Yukon Valley Nature Reserve — Complete Guide: All 8 Animals, Need Zones, Best Weapons & Tips

Yukon Valley Nature Reserve is a reserve DLC released in 2019 in theHunter: Call of the Wild, modelled on Yukon River Basin, Alaska/Yukon. A large Alaskan reserve overseen by warden Jim Murray, with new wildlife, a magnum rifle and story missions.

This page covers everything about Yukon Valley Nature Reserve: all 8 species with their class, trophy thresholds and need-zone clocks, the weapons that cover every class here, the official screenshots, our hunting tips, and answers to the questions players ask most.

Yukon Valley Nature Reserve in Pictures

Grant caribou in red tundra brush Grizzly bear by a mountain lake Gray wolf in autumn tundra Harlequin duck on a lake Gray wolves ahead in the mist Train crossing a trestle bridge Railway trestle over a lake Old mine buildings in the mountains Old gold dredge on the river Hunters at a log-cabin outpost .300 Canning Magnum rifle

11 official images from the game's store page. Tap any image to enlarge.

About Yukon Valley Nature Reserve

What you get with the Yukon Valley Nature Reserve DLC:

• Size: 25 sq mi (64 km²).
• Terrain: red moss hills, snowy mountains, spruce forest, red foothills, burnt forest, plains, autumn woodland.
• Species: Plains Bison, Caribou, Moose, Red Fox, Harlequin Duck, Grizzly Bear, Gray Wolf.
• Weapon: .300 Canning Magnum rifle, effective to 400 m.
• 10 narrative and 42 side missions; warden Jim Murray.
• Threats: permafrost retreat, predator imbalance, tree-eating parasites.
• Non-owners can join owners’ sessions free.

Our Map of Yukon Valley Nature Reserve

We traced this map ourselves from the in-game map, copying its terrain shading so you can read the ridges and valleys: every lake and river we could see, the roads and trails, the reserve border, and 7 outposts, 11 lookouts and 9 points of interest, placed where they sit in the game. Toggle the layers, zoom in, and tap any marker for its grid square.

Hand-made by Hunt & Live from our own in-game screenshot. Only the parts of the reserve we have explored show roads; water and markers are placed as accurately as we could trace them. We'll keep adding to it as we explore more.

In-Game Map of Yukon Valley Nature Reserve

This is the real in-game map of Yukon Valley Nature Reserve from our own save, cleaned up and cropped. Zoom in with the buttons, mouse wheel or a double-tap, then drag to look around. You can see the river system and lakes in the east around the Hansson River Basin, with the explored trail network across the north and west. Bright patches are areas we’ve explored, and outposts, lookouts and the need zones we’ve found are marked.

+ Zoom in−ResetFull screen100%

Explored areaOutpost (fast travel)Lookout / point of interestNeed zones we foundWaterRegion boundary

Our own in-game screenshot. Fog of war, need zones and explored areas differ on every save, so treat it as a guide to the terrain and regions (Hansson River Basin), then mark your own zones as you find them.

Map

Our illustrated interactive map of Yukon Valley Nature Reserve is in the works. In the meantime, climb lookouts to reveal the map around them and unlock outposts for fast travel. Animals use the same need zones all season, so mark drink zones as you find them. Our six mapped reserves are Layton Lake District, Hirschfelden, Vurhonga Savanna, Te Awaroa, Silver Ridge Peaks and Emerald Coast.

All 8 Animals on Yukon Valley Nature Reserve

Every species on the reserve, heaviest class first. Each card shows the class, the hardest difficulty it can reach, the diamond threshold, any Great One, and the published feed, drink and rest times. For full trophy data see our animals page.

Need-zone times are the published in-game windows (24-hour clock). Zone locations differ between saves, so find and mark your own.

Trophy Thresholds on Yukon Valley Nature Reserve

The trophy rating you need for each medal. Diamonds only drop at the top difficulty levels, so check an animal’s level with your binoculars before you shoot.

Best Weapons for Yukon Valley Nature Reserve

The smallest base-game kit that covers every class here (1–9), so whatever walks into a zone you have legal ammo:

• Caversham Steward 12G: classes 1, 2, 6, 8 (12 GA Birdshot, 12 GA Buckshot, 12 GA Slug)
• 7mm Regent Magnum: classes 9 (7mm Mag Soft-Point)

Good DLC upgrades for the bigger game here: Bearclaw Lite CB-60 (Free DLC/download), Crosspoint CB-165 (Weapon Pack 1), Houyi Recurve Bow (Weapon Pack 1), Grelck Drilling Rifle (Weapon Pack 2), Solokhin MN1890 (Weapon Pack 2), Eckers .30-06 (Weapon Pack 3). See every pack in our weapon pack guides.

Hunting Tips for Yukon Valley Nature Reserve

• Work the drink zones. Most species here have a published drink window (see the cards above). Sit near water in that window, downwind, and let the animals come to you.
• Bird hunting: Canada Goose, Harlequin Duck live here. Bring a shotgun with birdshot, and use decoys and callers where you can.
• Dangerous game: Plains Bison, Grizzly Bear, Moose, Gray Wolf can charge or attack. Carry a heavy calibre, keep a tent or tripod for safety, and don’t take marginal shots.
• Fabled furs: only level-10 animals of Moose, Gray Wolf, Red Fox can carry a Fabled fur. Glass every herd for top-level animals.
• Diamonds: only take max-level animals when chasing trophies, use in-class ammo, and make a clean one-shot kill to keep the harvest bonus.

Similar Reserves

These reserves share the most species with Yukon Valley Nature Reserve:

Alberta, CanadaAskiy Ridge3 shared species

Central EuropeHirschfelden Hunting Reserve2 shared species

Siberia, RussiaMedved-Taiga National Park2 shared species

Sources: official store page for theHunter: Call of the Wild — Yukon Valley, our species database (class, thresholds, need zones and furs compiled from community trackers and checked in game where possible), and published game-file coordinates for the map. Compiled October 2026.