Wildlife viewing on the Alaska Highway and Haines Road

A moose near Haines Pass. Photo by Christa Galloway.

One of the exciting things about living in the Yukon is the possibility of seeing some of the resident wildlife population. There is no shortage of magnificent creatures roaming the great northern wilderness. We've seen bison, bear, moose, caribou, lynx and bobcat. This week-end, travelling from Whitehorse to Haines along the Alaska Highway and Haines Road we saw our first elk.

An elk just off the Alaska Highway west of Whitehorse. Photo by Christa Galloway.

Haines, known as the "Valley of the Eagles" has an influx thousands of eagles during the fall and winter. Many eagles can be seen on the flats of the Chilkat River along the Haines Highway between miles 18 and 24 where they fish for salmon. We stopped a few times to photograph the regal birds on their high perches and even saw one making several passes over the river before scooping up fish.

An eagle fishes on the Chilkat River. Photo by Christa Galloway.

An eagle keeps a watchful eye on it's high perch just outside of Haines, Alaska. Photo by Christa Galloway. — An eagle keeps a watchful eye on it's high perch just outside of Haines, Alaska. Photo by Christa Galloway.

Bear sighting

A grizzly bear south of Whitehorse, Yukon. Photo by Christa Galloway. — A grizzly bear south of Whitehorse, Yukon. *Photo by Christa Galloway.*

Yesterday, driving home from work, I got a rare treat. I saw a grizzly (brown) bear with her two cubs on the side of the road, not a five minute drive from my house. The bears didn't seem to be bothered about me watching them from the safety of my car and went about their business. They stayed so long I had time to go home, get Richard and Oscar and a long lens, come back and do some more bear watching! The cubs ate, played a bit and slept while the mother grizzly focussed on eating. She only glanced at me a couple of times but quickly dismissed my presence and carried on eating. At one point, she sensed something and got up on her hind legs. Soon after, the cubs perked up as well and stayed closer to their mother.

A female grizzly bear keeps a watchful eye in between eating foliage. Photo by Christa Galloway. — A female grizzly bear keeps a watchful eye in between eating foliage. *Photo by Christa Galloway.*

Grizzy (brown) bear cubs playing in the woods in the Yukon. Photo by Christa Galloway. — Grizzy (brown) bear cubs playing in the woods in the Yukon. *Photo by Christa Galloway.*

I discovered a couple of interesting facts about bears after this experience. Grizzly bears are actually sub species of brown bears. They are found inland in North America and don't get as big as coastal bears. They are called grizzly bears because the tips of their fur are often lighter, giving them a "grizzled" appearance. They can also be identified by the hump on their shoulder. Their claws are longer than black bears, up to four inches long and their tracks usually have claw marks, unlike black bear tracks.

A grizzly (brown) bear rears up on her hind legs for a better vantage point. Photo by Christa Galloway. — A grizzly (brown) bear rears up on her hind legs for a better vantage point. *Photo by Christa Galloway.*

The grizzly cubs soon perk up and join their mother. Photo by Christa Galloway. — The grizzly cubs soon perk up and join their mother. *Photo by Christa Galloway.*

A grizzly bear and her cubs, now sticking closer together. Photo by Christa Galloway. — A grizzly bear and her cubs, now sticking closer together. *Photo by Christa Galloway.*

Sometimes the drive from work to our home in the wilderness seems long but every once and a while I get a treat like this and it is all worth it. Just the other day I saw a young caribou, over the winter we saw lots of moose, and I even saw a pair of lynx once. It is a privilege to get the occasional small glimpses into the lives of animals we share the earth with. I consider myself very lucky!

Flashback - the road north

If you have been following this blog you may remember that we saw bison on the Alaska Highway. You may also remember that I got out my "real" camera and took some photos. Now that I have my computer set up, I've downloaded the pictures. Here are a few teasers...

Here is a bison and a calf on the road. When they travel through the deep snow they leave huge trenches in their wake. I imagine the road is much less effort.

This is the bison that spooked Rich while it was looking in the window. The shadow on the bottom left is the car as started to zoom away just as I was framing the shot.

The benefits of living in the boonies

Its not every day you see a moose in your backyard, let alone a pair of them, and throw in some ravens for effect.

We got a call last night that there were a pair of moose near our deck. We missed them (it was after 5pm after all, so pretty much pitch black out) but we'd seen them strolling the yard earlier in the day. While making some snowshoe trails in the woods behind the property I saw highways and intersections of criss-crossing animal prints. We saw elk on the road the other day. It has it's downsides. We have to watch our golden retriever doesn't go far without us so the wolves don't get her. I've had dire warnings about the temperament of moose up here. According to local sources these moose are liable to charge if they don't like the look of you, they are bigger and more dangerous than our civilized Ontario moose.

I am about to take my son and dog snowshoeing. Well, I'll be snowshoeing, Oscar and Maggie haven't mastered it yet. I hope to see some wildlife... from a safe distance.