Alaska Part Three: Alaska's Wild Animals (& not so wild, wild animals)

When we were planning our trip to Alaska, we really wanted to experience Alaskan wildlife. We knew the animals would be a highlight for the kids. Our must see attractions included the Anchorage Zoo and Reindeer Farm, but beyond that, we were just hoping we'd stumble accross more Alaskan wildlife. So here is a run down of the animals we did see- both wild and in captivity:

1. BEARS!! From the first night we were in Juneau, we heard rumors about black bears frequenting the Mendenhall Glacier and visitors being able to spot them. We decided to investigate the rumors- and we essentially stalked the Glacier, visiting 3different times during our 6 days in Juneau. And we were able to see bears during each of our visits. It was amazing! The glacier has bear viewing boardwalks- which is a suspended trail that is about 12 feet above the river and the area the bears frequent. We were able to watch the bears pass right below us and even watched one bear snatch salmon from the river. Did I mention that it was AMAZING!


Fortunately, we did not run into any wild Grizzly bears, but we did see this guy up close and personal at the zoo. And that was close enough for me!

2. MOOSE!! We really wanted to see moose in the wild. This was one of Mark's main goals. Juneau doesn't have moose, so we had to wait until we got to Anchorage. We searched and searched around Anchorage for moose. Mark's aunt kept telling us they saw them all the time wandering around town and even in their neighborhood. She told us that during the winter the moose will lay in their front yard (Can you imagine?- so cool!) However, the moose were much more elusive for us. We saw these guys at the zoo:
and a couple more at the reindeer farm. But we had not had any success seeing them in the wild. On our last night, we went for a sunset hike up on Flattop mountain. And low and behold- we saw our wild moose! It was far away, but we had our binoculars and at least we could say we saw a moose in Anchorage! Can you spot the moose in this picture?
Yeah, me either, but Mark claims he is in there!

oh- and we found these adorable moose as well:


3. SALMON!! The salmon runs were in full swing when we were in Alaska. The streams in Juneau were so full of salmon that you could have gone fishing with your bare hands. It was fun to watch the salmon battle their way upstream.


The kids got to learn about the life cylce of salmon, especially when we would see the dead carcasses scattered throughout the river. In Juneau, we visited the fish hatchery and even received a private, behind the scene tour from one of Katy's friends. We saw the incubation tanks, and where they harvest the eggs.

4. BALD EAGLES!! We saw many bald eagles flying around. This one is Lady Baltimore who was injuried and unable to fly:

5. DALL SHEEP!!
We saw this guy at the zoo, but we did spot a few wild dall sheep climbing the steep hills right next to the highway.

6. REINDEER!! We visited the reindeer farm in Palmer. It was a once in a life time experience. We were the only vistors there and had a heard of 30-40 reindeer all following us around to be fed.



This guy was Evan, and was especially fond of us. He stuck right by our side the whole time. He was very friendly.

Miscellaneous Wild life:
We went to Potter's Marsh Wildlife Refuge and watched some ducks, birds, & more salmon.
We also visited the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward. Were we saw harbor seals, sealions, puffins, jelly fish and other sea life.
At the Fish Hatchery, the kids explored the touch tank and loved holding the starfish.

And the boys fed a blacktail deer at the reindeer farm:

The Alaskan wild life was definitely a high light for all of us.