Travel Woolly mammoths More than 15,000 years ago, these hairy, humpbacked behemoths crossed the lost subcontinent of Beringia from eastern Siberia into Yukon. The Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre in Whitehorse displays a cast of the largest woolly mammoth ever discovered. Larger than an Asian elephant, its enormous feet evoked memories of the thunderous footsteps which we heard in Jurassic Park. “Yukon’s gold miners often unearth piles of mammoth tusks and bones,” said a museum employee as we gazed at the long, curved tusks. Mammoth tusks are Crown property and can only be legally sold or exported if government paleontologists determine that they have no scientific or historical value. Several Whitehorse gem and souvenir shops sell mammoth ivory jewellery created from broken tusk fragments. Aeri Rings on horns of Dall sheep indicate its age Moose stands in Yukon Wildlife Preserve pond Wildlife photo safari It was living, rather than extinct mammals, that enticed us onto a guided bus tour of the Yukon Wildlife Preserve, a 25-minute drive northwest of Whitehorse. The 300-hectare preserve’s habitats – ranging from bogs to boreal forests – shelter 90 species of birds and 11 species of northern mammals. A massive moose stood knee-deep in a pond while munching vegetation. Shaggy wood bison grazed on lush grass. Muskoxen rested under shady trees. An Arctic ground squirrel stood on its hind legs and uttered a highpitched cry. Our guide explained that the moulting white mountain goats were antelopes, not goats. She also explained how to estimate the age of Dall sheep by counting rings on their horns. Woolly mammoth cast in Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre, Whitehorse 18 | www.snowbirds.org
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