Kokanee Salmon

scientific name

Oncorhynchus nerka

size/weight/height

Head/Body Length: 21-23 in.
Weight: 5-8 lbs.

adaptations/coloration

Color: For most of the year kokanee salmon are a blue-green with silver sides; the females have dark spots along their backs. In the fall as breeding season approaches the males turn a red-orange color and their snout grows longer and more hooked. Females turn a deep gray with dark pink sides.

behavior

Migration: The kokanee spends its entire life in freshwater lakes. Mature kokanee (3 or 4 years old) migrate upstream and land over gravel bars to spawn. Kokanee have a strong sense of smell, which allows them to return to their river of origin for spawning. Migration occurs in the fall from September to October.

reproduction/lifespan

• Lifespan: up to 4 years.
• Mating: Kokanee mate in the fall along lake edges or inlet streams
• Gestation: Females make nests and lay 300 to 1500 eggs and die within a few days. Kokanee spawn only once during their life cycle.
• Birth: Kokanee hatch in December or January and migrate to larger waters.
• Rearing: Kokanee rear for one or two years in a lake, although they are also found in the inlet and outlet streams of the lake.

diet

In the wild kokanee eat plankton and immature insects.

habitat/range

Western United States from Northern California to Northern Alaska. They are also found in Russia and Japan.

oregon zoo exhibit

Eagle Canyon

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