Preserve Post - Fall Edition 2016

Quarterly Publication of the Yukon Wildlife Preserve Operating Society
Volume 11, Issue 2
Fall 2016
In this Issue...
2 YWP Hosts 40th
Annual CAZA
Conference
3 Animal Update -
Introducing a Silver
Fox
4 Fall Releases
6 A WildWise Fall
7 Running Wild for
Rehabilitation
8 Backpage
Fall
Edition

From the Executive Director...
40 th Annual CAZA Conference
comes to Whitehorse – next
week!
We are very pleased and excited to be hosting the 40th
annual conference and AGM for “Canada’s Accredited
Zoos and Aquariums” from September 21st thru
September 24th, 2016 at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural
Centre.
or hedgehogs (and possibly others).
On Saturday the 24th the animals and animal handlers
will be in the Flexi-hall at the Canada Games Centre
starting at 10:00am and continuing with 45 minute live
animal presentations until 4:00pm. These presentations
are open to the general public. All we ask is that you
consider a donation to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve –
Wildlife Research and Rehabilitation Centre (WRRC)
so that we can continue to care for, rehabilitate and
hopefully release mended animals back into the wild.
Please note that families with children with special
needs are invited to the Canada Games Centre for a
special one-hour show from 9:00am to 10:00am!
Please go to www.caza2016.ca to see all conference
details and to order a conference day ticket, or an
event ticket to our Ice Breaker on September 21st,
Wildlife Preserve Field Trip on the 23rd and/or our
Closing Banquet on Saturday the 24th.
We have put together an exciting program where
we are focusing on “Facilitating knowledge sharing
and collective action” in an effort to provide
pertinent, timely and practical knowledge and skills
in communicating conservation messaging through
zoo and aquarium programming – to both adults and
children.
In addition to offering some very interesting plenary
sessions at the KDCC, we are also undertaking a
hands-on live animal conservation outreach program
to all Whitehorse Elementary School children on
Thursday the 22nd and Friday the 23rd. These will
not be your typical northern animals – species may
include dwarf caimans, pythons, tortoises, tarantulas,
scorpions, barn owls, parrots, lemur, sugar gliders and/
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We hope you will consider joining us for some or all
of our conference!
Above: Whilte catching some morning rays this mountain goat
struts its strong body past the photographer.
Cover photos, from top to bottom: A female woodland caribou
blends perfectly into the changing season; the arctic fox starts
to show its winter whites; morning browse in a picture perfect
fall environment.
Volume 11, Issue 2

Animal Update - Silver Fox
The Preserve is excited to
announce a new resident! Now on
display, although very difficult to
spot, is a beautiful silver fox with
an incredible story!
If you are fortunate to catch a
glimpse, it’s tough to tell how
difficult his journey here has been.
This silver coloured Red Fox
has only three legs. He arrived at
the Preserve in fall 2015 with a
swollen, injured foot. On closer
examination, the Preserve’s Dr.
Maria Hallock and her colleague
at All-Paws Veterinary Clinic,
Candace Stuart found a piece of
wire wrapped around the leg. The
wire had been on for such a long
time that it was embedded in the
bone, leaving his foot numb and
swollen.
The paw was definitely a problem.
Walking on it and then licking and
chewing on it was making it even
worse.
Dr. Hallock
and Dr. Stuart
conducted a
surgery to remove
the wire, hoping
that would be
enough to restore
circulation and
reduce swelling.
After several
months of
healing time
with regular laser therapy,
there was little improvement.
The fox was continuing to
damage the foot and it was
clear a more drastic solution
was necessary.
This time, the surgery was to
completely remove the leg.
Amputating above the injury
was going to be a recipe for
further injury so the surgical
team, led by Dr. Stuart
planned to remove the entire leg,
including the scapula.
After a grueling 6 hours in surgery
it was done. Major blood vessels
were clamped and sewn closed
and the skin from the upper leg
was used to close the shoulder.
He looked small without that
leg. It was an ambitious surgery
because although foxes and dogs
are similar, they are very different
species.
Recovery went incredibly well.
Within days after the surgery the
fox was moving around on three
legs with ease, even jumping up
several feet onto a platform. His
hair eventually grew back in and
now, almost a year later, he’s out in
the public eye.
Over the coming months we’ll be
switching our famous red fox and
this new silver fox back and forth
in the Red Fox exhibit. They don’t
get along (and are really solitary
animals).
Clockwise from left: the radiograph (x-ray) shows a dark indented line across his leg where the wire was
located and the swollen paw at top lect; the swollen paw was several times larger than it should have
been; surgery was long but successful!
Fall 2016
3

Fall Releases
Animal Care...
The golden eagle has long
inspired admiration through
its hunting mastery. Its
wings long and broad help
it navigate as it hunts with
precision and protects its
prey againsts large thieving
mammals.
Radiant gold feathers are
interlaced along its head
and neck making it stand
out from the more common
bald eagle. Less social than
bald eagles, the golden is
usually found alone among
the open country, mountains
and cliffs.
It is truly a joy to be able to
release such an animal back
into the wild.
This juvenile will get a second
chance at life back in its home
territory of the Aishihik Lake
area.
The young golden eagle came
to the Preserve August 8 th
underweight and not flying.
With a bit of time and food
the eagle regained body mass.
Soon it was flying effortlessly
in the flight pen - it was ready
for the wild. On a sunny
morning in early September
the eagle soared over the
yellow and green treetops and
out of sight into the wilds of its
Yukon home.
4
Clockwise from top left: Ready for lift off - emerging from the crate the eagle is
ready to go home; soaring over the treetops of the Aishihik Lake area the eagle
looked perfectly at home; long and strong feathers lift the bird above the stunted
aspens; Golden eagle profile in all its golden glory!
Volume 11, Issue 2

Well Timed Recoveries
This warbler was only stunned after striking our
office window. It quickly sorted itself out with a
45 minute rest. We watched for signs it was ready
including greater alertness, shifting head, and
moving from branch to branch. Sometimes a bird
needs to get its bearings after hitting a window.
Don`t let it`s small size fool you. The kestrel
(smallest of the North American falcons) is a
powerful predator. This individual struck some
fencing near the Shallow Bay area.and endured
some soft tissue damage. Luckily it had no
fractures and the healing time was quick. With
help from its finders, this colourful raptor was
ready for a second chance.
Another bald eagle flies high over the Mc Intyre
Creek area after 3 months in rehabilitation. CBC
featured the original story in June when two
eaglets were found by a photographer after their
nest blew down. One of the pair was euthanized
due to extensive damage to its wing but the sibling,
with no fractures, took the 3 months to grow
into its flight feathers and out of its fluffy down
plumage. It emerged large, strong, and ready for
life back in the wild!
Fall 2016
This young gull was found unable to fly in Porter
Creek in the spring. It needed more time to grow
than the migration timeline would allow. So the
gull saved a bit of engergy and got some extra
help catching up with its migrating flock thanks to
Air North Yukon`s Airline.
5

A WildWise Fall
Fall brings so many changes for
people and for wildlife. While we
are busy stacking wood, filling our
freezers and getting back to school,
bears (and other wildlife) are doing
similar things. The berries are
ripe and the salmon are running.
Grizzly and black bears need to
pack the calories in to survive a
long, cold winter and successfully
reproduce. They will be looking for
calories well into early winter.
(that means
they get used to
the presence of
humans, dogs,
etc.) and even
more easily food
conditioned (that
means they will
return to a food source that they got
a reward from the first time). Bears
are not territorial but they
will defend a resource, so
a food conditioned bear is
a dangerous bear.
In the fall we often have
bones, fish racks and
smokers, hides and other
things that bears may find
delicious out in our yards.
We may have chainsaw
oil, gas cans and other
petroleum products more
easily accessible and
bears like these things too
(weird, but true!). We may have
ripe fruit and berries on our trees
and bushes, root vegetables ready
for the taking and compost piles
brewing in a very potent way.
Please consider taking a look
around your yard this fall and
securing the things that bears and
other wildlife might be attracted to.
Electric fencing, locked sheds and
garbage cans and timely harvesting
can all help reduce negative
interactions with bears and keep
your neighborhood safe.
We have all kinds of resources on
our website that may help your
community become “bear-smart”.
Please visit us at wildwise.ca.
As we use more and more land for
cities, roads, resource development
and recreation, bears are either
forced into smaller areas with
fewer food resources, or into
areas where people live, work and
play. Human-bear interactions are
common in the Yukon, especially
along roadways where bears
take the opportunity to graze on
nutrient rich grasses, and in areas
where they have easy access to
human food resources such as
livestock, feed and garbage. Bears
will eat almost anything and are
easily habituated
6
Above: Electric fencing helps keep a black bear from killing livestock and becoming a ``problem`bear;
a black bear gorges on fall ripened rose hips bushes. Facing page: Animal care assistant Julianna
releases 3 red squirrels back to the wild before the Run Wild fiundraiser; A particpant makes his way
past scaling goats; a few runners become distracted by an impressive male caribou.
Photo Credit: Peter Mather
Volume 11, Issue 2

Running Wild for Rehabilitation
Run Wild 2016 got off to a squirrely start on the morning of
Discovery Day! Three red squirrels got a head start on the 83
particpants in this
years 5km run/
walk for wildlife
rehabilitation.
Particpants raised
$1446 for wildlife
rehabilitation. This
year also saw the
youngest first place
finisher, Nathyn
Sutton 12 years of
age, place a time of
24:25.
There were many disctractions for
particpants along the scenic figure-
8 route including rutting muskox
and impressive antler racks. The
money raised will go directly
towards the necessary food and
medicine for species injured or
orphaned.
Look for our event next year,
Discovery Day 2017 and help wild
animals get back to the wild!
Yukon
Wildlife
Preserve
Full-time Staff
Greg Meredith, Executive Director
Sheila Downey, Executive Assistant
Randy Hallock, Operations Director
Dr. Maria Hallock, Wildlife Curator
Jake Paleczny, Director of Programming
& Education
Lindsay Caskenette, Manager of Visitor
Services
Daniel Jolkowski, Animal Care &
Operations Assistant
Justine Benjamin, Animal Care &
Operations Assistant
Logan Sands, Operations Assistant
Board of Directors
Alexandra de Jong Westman, President,
Chair of Animal Care Committee
Lacia Kinnear, 1 st Vice-President
Michael Kokiw, 2 nd Vice-President
Kristine Hildebrand, Treasurer
Jessie Dawson, Director at Large
Chris Evans, Director at Large
Katelyn Friendship, Director at Large
Kirk Cameron, Director at Large
Brooke Rudolph, Director at Large
Shireley Adamson, Director at Large
Shawna Warshawski, Director at Large
Ed van Randen Non-voting Member -
Environment Yukon
Darrell March, Non-voting Member -
Environment Yukon
Fall 2016
7

Above: Some fall advice - take a moment to reflect!
Meet the Exotics - CAZA Comes to Town!
Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums conference
is happening from Sep. 21st-24th in Whitehorse!
Join CAZA organizations “Little Ray’s Reptile
Zoo” and “Hands-on Exotics” for a day of liveanimal
presentations at the Canada Games Centre on
Saturday, Sep. 24th!
Public shows start at 10am, running every 45 minutes
until 4pm!
Families with children with special
needs are invited to a special 1
hour show from 9am to 10am!
Admission is by donation
to Wildlife Research and
Rehabilitation at the Yukon
Wildlife Preserve.
Writing: Lindsay Caskenette, Jake Paleczny, Greg Meredith,
WildWise Yukon-Heather Ashthorn,
Photos and illustrations: Lindsay Caskenette, Jake Paleczny, Tom
8
Patrick - Yukon News, Justine Benjamine, Peter Mather, Kieran
Oudshoorn/CBC, Green Orhid Estates, Hands On Exoctics
When to Visit
Fall Hours
10:30am to 6:00pm: Daily
Guided Bus Tours at 12pm, 2pm & 4pm
Walk, run, bike anytime while open. We also
highly encourage skipping!
Curious about the latest news? Visit facebook.
com/yukonwildlife or call 456-7300.
We’re on Instagram now!
Share your adventures with us through Social
Media and we`ll re-share our favs!
Printed on 100% Recycled Paper
Volume 11, Issue 2