Government of Yukon
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Flora and Fauna
Yukon harbours some of the last true wild space, unscarred by human development, with a diversity of wildlife. Thriving within this habitat are resilient, adventurous and hospitable people who value their connection to the land.
Yukon’s vegetation is classified as sub-arctic and alpine. Boreal forests cover 57 per cent of the territory. There are more than 200 species of wildflowers, including the tall magenta fireweed.
Photo: Caribou near the Depster Highway
Yukon is home to large mammals such as moose, caribou, Dall, Fannin and Stone sheep, grizzly and black bears, bison and wolf. It is also home to thousands of northern migratory birds such as Tundra and Trumpeter swans, ducks and geese that can be viewed when they stop along their journey to northern Yukon nesting grounds. Bald and golden eagles are common, while ptarmigan, grouse and at least 21 species of hawks and owls call Yukon home. Northern fish species such as arctic grayling, northern pike and lake trout are found in eddies and outflows of streams in lakes.
Find out more from the Department of Environment: Wildlife and Biodiversity
| Wildlife Group not including domestics |
Number of species in Yukon known as of September 2007 |
| Amphibians (i.e. frogs and toads) | 4 |
| Fishes (not including salt water species) | 36 |
| Mammals (not including humans | 66 |
| Birds | 227 |
| Butterflies | 92 |
| Large Moths | 286 |
| Dragonflies | 40 |
| Spiders | 300+ |
| Insects total species | 6,000+ |
| Mosses | 400+ |
| Vascular Plants (i.e. not including mosses, liverworts, hornworts or algae) | 1,242 |