Wildlife Articles (Tagged)

Wrangell St. Elias National Park is known as “The Mountain Kingdom” and is the largest park in the U.S. national park system. This wilderness area has North America’s largest number of glaciers and the most mountain peaks over 16,000 feet including the towering Mt. St. Elias at 18,008 feet - the second highest peak in the USA, after Denali - Mt. McKinley in Alaska’s Denali National Park.

Gates of the Arctic is one of the last truly wild places on earth. Here you can take a journey of adventure, discovery and solitude through vast valleys and gaunt mountains of rugged beauty and experience nature on it own terms. Visitors to the park must have the knowledge and skills to be truly self sufficient in the remote location and demanding climate of the Brooks Range. Those who come will find that opportunities for recreation and for natural quiet, solitude and wilderness enjoyment abound.

Visitors should understand Alaska’s distinct seasons, weather, and climate and prepare the proper clothing to enjoy their visit to The Great Land.

Summer Season

This is the peak travel season in Alaska, from mid-May to Mid-September. The days are longest and the temperatures warmest. Some activities or accomodations may only be available during the summer. This season is ideal for outdoor activities. Visitors must plan ahead and book early to reserve hotels and tours. Sunsets are long, with spectacular colors. This is when Alaska is truly “The Land of the Midnight Sun”.

The Alaska SeaLife Center offers up-close and personal experiences with Alaska marine wildlife in realistic habitats. See a huge Steller sea lion gliding past underwater viewing windows, puffins diving from cliffs, harbor seals resting on rocky beaches, Alaskan king crab, sea stars, the Giant Pacific octopus, and more.

The Alaska Zoo is a a great place to view wildlife up close and learn more about them from knowlegeable zoo staff. The zoo is a very popular stop for visitors in both the summer and winter. Polar bears are guaranteed!

Some of the animals at the zoo are very special such as the Amur tiger from Russia, the snow leapord, and the Tibetan yak.

There are about 85 animals in over 40 species. Polar bears, brown bears, black bears, Amur tiger, snow leopard, Bactrian camel, wolves, Tibetan yak, otter, eagle, fox, dall sheep, musk ox, moose, wolverine, and more. The park covers about 20 acres, with a snack bar and gift shop.

The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center offers visitors a close-up view of Alaska wildlife. The Center is located south of Anchorage on the scenic Seward Highway.

The Center has a loop that visitors can drive aro und to view the various animals. For some species there are small herds roaming about.

Visitors come from around the world to view and photograph Alaska’s bears in their natural habitat, a truly unique and unforgettable experience. Alaska has more bears than any other region in North America. Alaska’s bears grow fat and happy on Alaska’s famous salmon runs and many other food sources. Popular places for bear viewing include Denali NP, Katmai NP, Lake Clark NP, and Admiral Island and the Anan Creek Wildlife Observatory in the Inside Passage.

Katmai National Park and Preserve encompasses almost 2 million hectares of pristine wilderness on the Alaska Peninsula, across from Kodiak Island in Southwestern Alaska. The park is home to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, the result of a volcanic eruption in 1912 which buried more than 40-square-miles of wilderness under as much as 700 feet of ash. Fourteen active volcanoes lie within the park today. The town of King Salmon lies to the west of the Park and is the local gateway.
Bear Viewing
The Katmai National Park is home to …

Kenai Fjords is a majestic land of deep glacier-carved fjords bounded by forested mountains and sharp cliffs. This rugged coastline has many beautiful tidewater glaciers and abundant marine wildlife. Huge house-sized icebergs often crash from the tidewater glaciers into the sea.
Kenai Fjords National Park is comprised of 1,760 square miles (2,833 square kilometers) of protected land on the southeast coast of the Kenai Peninsula. Snow and ice cover 60 percent of the park. The Harding Icefield is at the heart of the park, and about 40 glaciers flow from this great icefield. …

Denali National Park is considered a “must see” for most visitors to Alaska.

Denali is “The Great One” in the language of the Alaska Native people. Mount McKinley is North America’s largest mountain with an elevation of 6,194m (30,320 feet). This majestic mountain is the tallest peak in the great Alaska Range of mountains that extends 650km across Alaska.

Denali National Park and Preserve is one of the largest national parks in the United States, with over 24,585 square kilometers of protected lands - larger than the state of Massachusetts. There are over 40 glaciers in the area.