Animals of the Barkerville Hiking Trails

The number of animals to be seen along the Barkerville hiking trails can be disappointing. One will observe more signs of animals than of the animals themselves. We can take a certain amount of consolation from the suggestion that there are more animals watching hikers than there are hikers watching animals. And there is hope as well in the occasional report that some animals being, in recent years, at the brink of decimation, are making a comeback. Perhaps this is true; the hiker may once again, as in the 1940’s stand amazed as he watches a long line of antlers move across a skyline from one mountain valley to another.

For many, the marmot is the king of the mountains and continuation of his specie would appear to be assured. Although he is a rodent, he lives in busy communities where an instinctive knowledge of preservation, a secure method of food storage and a sophisticated warning system guarantees his future. The marmot and his kind never fail to provide the hiker with animal presence on the higher mountain slopes where his shrill whistle alerts all creatures to your presence among them.

In mountain areas, the possibility of meeting bear must always be part of a hiker’s awareness. While in reality, this seldom occurs, one needs a plan of action if it does. Excellent advice on this subject is available through the Ministry of Environment and Parks.

A list of animals one is most likely to see on the Barkerville hiking trails is as follows:

BEAR - black bear or grizzly
BEAVER
CARIBOU
COYOTE
DEER – mule deer
ELK HARE - snowshoe hare and jackrabbit
MARMOT – known as “whistlers”
MARTEN
MOOSE
MUSKRAT
PORCUPINE
SQUIRREL – Columbian ground squirrel
WEASEL
WOLF