Gaining 600g in the last two week is a positive sign of recovery. The eagle has been eating well – anywhere from 3-6 quail/day (each one weighing 200-250g). We will continue to monitor his weight and movement/behaviour. We expect to see him recover, fly and build up muscles to return to the wild, timing remains up to him!

The following update was originally published October 10, 2020 in the e-blast newsletter to Yukon Wildlife Preserve’s membership.

 What’s Up Yukon connected with us to get the latest story on the Golden Eagle that is in care at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre at the Preserve.  This eagle can be found working on his flight and recovering in the large outdoor aviary, as he overwinters with us at the Preserve!

The following update was originally published January 23, 2021 in the e-blast newsletter to Yukon Wildlife Preserve’s membership.

A Convocation of Eagles

Lindsay Caskenette

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

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Moose on the Move

Moose on the Move

20/07/25 | Animal Care, Moose, Rehabilitation

Moose on the Move

3:47 video
Our young orphaned moose has outgrown his room in the Preserve’s Research and Rehabilitation Centre. Today he’s on the move to a new – much larger – outdoor enclosure.  He will spend the next few months in this larger space, with food to browse as he continues to grow .  But first, we have to get him to his new home.

Learn how the Animal Care team at Yukon Wildlife Preserve safely and successfully moves this moose calf.

 

Jake Paleczny

Jake Paleczny

He/Him - Executive Director/ CEO

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.

867-456-7313
jake@yukonwildlife.ca

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What’s in the Feed Station: Moose?

What’s in the Feed Station: Moose?

20/06/20 | Animal Care, Moose

What’s in the Feed Station: Moose?

3:45 min Video –

Hello and welcome to the moose feeding station!
The feeding stations exist to make my job easier. Inside they have a big bag of pellets, a bale of hay, a bucket and scoop, a rake, a shovel, a pitchfork, a broom and a feeding chart.

The moose get 25 lbs of pellets a day as a supplement of vitamins and trace minerals in a form they like.  25 lbs may not sound like a lot for 4 moose, but there are lots of natural foraging opportunities in their habitat. In the wild, moose eat leaves, bark and twigs from trees and shrubs as well as aquatic plants. Our moose also have a bale of hay placed in the trees in the back corner of the 48.5 acre habitat and we give them browse, which are tree branches with lots of leaves. We also get produce from local grocery stores or other community members (things like lettuce and veggies) to feed the moose.

The tools in the feeding station are used to clean the area and also for protection. We never enter the moose habitat when they are nearby. It’s just too easy for something to go wrong, without the moose even meaning to hurt us. So when we feed them we take a tool with us. If the moose decide to come up too close, we can wave the rake and they perceive us as being larger than we are and hopefully they back off. If they are very hungry, and come towards us too close and too fast, we might be forced back into the feeding station. In that case, we can use the scoop to pour the pellets through the slat in the wall into the trough outside.
Each feeding station has a clipboard with a feeding chart. The feeding chart is a place for animal care staff to record information. Every day, we record the number of animals we saw, how much and what kind of food they got, and any comments or observations about the animals. If we ever go a couple days without seeing all the animals in a habitat, we let the veterinarian, Dr. Maria Hallock, know, and she will walk around the perimeter of the habitat to locate the animal or animals and make sure they’re ok.
As an example, there was one time last fall when I was feeding Watson his bottle of formula, with my animal care coworker and we noticed he had a patch of green and red on one of his “knees” and we were concerned he may have hurt himself. We sent a picture to the veterinarian, and tried to think of anything that could have caused the discolouration. We then remembered that we had fed him some produce that had beets, lettuce, and celery and he must have knelt in it, causing the staining on his knee. We all got a little chuckle out of it, and were relieved it was nothing serious.

Read Watson’s original story  and then watch the video of Watson taking the first steps to his larger habitat, after his initial rehabilitation.

Animal Care at Yukon Wildlife Preserve involves feeding, cleaning and diligent observations.  Thanks for joining me on this tour of the moose feeding station.

Banner photo credit Neil Zeller:  Watson gets curious and says hello through the slats in the Animal Feeding station.

Watch Bree explain how Yukon Wildlife Preserve feeds Wood Bison!

Learn as Dr. Maria Hallock provide hoof trims to Rocky Mountain Goats!

Bree Parker

Bree Parker

Animal Care Assistant

All animal lover to her very core! Bree has had a menagerie of pets over the years, including mice, crayfish and a hedgehog. After completing her Environmental Technician diploma at Seneca College, she realized her true calling was with animals, sending her back to Ontario this coming fall for University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus’s Veterinary Technology program. Bree is always eager to learn new facts about the animals at the Preserve that she can share with visitors.

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Mother’s Day Tribute

Mother’s Day Tribute

20/05/09 | Wildlife

Mother’s Day Tribute

1.5 Min Video – 

Whether we are human or a furry animal, we can’t do it without our Mothers! They nurture and care for us, setting us on the path to a healthy and successful life.  Join us in this tribute to mothers everywhere, of all shapes and sizes.
Maybe you were my birth mom, maybe you’re the mom that helped me later. Anyway you slice it, you’re the best.

Thanks Mom!

Lindsay Caskenette & Julie Kerr

Lindsay Caskenette & Julie Kerr

Visitor Services Manager and Visitor Services Coordinator

Lindsay and Julie love to share the Preserve the same way they explore life – full on and full of adventure!  They have a collective love of:  Animals....Lindsay dogs, Julie foxes; Adventure.... Lindsay dog mushing, Julie extreme camping;  both take on animal personas during story telling.  Together they support the Preserve with a strong Visitor Services presence and often, they even get work done (this happens most often when the other one is out of the office).   

867-456-7400
 info@yukonwildlife.ca

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