I recently visited the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center for the first time. I’ve always driven by and thought it was just for visitors who hadn’t yet gotten to see a moose. Boy was I wrong – it was so cool!
From their website:
The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving Alaska’s wildlife through conservation, public education, and quality animal care. AWCC takes in injured and orphaned animals year-round and provides spacious enclosures and quality animal care. Animals that cannot be released into the wild are given a permanent home at the center.
More pictures are at the bottom of the post, but first here are some random facts I learned during my visit:
- Most of the animals reintroduced to the wild are moose.
- The moose “bell” (the thing hanging off a male moose’s neck that resembles a small turkey wattle) sometimes freezes solid and breaks off.
- The current bear enclosure is the biggest in the country (18 acres) and when the center finishes their new enclosure (complete with a boardwalk for better viewing!) it will be the biggest in North America.
- Musk ox practice ramming inanimate objects to prepare for their mating season.
- Although porcupines spend a lot of time in trees, they often fall and have numerous bone fractures.
If you get a chance, I highly recommend a visit to the center!
We went there with your mom last summer (after your wedding). We loved it too! I got some great pictures.
Beautiful pictures. Now, if you rllaey want adventure along with your beautiful scenery, you should try for a trip to Antartica. I’ve never been there but my daughter and her husband took a month-long cruise/tour of Terra del Fuego, the Falklands, South Georgia Island and Antartica in Nov-Dec 1995. They were there mainly so my SIL could photograph birds and other wildlife of the areas. By viewing his photographs, I can pretend I’m right there with them.