Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

Animals….. all the animals!

---

This beautiful wolf was so close to the fence! You can get a great up close and personal look at this wolf and more at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.

When people talk about Alaska, one of the first things that come to mind are bears. Everyone wants to see bears when they visit this majestic place. Growing up in Montana, we always heard about someone being killed or mauled by a bear. Therefore I have always been rather alert whilst exploring nature. The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC for short) is someplace you can see these animals safely, while retaining a non-zoo feeling. The AWCC is a wildlife refuge outside of Girdwood, Alaska. It’s about an hour outside downtown Anchorage. 

Reindeer

The reindeer with the smaller, thin antlers are female, and the reindeer with the larger, velvet covered antlers are male.

Reindeer

This lovely lady is busy eating and doesn’t mind that you are there.

Wolf

This beautiful wolf is one of three that you can see at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.

Bald Eagle

This bald eagle was found with major wing damage. Unfortunately, his wing needed to be amputated. He has since found his home at the AWCC.

Muskox

These muskox are just chilling on the grass and soaking up the early fall sun.

Muskox

Dinner time for this young muskox!

The AWCC was founded in 1993 and has been a popular visitor attraction. This non-profit organization is dedicated to conservation, education, research, and quality animal care of orphaned and injured Alaska animals. One of the projects the AWCC spearheads is to reintroduce wood bison back in to the Alaskan wilderness following it’s 100-year absence. The partnership between the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, the US forest service, and the AWCC has allowed for the release of 130 wood bison into western Alaska in 2015.

Elk

Sitka Blacktail Deer

These dear are much smaller than their cousins, the whitetail deer.

Black Bear

Black Bear

Black Bear

Sitka Blacktail Deer

When you arrive, you can see a herd of wood bison in one of the massive enclosures. The AWCC is general admission, and they never sell out of tickets (since the conservation center is large and all outdoors) so you don’t have to worry about buying tickets in advance. The center is self-guided and you can walk or drive around to each of the enclosures. If you want a closer look at some of the animals, they do offer a bear or moose encounter at an additional rate. They also have virtual tours that you can take online, so you don’t even have to be in Alaska to donate/see the wildlife.

Brown Bear

This bear was digging in the dirt. It was really fun to watch the dirt flying through the air.

Brown Bear

There are many amazing animals to see! My favorite animal to see was the brown bears. The way their enclosure is set up, you can walk along a sky bridge that is along the border of the black bear and brown bear enclosures. We were lucky enough to see both brown bears and a black bear out at the same time. The wolves were also cool to see. Even though the prevalence of wolves has increased since their reintroduction into Montana, I have never seen one. The two we saw were white and absolutely beautiful.

Elk

The male and female elk are being kept separate since there is usually a lot of fighting over partners that occurs in the fall.

Elk

Elk

Caribou

The differences between reindeer and caribou are small. Caribou are wild and Reindeer if they are domesticated.

Wood Bison

Wood Bison

Predators and wood bison are not the only animals you can see at AWCC. They have rescued several porcupines, elk, moose, reindeer, caribou, Sitka Black-tailed deer, and muskox. I was excited to see the muskox. I had never seen one up close and didn’t realize they have such long hair covering them. The porcupines were also fun to see. They have several which are all named after candy bars; Kit Kat, Twix, Baby Ruth, and Heath. You can learn more about them on the AWCC website.

You might also get lucky and see a wild moose! If you are interested in twinning with my brother, these hats are for sale at the gift shop.

Seeing these beautiful animals up close was amazing! When you plan your next trip to Alaska, be sure to include some time to stop at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. If you want more information on the animals, take a virtual tour of the center, or make a donation to help keep this organization going, you can click here to access their website. The AWCC works hard to keep these animals well fed and happy. I look forward to the next time I stop in to see the animals.

Happy Traveling!

Kat