Snowshoe Hare Population Cycle — Yukon Canada
The snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) 10-year population cycle in the Yukon and northern British Columbia — the most regular and largest-amplitude mammal population oscillation known in science — produces periods of extraordinary hare abundance when populations reach 1,000 per square kilometre, transforming the boreal forest floor into a living carpet of white-coated hares. At population peaks (the last were approximately 2009–2010 and 2019–2020), the effect on the predator community is visible in real time: Canada lynx, great horned owl, and goshawk populations explode in the year following peak hare density, and the forest's predator activity density creates a wildlife observation environment of unusual richness. Kluane National Park in Yukon and the Whitehorse area produce the most observable cycle peaks, and the sight of 200 snowshoe hares visible simultaneously from a single point on the winter forest trail is genuinely extraordinary.
About this spectacle
At population peaks — most recently 2019–2020 — snowshoe hares blanket the boreal forest floor of Kluane National Park and the Whitehorse area in numbers that can reach 1,000 per square kilometre. Walking a winter trail at dawn, visitors may see 200 or more of the white-coated animals simultaneously, moving through spruce and willow like a slow white tide. The snow is patterned with overlapping tracks, the vegetation stripped to browse height. As hare numbers crash and rebound, the predator response layers the scene further: Canada lynx prowl openly, great horned owls perch low on roadside snags, and northern goshawks flash through the understorey. The air carries the muffled, padded sound of hares moving en masse through deep snow. Cold is constant — Yukon winters are severe — and the boreal light is low and angled, casting long shadows across fields of white fur. This is one of the most quantifiable and visually dramatic wildlife cycles in the world, playing out across an accessible national park.
When to go
Jan — Dec, peak Dec — Mar
Getting there
Nearest airport: YXY. Nearest city: Whitehorse.
Booking options
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