The Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Centre is dedicated to the preservation of Alaskan animals and birds. Most animals at the Centre were injured or orphaned or sick when they were bought there by individuals or by the Alaskan department of Fish and Game. Whenever feasible the bears, eagles, owls, moose, elk, lynx and wolves are released back into the wild but others remain at the refuge.
We saw our first moose at the centre. He was one of five.
This porcupine was not what I expected. No spines, just fluff. The gold line across its back was a ray of sunlight.
A marble fox being hand fed by a trainer.
There were numerous moose grazing.
A brown bear taking a nap in the sun. He wasn't interested in moving to give us a show.!
We couldn't understand why there were hundreds of dead trees in the area but apparently they all died after the earthquake in 1964 and are still standing today because of the swampy ground carrying sea salt which has pickled them and they have stayed upright all these years since.
The sunsets here have been spectacular and because of the long twilight they last for around an hour. I love sitting out on the balcony and enjoy the changing colours. I took these photos between 10pm and 11pm in Anchorage.
Then it was on to Kodiak Island which is the second largest island in the USA after Hawaii. It has an interesting history. In 1784 it was settled by the Russians and it became the centre for fur trading with the Alaskan natives. The island was later purchased by the United States in 1867.
In 1912 there was a catastrophic volcano. The largest eruption in the 20th century. Life on the island was immobilised during the 60 hour eruption. Darkness and suffocating conditions from the ash and sulphur dioxide gas caused Kodiaks 500 population widespread problems with sore eyes and respiratory conditions and the water was undrinkable. Roofs on the buildings collapsed under the weight of over one foot of ash. The environment had changed dramatically and wild life was seriously affected. Bears and other animals were blinded and had no food sources due to the plant foods being smothered in the ash which meant the death toll was high. The salmon industry was also devastated.
Today Kodiaks bears enjoy a virtually undisturbed lifestyle, feasting on salmon and berries during the summer and hibernating over the long winter months. Kodiak brown bears are a sub-species of brown bears and are the largest on the planet.
The Russian Orthodox Church where we were given a tour by the priest after the Sunday church service. A very beautiful and colourful church on the inside.
New crab pots ready to be sold to the crab boats. The King crab is native to Kodiak. The fishing industry is the most important economic activity on the island with mainly pacific salmon and halibut being the main varieties. The Karluk river is famous for its salmon run.
Numerous processing companies are serviced after packaging, by these huge refrigerated vans that are all kept refrigerated ready for movement after the truck cab is attached. The seven in the picture above were in a row of 20. Very noisy with all the refrigeration units running.
The national wildlife refuge was very interesting and a good place to shelter from the rain. This whale skeleton had an interesting story. The carcass was washed up on the beach near the town in August 2004. A member of the community saw that it was in such good condition that they asked for volunteers to help start the process of preserving the skeleton, so it was buried 12 feet deep in the sand and then four years later they excavated it . Thanks to the work of numerous bacteria, they discovered that the bones were almost clean. One by one the bones were removed from the pit and hand transported to a temporary place for cleaning and storage. Each bone had to be scrubbed to remove the dirt, residual fat and tissue. After the bones had dried they were taken to the centre to be re-assembled and hung on display. A huge exercise that the town is still very proud of today.
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