Sometimes these two languages are called “dialects of Yukaghir language”, cp. “Forest dialect of Yukaghir”, but research shows essential differences between the two, so mutual intelligibility of two idioms might be possible, but it is extremely difficult.
The number of Southern Yukaghir speakers: 6 people. The number of those who recorded being able to speak the language in the 2010 Census: 370 people.
The number of respondents who recorded Yukaghir as their native language in the 2010 Census and living in the traditional settlements: 18 people in Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and 13 people in Magadan Oblast. The size of the ethnic group (according to the 2010 Census): 1603. The size of the ethnic group in traditional settlements: 308 people in Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and 66 people in Magadan Oblast.