Nature's North Wildlife Gallery

Cabin Radio reported a grand opening planned for 3 June 2023, and the gallery shows Arctic and subarctic animals in their natural habitats and interacting with their ecosystems. Examples mentioned in coverage include a group of black bears intended to show that they can have brown faces and bodies, a mother fox playing with her pup while distracted by a butterfly, a wood buffalo with its young, and displays of weasels. The world has 67 weasel species and the Northwest Territories has seven, and the wolverine is the territory's largest, a fact the gallery uses to surprise visitors. Other pieces reported by the Globe and Mail include a kit with a fresh kill, a pair of bobcats at play, a Dall sheep bust and a muskox herd. The operator's tourism listing also mentions polar bears and beavers building a lodge.

Greg Robertson has about 40 years in taxidermy and says he cares more about storytelling than size. His well-known polar bear piece is at the Yellowknife Airport, not in the gallery; it shows a bear about to catch a seal escaping through a hole in the ice. Jessie Olson, a taxidermist on the team, has pointed out that animals such as muskox and caribou are hard for most people to see, and the gallery brings them closer.

Cabin Radio lists Dean Robertson, Greg Robertson, Jessie Olson and Verca Slaba as the team. The Globe and Mail describes the brothers as self-taught and says they have done taxidermy for more than 40 years and regard it as a skilled trade as well as an art. It describes Olson as a novice taxidermist and former veterinary technician completing a master's degree on caribou viruses. Cabin Radio reported in 2024 that Dean began learning taxidermy in high school and later studied zoology and ecology and worked as a biologist before becoming a full-time artist; his home studio, which is separate from the gallery, holds fantastical pieces such as a mammoth and a minotaur. That report said plans for a second room with a High Arctic scene featuring seals and a walrus were in progress, so check the gallery for what is currently on show.

The Globe and Mail reports that the Robertsons buy most of their hides from Indigenous hunters and trappers and do not harvest animals themselves. Usually the team receives only a hide and fits it over a foam form, which often has to be altered to suit. For smaller animals, the team creates a mould from the frozen body and fits the hide over it, which they say gives a more lifelike result. Glass eyes and foam busts are ordered in, while most other parts are handcrafted. Because thick Arctic fur hides fine anatomical detail, the team spends the saved time on facial symmetry and expression, and a muskox-herd diorama can take several weeks to a few months.

Dean Robertson has said the gallery is meant to teach people about conservation, on the view that the more people know about wildlife, the more they will protect it. The Globe and Mail notes that animals in the Canadian North are especially vulnerable to rapid climate change and that preserved specimens can help scientists study how species change over time.

• Guided and self-guided visits have been listed through third-party sites, with one listing describing a tablet that shares species facts, tracks and vocalizations.
• Prices, formats and hours change, so check the gallery directly before visiting.
• The gallery is a short stop that pairs well with Old Town and the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, and on a Voyzo private tour your driver and vehicle can collect you door to door and link them into one city day.