Few places on Earth offer wildlife encounters the way the Yukon does. There is something about this land that never quite lets you get used to it. The wildlife here is not a bonus — it is a constant presence, woven into every trail, every valley, every frozen lake and alpine ridge.
The Yukon is home to more than 70 species of mammals and hundreds of bird species. On a single summer hike near Whitehorse you might encounter half a dozen of them without going more than a few kilometres from the trailhead. This guide covers fourteen animals our guests most often see — or most desperately want to — along with the signs and habits that will help you spot them.
The Big Mammals
1. Moose (Alces alces)
The moose is the unofficial mascot of the Yukon trail and you have a genuinely good chance of seeing one. They love the edges — wetlands, willow thickets, the margins of lakes and slow-moving streams. In summer they wade into beaver ponds to eat aquatic vegetation, which means you can sometimes spot them from a distance standing chest-deep in water with their enormous heads submerged.
A bull moose in velvet in late July is one of the great wildlife sights in North America. Give them space — moose are unpredictable when surprised, and a cow with a calf will not hesitate to charge.
2. Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis)
Grizzlies are present throughout the Yukon, including in the hills surrounding Whitehorse. They are most visible in late summer and fall, when they are entering hyperphagia — the feeding frenzy before hibernation — and you can sometimes spot them on open hillsides digging for ground squirrels or feeding on Yukon blueberries. Look for the shoulder hump and the dished facial profile that distinguishes them from black bears. We cover safe behaviour around grizzlies in detail in our bear safety guide.
3. Black Bear (Ursus americanus)
Black bears are more common near Whitehorse than grizzlies and considerably less dangerous when treated with respect. They are opportunistic omnivores and incredibly food-motivated, which is why proper food storage matters so much in the backcountry. In spring they emerge lean and focused; by August they are plump and often seen near berry patches. Despite the name, Yukon black bears can be black, brown, cinnamon, or even blond.
4. Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus)
Caribou are the great wanderers of the north. The Southern Lakes herd moves through the area around Whitehorse, and hikers on alpine terrain sometimes encounter small groups crossing ridgelines. Both males and females grow antlers — the only cervid species in the world where this is true. They have broad, concave hooves that act like snowshoes and make a distinctive clicking sound when they walk, caused by a tendon slipping over bone.
5. Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
Bald eagles are year-round residents along the Yukon River corridor and a regular sight on hikes near Whitehorse. They nest in the tall spruce and cottonwood stands along the river and spend their days hunting fish, waterfowl, and carrion. An adult bald eagle in full plumage — the white head and tail contrasting with a dark brown body — is unmistakable at any distance. Juveniles are mottled brown and often mistaken for golden eagles until their colouring develops at around five years old. On open water stretches of the Yukon River, it is not uncommon to see multiple eagles perched in a single tree.
Smaller Mammals Worth Looking For
6. Wolf (Canis lupus)
Wolves are present throughout the Yukon but seeing one is genuinely lucky — they are wide-ranging, cautious, and not often encountered on day hikes near town. That said, we have had wolf sightings on tours more times than I can count. They are most often spotted crossing open ground at dawn or dusk. If you hear howling echoing off the hills in the evening, take a moment with it. There are places in this world where that sound is gone. Here, it still fills the valleys.
7. Beaver (Castor canadensis)
The beaver is the most industrious engineer in the Yukon watershed. Beaver ponds are found throughout the area around Whitehorse — look for them in slow-moving creek systems, where the characteristic domed lodge and dam of sticks and mud make the colony's presence unmistakable. Beavers are primarily active at dawn and dusk. If you approach a beaver pond quietly in the early evening, you may see them moving across the water in the golden light — or hear the sharp, loud slap of a broad tail on the surface, the beaver's alarm signal, as you get too close. The ponds they create are wildlife hotspots: moose wade into them to feed, ducks nest along the margins, and bald eagles and osprey hunt the fish that congregate in the still water.
8. Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus)
Muskrats share the same wetland habitats as beavers but are considerably smaller and often overlooked. They build rounded lodges from cattails and rushes and are semi-aquatic, moving between water and land with ease. Look for their rounded, rat-like silhouette swimming low in the water with their thin tail trailing behind — quite different from the broader, flat-tailed profile of a beaver. Muskrats are active year-round and can sometimes be seen in remarkable numbers along productive wetland edges in late summer.
9. Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
The red fox is adaptable, intelligent, and often surprisingly comfortable near human activity. Near Whitehorse you're likely to encounter them on the edges of trails, open meadows, and anywhere near rabbit or vole habitat. They are strikingly beautiful animals — the classic orange-red coat, white-tipped tail, and sharp dark legs — and they hunt with a distinctive high-pounce technique, leaping into the air and diving nose-first into deep grass or snow to pin prey below. Unlike wolves or bears, a red fox is likely to regard you with calm curiosity rather than immediate flight.
10. Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis)
The Canada lynx is a ghost. Most people who spend years hiking in the Yukon have seen fewer than a handful. They are crepuscular and secretive, their enormous padded paws leaving distinctive rounded tracks in snow — each nearly the size of a human fist, with no claw marks visible in soft substrate. Their population cycles tightly with the snowshoe hare: when hare numbers crash, lynx numbers follow within a year or two. If you ever spot one sitting calmly at the treeline watching you, consider yourself among the fortunate.
11. Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)
Porcupines are slow, confident, and completely unbothered by their surroundings — mostly because very few things want to tangle with 30,000 quills. They are surprisingly common near Whitehorse and are often found in conifers, where they eat bark, needles, and cambium. Look for piles of wood chips and stripped bark at the base of spruce trees. They are also most active at night, so dawn and dusk are your best chances for a sighting on trail. They have an inexplicable fondness for anything salty, including sweaty hiking boot straps left unattended at a rest stop.
The Birds
12. Common Raven (Corvus corax)
Ravens are everywhere, and the more time you spend in the Yukon the more you appreciate them. They are extraordinarily intelligent — they solve puzzles, play games, and have complex social lives. The calls they make are remarkable: not just cawing but hollow knocking sounds, liquid gurgles, and imitations of other birds. Ravens are central figures in the oral traditions of the First Nations peoples of this region, and rightly so. Watch for their aerial acrobatics — they tumble, roll, and play in strong winds purely for what looks like enjoyment.
13. Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta)
Ptarmigan are the alpine chicken of the north — stocky, approachable, and almost comically camouflaged. In winter they are pure white with feathered feet that function as snowshoes. In summer they shift to mottled brown and russet. They inhabit open alpine terrain and are often remarkably tame; a group of ptarmigan will sometimes walk to within a few metres of a stopped hiker before ambling off. Their call is a rattling, almost mechanical sound that carries well across open ground.
14. Migratory Birds — The Seasonal Visitors
The Yukon sits in the middle of major North American flyways, and the spring and fall migrations bring extraordinary variety. Trumpeter swans — the largest waterfowl in North America — stop on Yukon lakes and wetlands during migration, their calls echoing across open water. Arctic terns pass through on journeys between Antarctic and Arctic breeding grounds, arguably the longest migration of any animal on Earth. Shorebirds including sandpipers, plovers, and dowitchers move through wetland habitats in impressive numbers in August. Warblers, thrushes, and sparrows fill the boreal forest with song from May through July before beginning their southern journeys. Even if you're not a dedicated birder, the sheer volume of bird life during peak migration can be striking — worth having binoculars and a field guide in your pack.
How to Watch Wildlife Well
- Bring binoculars — the difference between a blur on a hillside and a caribou in detail is 8x magnification
- Move slowly and quietly — most wildlife detects you before you detect them; your pace and noise level determine whether they stay or go
- Stay on trail — off-trail movement disturbs habitat and startles animals that would otherwise be visible
- Keep a respectful distance — for large mammals, 100 metres minimum; for bears with cubs, much more
- Look for sign first — tracks, scat, browse lines, digging, and hair on branches tell you what animals have been where
- Be patient at edges — forest-meadow edges, lake shores, and stream banks are where most sightings happen
Wildlife watching is never guaranteed, and that is exactly what makes it meaningful. A moose sighting on a Yukon trail feels different from watching animals in a zoo — there is no fence, no schedule, no guarantee. It is just you, the terrain, and whatever the land decides to show you that day.
Five percent of every Wayward Birdie Tours booking goes to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve and First Nations land stewardship initiatives. The wildlife you see on our tours is wildlife that people here are actively working to protect.