Alaska's Kenai Moose Research Center:
A World Leader in Moose Science

On a crisp morning this fall, biologist Stacy Jenkins tucked two oversize baby bottles under her arms and rallied her reinforcements. Her three babies were just a few months old, but they were pushy, hungry and well over 100 pounds each.

Tom Lohuis carried a third bottle of warm milk, and John Crouse swung open the gate at the Kenai Moose Research Center. The three moose, bleating at the sight of breakfast, rushed headlong for the scientists.   Continued

Skeleton in a Box:
Students Build Science Kits from Roadkills

Six new Alaska biology teachers are skeletons, thanks to students at Burchell High School.

During the past year, road-killed and donated moose, bears and wolves have been de-boned at the Wasilla alternative high school. Science teacher Tim Lundt's anatomy students transformed the carcasses into six polished, re-usable skeleton kits. Three kits - one of each animal - will stay with Lundt's anatomy class, while the other three will be at the Palmer Fish and Game office for teachers to check out.   Continued

Caribou Comeback

Seven hundred miles of spruce forests, river bottomland and rolling hills stretch between Fairbanks and Whitehorse. At the heart of this country, straddling the Alaska-Yukon border, the Fortymile River flows north into the Yukon River. This region is home to the Fortymile Caribou herd.

In the 1920s, estimates of the size of the herd ranged from 350,000 to more than half a million animals. The herd's geographic range encompassed some 85,000 square miles from Whitehorse to the White Mountains north of Fairbanks.   Continued

Wonderful Caribou and I at Onion Portage

I heard the caribou trotting in the distance as I walked along a path they had made through years of use. As they marched past me, I heard their unique grunting. I heard the thunder of splashing as a herd of caribou waded and jumped into the river on their migration to their winter grounds. As I listened, the pleasant smell of the aiyu and pine trees surrounded me. I would have never imagined being so close to a live caribou or holding them with my bare hands.   Continued

Viewing Permits Available Now
For Brown Bear and Walrus

Already thinking about your next summer vacation? Now it's even easier to plan ahead and apply for permits to two of Alaska's top viewing destinations: McNeil River Bear Sanctuary and Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary.

Interested wildlife viewers can obtain permit information on-line for both Alaska sanctuaries at www.wildlife.alaska.gov by looking under the heading "refuges and sanctuaries."   Continued

How to Select a Hunting Guide

The chances of killing an animal improve if one hires a guide or travels to remote areas. Individuals who lack precise knowledge of game distribution, access and Alaska geography, yet attempt to put together hunts themselves may face frustration and disappointment. On the other end of the scale is the fully guided hunt. It is expensive, but the chances of killing an animal are high.   Continued