Traveling to Alaska and seeing lots of wildlife!

We had an auspicious start on our trip to Alaska. We were searched as we crossed into Canada. We thought that odd, as it was the first time that had happened to us. We now know that was a blessing, because the timing allowed us to see many species of wild animals within the first eight hours of entering the country.

We saw White Tail Deer less than an hour into Canada. There is not much special about these deer to people from the south, but it started a streak we thought was amazing.



About an hour later, we saw a Black Bear on the side of the road. He was eating plants with his backside toward us and did not pay much attention to us. We did not catch that bear in a good picture, but a day later we got this one in the Kootenay National Park.



To enter Kooteay National Park, you must stop and pay an admission. The route we we taking led us up a tall, steep mountain. A motor home pulling a small truck moves very slow up steep grades. We caught this female Big Horn Sheep and lamb licking the salt off the road. We were moving very slow at this point, so they did not have any fear until we stopped to snap the picture.



We also saw many rabbits and squirrels which are ideal meals for fox. Tom saw a fox, but it was too quick for a picture. We want a camera placed on the motor home that takes pictures in each direction we look. It alos needs to do justice to the beautiful landscapes we see. Right after stopping and looking off into a valley that went on forever, we ran upon this Mountain Goat. He stopped to pose for us, then took off trotting down the hill. We suppose he was headed for his herd of females.

Elk are plentiful in the area, but these bucks with the felt still on their antlers we not disturbed by the large vehicle that stopped beside them. We guess they get lots of attention. If the vehicle does not act like a predator, they just do not care.

Moose, on the other hand, just do not like attention. This female started moving away just as soon as we stopped. We saw a couple of males, but they were really too far away to get a good picture.

There are many similarities between big horn sheep, mountian goats and this creature, a Stone Sheep. Note the head, the females of all three have the same shaped horns. The rams have horns of different shapes.

This young Grizzly only gave us a moments notice, but we got the shot. The Brown Bear and the Grizzly are the same bear. The difference in size depends on their diet. Bears that get fish are generally larger than their cousins that eat other protein.

Wood Buffalo (American Bison) were hunted and/or driven from the Alaska/Canada border many years ago. The Bison were reintroduced by rangers on both sides in hopes of bringing their numbers back. This chapter is not finished, but the numbers do appear to be increasing.

The animal sighting chapter is not finished for us either. We have yet to board a bus to go out into Denali National Park, but we expect more of these and other animals during our visit. Thanks for visiting us here.