2018 SPRING Newsletter

Quarterly Publication of the Yukon Wildlife Preserve Operating Society
Volume 12, Issue 4
Spring 2018
In this Issue...
2 A New Chapter
Begins
3 UnFURled
4 Forbidden
Feathers - ABEF
5 Nature Camp
6 Hkànáy - Stories
from the Board
7 EGG-Stravaganza
8 Back Page
Spring
Edition

A New Chapter Begins
Nearly 14 years ago, the Yukon Game Farm became
the Yukon Wildlife Preserve. This new chapter
saw the Preserve grow. We added new species. We
built visitor infrastructure like interpretive panels,
viewing platforms and a learning centre. We gained
accreditation with Canada’s Accredited Zoos and
Aquariums. And we built an incredible animal care
facility. All this was only possible with the support of
our partners and our community.
For example, the Department of Environment has
enabled us to care for the needs of more than 175
animals. They are the foundation of the Preserve’s
operation. On this foundation, your visits, volunteer
hours, donations and letters of support have made all
the difference.
Consider this: this
year the Preserve will
welcome more than
12,000 Yukoners. Many
of you will be showing
your visiting friends and
relatives around. And by
the end of our fiscal year
(March 31st) we’ll have
seen 30,000 visitors walk
through the front door.
We’re here thanks to your
support.
Now, we are about
to embark on a new
chapter. We don’t know
the nuances yet. (We are
working on securing funding to create a master-plan
that will guide our next 10-years.)
But we know a few things. We know that we want to
find ways to enrich your lives and our community.
We know that wildlife rehabilitation and conservation
based educational programming are critical parts of
what we do. And we know that we need your support
more than ever.
Here’s a few things you can do to help:
• Visit: keep visiting and talk up the Preserve
with your friends and family!
• Donate: its easy and you get a tax receipt
(https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/yukonwildlife-preserve-operating-society).
• Volunteer: we need help with fundraising and
sponsorship (send me an email at jake@yukonwildlife.
ca to get involved)!
We are so grateful for all the support we’ve received
over the years. It motivates us to keep looking ahead
and reflecting on how to be the best we can be for you
and our community.
My thanks,
Jake Paleczny
Acting Executive Director,
Yukon Wildlife Preserve
Cover photo: Juvenile female lynx enjoys some time in the trees.
Maybe she’s searching for signs of spring!
2
Above: Jake Paleczny has been a part of the YWP team since December 2012.
Formerly the Director of Education and Programming, he is a member of the
dedicated staff looking to, with support from colleagues, board, partners and the
community, propel the Wildlife Preserve into a new era.
Volume 12, Issue 4

There are a lot of people who live on the land in Yukon. Some of these people are trappers.
When we think about trapping, we might picture a trapper that we know. If we don’t know a trapper personally,
we might think of historical images we have seen, or images in the media that we have come across.
In 2016 and 2017, we asked Yukon trappers what they would like Yukoners to know about trapping. The
responses we received included sentiments like:
• The trapline is essential to the connection of the land and community
• It is the foundation for family values, camaraderie and shared knowledge over generations
• It is a sustainable industry that continues to evolve within the Yukon
UnFURled is a free event for Yukoner’s who are interested in our local fur industry. This free and family-friendly
celebration includes exhibitions, crafting tables, a Fur Boutique (to finally get those mittens or slippers), a Story
Tent, fur101 demonstrations, workshops, a photo-booth and more!
Your very own Yukon Wildlife Preserve has teamed-up with the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre to lead some
activities on adaptation and a fur-matching game in English, French or German.
Come along and celebrate with us!
“Trapping is an essential part of our community, our culture and our local economy. We want all Yukoners to be
proud to wear local fur and for everyone to have their own Yukon fur story”
– Jason Van Fleet, Executive Director North Yukon Renewable Resource Council
“We want to increase direct fur sales for local trappers. By selling furs locally, we keep more money in the
territory which is good for the trappers and anyone wanting to buy quality, ethically harvested fur.”
– Brian Melanson, President, Yukon Trappers Association
UnFURled:
Saturday 10 March 2018
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre
Wild Lives (exhibition launch):
Thursday 8 March 2018
5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre
Angry Inuk (film screening):
Thursday 8 March 2018
5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre
Proudly brought
to you by:
http://imfurreal.com/
Spring 2018
3

Forbidden Feathers
Working with three beautiful
bald eagles, I am often asked by
guests to the American Bald Eagle
Foundation “can I have one of those
feathers?” I can’t blame folks for
asking- eagle feathers are incredible
in size and appearance, but the
short answer is no. Bald and golden
eagles are federally protected in
the United States by the Bald and
Golden Eagle Protection Act. These
protections prevent citizens from
possessing any part or product of
these species, and were put in place
to prevent poaching.
People are often shocked by the
idea that anyone would willingly
kill an eagle but poaching for
parts is something that still
occurs today. This inevitably
leads to the next question: “what
do you do with their feathers?”
Each of the eagles we work with
sheds her feathers once a year in
a process called molting. Older
feathers that may be worn or
damaged are dropped, just a few
at a time, and new ones grow
in their place. When we find a
molted feather, we are required
by law to collect it and send it to
the National Eagle Repository
in Colorado. The Repository
is responsible for collecting,
cataloguing, and in some cases,
distributing bald and golden
eagle parts.
But wait, I thought people
couldn’t have feathers? The
long answer is: some people
can have them. The Repository
distributes eagle parts to Native
Americans and Alaska Natives
who are registered members of
recognized tribes and apply for
the proper permits. These parts
have been used for generations in
religious and cultural ceremonies.
In recognition of their cultural
importance, US Fish and Wildlife
makes eagle parts available to
those indigenous people who
request them.
I am sometimes met with
frustration when I explain this
to guests. We’ve all come across
a pretty feather in the woods and
wanted to keep it. Unfortunately,
there are those who take advantage
of wildlife and use it irresponsibly.
Our job, as lovers of wildlife, is to
ensure that there are ways to find
and discourage these people; that’s
where regulations like the Bald
and Golden Eagle Protection Act
or the Migratory Bird Treaty Act
come in. I encourage people who
4
Above Left: Vega is at least 26 years old. She was deemed non-releasable after
an amputation following a vehicle strike. She was an adult when she went into
rehab which is why American Bald Eagle Foundation (ABEF) is uncertain her
exact age. ABEF has been working with Vega since 2015. Above Right: Bella is
estimated to be seven years old, and she works as an educator with ABEF after
being deemed non-releaseable due to an amputation following a power line
interaction. She’s been with the ABEF since 2013.
Volume 12, Issue 4

find feathers or parts to leave them
alone so they are not mistaken
for someone who acquired them
illegally, allowing us to target only
those who are harming wildlife
or bolstering the illegal trade of
wildlife parts. At the same time,
it is important to encourage those
who collect products legally and
sustainably to continue doing so.
Animals are an important
part of human history and
culture. At the
American Bald Eagle
Foundation, we are proud
to contribute to the
Repository and to be a
part ofS the sustainable,
responsible use of animal
parts.
Sidney Campbell is the Education and
Outreach Coordinator at the
American Bald Eagle Foundation in
Haines, Alaska. She works to bring
empowering wildlife education to Haines
and surrounding communities and
worldly visitors by managing outreach,
publications, and educational
programming. She works with the Raptor
Program Manager to train the avian ambassadors at the facility to take part in education and outreach. Visit the
American Bald Eagle Foundation in Haines, Alaska. The facility is currently open Monday to Friday’s 10am - 3pm.
Closed Saturday and Sundays. Explore further online https://baldeagles.org/
Nature Camp
Week-long day camps designed to connect youth with Yukon’s incredible wildlife and landscapes!
4 themes / 9 weeks / Unforgetable fun!
Spaces are filling fast, with some camps already full - to register, visit: yukonwildlife.ca/summer
SOLD
Spring 2018
Top Right: Bald eagle wing is examined by staff at the Yukon Wildlife Preserve’s
Wildlife Rehabilitation and Research Centre. Bottom Right: Campers engage in a
sit-spot activity to calm the mind and welcome nature to explore their presence.
5

Hkànáy
Traditional knowledge, to me, is generation upon
generation of events and experiences carefully
preserved in language, stories, names and songs.
Lifetimes of information passed from grandparent to
grandchild largely unchanged in the telling.
Before I was brought in to Whitehorse to attend public
school I spend my formative years in and around the
Tàän Män (Lake LeBerge), Kwátän Æyá(Fox Lake)
and Tàûllä (Little Fox Lake) areas living, hunting and
trapping, listening to the stories of how my ancestors
travelled the land observing the changes as they came.
That’s how it was. Puttering about along side my
grandfather Frankie Jim, while I watched him cutting
moose meat he told me this story.
“You know” he
said “I was hunting
by myself when I
came to this big
animal with big
horns...I never saw
that kind of animal
before but I needed
to get food.”
“I killed it, opened
it up and cleaned
the insides...” he said “...then I went back to where the
people were to let them know so they could come to
help me pack the meat out”.
“I told the old men about the animal I killed” he
said “when they saw what I got, they told me it was a
moose, they knew about it, but that was the first time
I see that; before I only hunted caribou, there was no
moose around then” he told me. “I was just a young
man, “ he said “maybe twelve or thirteen years old”.
My grandfather was from Hutchi, born probably in the
second to last, or, the last decade of the 1800’s and he’s
passed away some time ago now. I think of him and
Gramma Celia often and I share their teachings with
my children and my grandchildren.
I tell the stories I heard as a child to underpin the
southern tutchone language and history that I pass
along within my family hoping they appreciate, as
I do, the incredible wealth of knowledge left by our
ancestors.
I teach them the names of the moose that now
outnumber caribou on the lands where I grew up;
Hkànáy - moose
Dänjii - bull moose
Dàghür - cow moose
Chį’urà - yearling moose
Dèsia - calf moose
as well as a couple of words for caribou;
Mezi - caribou
Mezi dèsia - calf caribou.
The moose and the caribou are used almost in its
entirety for food, shelter, clothing, footwear, utensils,
tools and toys.
There are three moose resident at the Yukon Wildlife
Preserve; using the southern tutchone words for
moose, see if you are able to identify each when you
next visit their pasture.
Shirley Adamson is
an Elder of the Tagish
Nation. She is a
member of the Yukon
Wildlife Preserve
Operating Society
Board of Directors and
chairs its Animal Care
and Use Committee.
6
Above Left: . Dàghür - JB is now almost 4 years old. She’s seen here resting
and ruminanting in a rather wintery scene. Above Right: Shirley, as
captured by Alistair Maitland.
Volume 12, Issue 4

He’s BACK!
2 Days of
EGG-stravaganza!
Annoucing the 6 th Annual
Yukon Wildlife Preserve’s
Most Excellent Easter Scavenger
Hunt. Hop around the Preserve for
the clues left by the Easter bunny
Hare.
What:
Sunday April 1 st and/or
Monday April 2 nd . Come
anytime between 10:30am-5:00pm.
When:
Come one, come all!
Fun for everyone and a
hoppin’ good time for all ages!
Who:
The only place where
the Easter Hare visits
- Yukon Wildlife Preserve, of
course!
Where:
This event is one of our busiest.
Previous years have been bustling
with eager hunters so we’ve decided
to extend the fun over two days! Join
either day or both if you wish. Regular
rates apply. Members get in free! A great
opportunity to re-new or purchase your
membership for access to this
egg-cellent event and others
throughout the year!
Full-time Staff
Yukon
Wildlife
Preserve
Jake Paleczny, Acting Executive
Director
Randy Hallock, Director of Outdoor
Operations
Dr. Maria Hallock, Wildlife
Veterinarian and Curator
Lindsay Caskenette, Manager of
Visitor Services
Briana Van Den Bussche, Senior
Education Programmer
Board of Directors
Alexandra Tait President
Shawna Warshawski, 1 st Vice-
President
Michael Kokiw, 2 nd Vice-President
Kristine Hildebrand, Treasurer
Jessie Dawson
Chris Evans
Katelyn Friendship
Kirk Cameron
Shirley Adamson
Sherri Young, Non-voting Member -
Environment Yukon
Darrell March, Non-voting Member -
Environment Yukon
Spring 2018
7

Above: We are “moose” excited for Spring!
Time to Shed
We’re not the only ones to notice the increasingly long
days, and warmth of the sun. Yukon’s wildlife are getting
ready to shed their layers and some, still yet, to shed
extra weight they’ve been carrying atop their heads.
De-layering of thicker winter coats, both for human’s
and the animal’s is a sure sign of spring. Watch for the
bison rubbing against the trees to rid themselves of
their rough, thick coat; keep notice - for the mountain
goats (my favourite shedding to witness) will slip from
their lush coat in a continuous shed from front to back;
anticipate the fluffy white foxes to slowly transform
before you! And of course, muskox qiviut will soon be
cast off as a base-layer, to be found blowing in the wind
across their habitat.
Bets are on for when the elk and mule deer will shed
their antlers. A shake of the head will bring a relief but
will immediately refocus energy towards growth of a
new set.
Animal furs and antlers can give meaning and purpose
to creatures beyond those from which they originate.
When to Visit
Spring Hours
March 1 st 10:30am to 5:00pm: Friday to Sunday’s
Guided Bus Tours at 12pm & 2pm.
EXTENDED HOURS for MARCH BREAK
Open Daily March 16 th - April 2 nd
Walk, run, bike anytime while open. Enjoy a safe,
relaxed environment for the whole family!
Curious about the latest news? Visit
facebook.com/yukonwildlife or call 456-7300.
We’re Social - join us on Instragram!
Share your adventures and we`ll re-share our favs!
Tag us #YukonWildlife
Writing: Lindsay Caskenette, Sidney Campbell, Jake Paleczny,
8
Shirley Adamson, Misha Donohoe.
Photos and illustrations: Lindsay Caskenette, Jake Paleczny, Leia
Althauser, Katlyn Hickman, Alistair Maitland, UnFURled - I’m
For Real.
Printed on 100% Recycled Volume Paper 12, Issue 4