Caribou Collision Hotspots 2002-2023 / Courtesy: Yukon Department of Environment
WHITEHORSE, YT – A significant number of Caribou from the Southern Lakes Caribou Population have been spotted crossing the Alaska Highway near Squanga Lake and Summit Lake.
Yukon Conservation Officer Services has advised Yukoners to use extra caution along the Alaska Highway in this area, and to contact the TIPP Line at 1-800-661-0525 if you spot injured wildlife or are involved in a wildlife collision. The sightings have been reported near Kilometer 1316 of the Alaska Highway, west of Jakes Corner, and East of Johnsons Crossing.
Collen Arnison, Regional Biologist with the Yukon’s Department of Environment, confirmed that while this region is not the usual highway crossing for the Caribou, it is well within their known wintering grounds, and isn’t an indication that anything is wrong.
“This isn’t actually unheard of, or strange at all either, because this is all within their Winter range and the way that they would move. In the year 2020 we had some collars on them and we noticed that they would cross there at that time, and in 2022 as well, maybe not in the large numbers that we’re seeing now, but they have crossed there in the past and will probably continue to cross that way in the future.” – Collen Arnison, Regional Biologist with the Yukon’s Department of Environment
Arnison adds, there’s been an ongoing joint effort via the Southern Lakes Caribou Steering Committee to help the region’s Caribou population recover their numbers over the past 30 years. All three component herds of the Southern Lakes Caribou were considered to be stable as of the most recent population estimates in 2019.
While there have been no caribou collisions in the area so far in 2025, 2 had been reported in 2024, both during the current winter.
