A hybrid of Dall’s sheep and Stone’s sheep
Wild sheep are an iconic species that conjure thoughts of rugged terrain, vast mountain landscapes and remote wilderness. Canada is home to two species of sheep: bighorn and thinhorn. Bighorn sheep are found farther south, in the Rocky Mountains, while the Yukon is home only to thinhorn sheep. They have a few physiological differences, the most obvious of which is in their names.
There are two subspecies of thinhorn sheep: Dall’s sheep and Stone’s sheep.
Dall’s sheep (Ovis dalli dalli) are typically all white and are more common in the mountains of the Yukon. Stone’s sheep (Ovis dalli stonei) are darker in colour, from light grey to nearly black, and are only found in the most-southern mountains of the Yukon on the B.C. border.
However, you can see a third type of thinhorn sheep in the Yukon: Fannin’s sheep. These sheep can have a variety of colours, from nearly all white to dark brown. Their coats look like a brown blanket has been draped over their backs, leaving their faces, rumps and underbellies white. Fannin’s sheep are typically found between the Dall’s sheep and the Stone’s sheep ranges, like a transition zone between the colour morphs.
But why?
During the last ice age, Thinhorn sheep populations were separated by ice sheets. In the North, sheep with all-white coats survived better on the snowy landscape. Sheep with genes to produce a white coat reproduced successfully, while sheep with darker colours died out.
Meanwhile, farther south, Thinhorn sheep that lived on ice-free mountaintops would have needed to blend in with the vegetation. Therefore, dark sheep had a better chance of survival while white-coloured sheep died out.
When the glaciers retreated, the sheep populations could spread out. Where they overlapped, the two-colour variations bred and created the brown-coloured hybrid we call Fannin’s sheep.
Because of the wide variety of colour variations, using coat colour isn’t enough to definitively determine what type of sheep it is. A Fannin’s sheep can appear nearly all white if it has more Dall’s sheep DNA than Stone’s sheep. Conversely, a sheep could have 79 percent Stone’s sheep DNA and have a very dark coat but still be considered a Fannin’s sheep.
The best place to view Fannin’s sheep is in Faro at the Mount Mye Sheep Centre. This rustic interpretive cabin is found on the Blind Creek Road at the foot of Mount Mye. The south-facing side of the mountain is the winter range for a herd of Fannin’s sheep. High winds along the face keep the snow levels low, and steep cliffs provide a safe place to give birth to lambs. From the viewing platform, you can scan the mountainside and watch the sheep from a respectful distance.
Visit the Mount Mye Sheep Centre in early May to learn more about Fannin’s sheep and to watch them on the steep slope of the mountain. You may also see bears roaming the alpine meadows, hoping (but unlikely) to catch a sheep unawares. Golden eagles nest on the cliff and would make a meal of a young lamb, if possible.
The Mount Mye Sheep Centre is open year-round, but the road is only accessible once the snow melts out in early May. Stop by during Faro’s Crane and Sheep Festival from May 1 to 3, 2026, to talk to a biologist about Fannin’s sheep and other Yukon wildlife.
