Retired Yukon teacher wins Kluane sheep hunt lottery

A retired school teacher from Haines Junction, Yukon, has won the territorial government's annual lottery for an exclusive big-game sheep hunting permit in the territory's Kluane region.

Richard Clark's name was drawn Friday from 315 Yukon hunters vying for the single permit to hunt for Dall sheep in the former Kluane Game Sanctuary.

"There's probably a lot of guys [who are] quite envious of me right now because I got this draw," Clark told CBC News on Monday.

"Sheep hunting is sort of the premier hunt in all of North America, and this is a great opportunity here to get that elusive big one."

The permit awarded to Clark is just one of two issued annually to hunt in the former game sanctuary, which had been closed to hunting for most of the last century.

The area is now home to hundreds of trophy-sized Dall Sheep.

The other permit was auctioned off last winter at a big-game hunting convention in Reno, Nevada. An American hunter successfully bid $105,000 US for it.

Clark has at least a couple of weeks to plan his Kluane hunting trip, as hunting season opens Aug. 1.

He said he has already chosen his hunting companions, Wolf Reidl and Dan Drummond.

"I'm not considered a sheep hunter, but the guys that I go out with sure are," he said. "So Dan and Wolf, pack your bags."

Yukon environment officials say the number of Yukoners who applied for the sheep hunting permit is down slightly from 336 applicants last year.