Wildlife Wednesday

Observed on the Tundra in Denali National Park, Alaska

Dall Sheep

What, you can't see the white dots on the hillside?  Maybe the view on the bus monitor will help.

Not much help, huh?  Well, this is what they look like up close and personal -- not that we got up close ...

These are all rams.  The females horns do not get that big or curved.

Further down the road we saw a grizzly bear and her Spring cub.

Grizzly and cub

You know, some things are just better viewed from a distance.  Maybe the monitor will help.

It looked a lot better in person, believe me.  This is something like what we were seeing:

The female was a light blond like the stock photo, but this year's cub was still a dark brown.

The bus driver/guide had a camera with telephoto to project onto the bus monitor.  I thought that was a great idea since the likelihood of seeing anything up close is pretty remote.  (And, in some cases, preferred.)

We also saw several caribou (reindeer) -- well, actually, their antlers above the weeds and prairie grass ...

Captive caribou seen on another day

... lots of eagles, and ptarmigan, the Alaska state bird.

Ptarmigan

Though we saw several moose on another outing, this picture of a stuffed one at a recreated Athabascan village will have to do for now.

Moose

Alaska is an incredibly beautiful state with so much flora and fauna to observe.  The downside?  It's a long way from Point A to Point B with limited ways to get there.

We had a great time in the 4 days we had on land before heading out to sea for 7 days.  Watch for future posts.