Alaska’s fascinating wild creatures
The polar bears are abundant along Alaska’s arctic coast as they wait for the ice to form on the Beaufort Sea. Warm weather has kept the snow at bay, at least at this point. This curious polar bear stood up for a better view and I’ve learned by their posture when this is about to…
While driving from Fairbanks to McCarthy, Alaska with friends, for a combined 1/2 marathon race and music festival, we happened upon two bull caribou foraging along the autumn covered tundra just north of the Alaska Range mountains. The colors of the tundra were nearly peaked, in that they included all phases of the green, yellows…
This is a cropped version of a photo I took on coastal Katmai last month. Even at 700mm, I could have been closer, but thanks to the great quality of the 500mm lens and the file of the 5D Mark III, I am able to crop in and still have substantial file size for reproduction.…
An open grassy meadow, with white daisies dotting the perimeter serves as a good spot for this brown bear to scratch its back by rolling around on the surface. I liked the display of both the pads of the bear’s feet, and its long, distinctive claws. Those claws can do some serious dirt removal, in…
Coastal Katmai is famous for its large brown bear population. They forage voraciously during the rich and productive summer season, enjoying clams, fish, berries, and other plants, as they pack on the fat for a winter hibernation. This bear had walked through camp early one morning, so we grabbed our camera gear and followed it…
During the summer months, the Savannah sparrow is commonly seen and heard in the meadows around much of Alaska. They like to perch on the tall plants which, if your timings is right, can be fireweed or lupine. While photographing brown bears in a meadow along the Katmai coast (bears that were so busy feeding…
If you have watched bears along the coast of Alaska in the summer, it is clear that they have busy days filled with eating. This is particularly true when salmon are not available and their intake consists of the ubiquitous flora that fills the lush meadows. While photographing this particular bear for hours, or rather…
After a rainy night along the Katmai National Park coast, I was startled by a brown bear when walking from my sleep tent to the cook tent. Both tents were encircled with a portable, battery powered electric fence. The bear curiously walked around the cook tent and I took this shot after quickly grabbing the…
Muskox and baby Baby muskox rank up there with the cutest of all little creatures. There were four young ones in this herd of ancient and odd looking animals. Like many wild animals that I’ve spent time with, the younger the accompanying offspring, the more wary they behave – for obvious reasons when one considers…
Bull caribou in the midnight sun Photographing in Alaska’s high arctic in the summer is both wonderful and brutal. The infusion of light is energizing on the one hand, but the schedule it forces can be brutally tiring as well. Golden light is restricted to the midnight hour, give or take a few. So,…