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Yukon Species At Risk
Wood Bison / Yukon Government Photo / J. Bergold
The earth's plants and animals are going extinct at an alarming rate - a rate that some biologists have estimated at about 100 species every day. Many more species are at risk, including some that live in the Yukon. Today, it is recognized that all life is linked together, that the survival of an endangered species is tied to the survival of its habitat and the other life forms to which it is linked.
Mechanisms for Identifying Species at Risk
Committee on the Status of Endangered Species in Canada
COSEWIC is a national committee that evaluates the status of all wildlife species in Canada and identifies those most at risk. COSEWIC places species at risk in the following categories:
- Endangered: A species facing imminent extirpation or extinction.
- Threatened: A species likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed.
- Special Concern: A species with characteristics that make it particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events.
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
CITES governs the cross-border movement of animal parts from species of international concern. Yukon populations of these species are not at risk today, but they must be monitored closely to avoid the problems that have occurred elsewhere.
Yukon Wildlife Act
The Yukon Wildlife Act lists seven species as "specially protected" including
elk , muskox, mule deer, cougar, gyrfalcon, peregrine falcon, and trumpeter swan.
- Yukon Wildlife Act
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Species at Risk in Yukon
At risk in Yukon and all of Canada (identified by COSEWIC)
- Endangered: bowhead whale
- Threatened: wood bison (also specially protected by Yukon Wildlife Act), peregrine falcon Anatum subspecies
- Special Concern: grizzly bear (also identified by CITES), polar bear, wolverine, short-eared owl, peregrine falcon Tundra subspecies (also specially protected by Yukon Wildlife Act), Squanga whitefish
At risk in Yukon but not elsewhere (identified by the Yukon Wildlife Act)
mule deer, muskox, elk, cougar
At risk elsewhere but not in Yukon (identified by CITES)
wolf, black bear, lynx, river otter, gyrfalcon, all birds of prey
Amphibians
Recent world-wide declines in amphibian populations have led to concerns about the status of amphibians in Canada. Four amphibian species occur in Yukon: Boreal toad, northern wood frog, boreal chorus frog, and Columbian spotted frog.
How You Can Help
- Learn all you can about the status of wildlife species and their habitats. Start with the species that live in your region.
- Examine your own habits and lifestyle to ensure you are living a life in harmony with earth's other creatures.
- Contribute your time and financial support to groups that promote biodiversity and conservation.
- Encourage government programs that monitor biodiversity, particularly those that focus on vulnerable, threatened or endangered species.
- Broaden your interest to include events in other parts of the world that may be affecting the species in your region. Global problems like disappearing species usually require global solutions.
- Teach others about the urgency to protect endangered species. Species at risk from human activities can only be saved with the support of an informed public.
Additional Resources
- Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
- World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Canada - Species at Risk
- Nature Canada
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Environment Yukon Government of Yukon Box 2703 (V-5) Phone: 867-667-5715 Email: fish.wildlife@gov.yk.ca |