Snakes in Yukon

Yukon, a territory in northern Canada, has 0 snake species recorded and no venomous species. Its far northern position makes it one of the least hospitable places in the Americas for reptiles, and snakes have never established here.

Snake diversity drops sharply with cold, and Yukon sits well beyond the range where snakes can survive. Snakes are ectotherms that depend on outside warmth to stay active, and the short summers and long, severe winters leave too little of the warm-season activity that breeding and feeding require. In the warmer parts of Canada, snakes endure winter by gathering in shared underground dens below the frost line and hibernating communally for months, but even that strategy is not enough to support snakes this far north. Yukon has no established native snakes.

Because no snakes live here, there is nothing venomous to worry about, and there is no resident wildlife in this group to identify in the field. Canada's venomous snakes live far to the south and east of Yukon, such as the massasauga in Ontario, the prairie rattlesnake on the prairies, and the western rattlesnake in British Columbia, and none of them reach this territory. The cold-tolerant garter snake, the hardiest snake in the Americas, ranges across much of Canada but stops short of Yukon. As a general rule, never pick up or handle a wild snake. If a bite ever happens while traveling in regions where snakes do live, contact local emergency services or, in the United States, Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222.