Bald Eagle | Haines, Alaska | June, 2011
This young bird is 2 years old. It will be 2 more years before it will have the distinctive color of an adult bird. | MC48-0014
Read MoreMusk Ox | Atigun Pass, Alaska | June, 2011
To me this fascinating animal is the one that best represents what is so special about the Arctic. |MC42-0220
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Grizzly Bear | Atigun Pass, Alaska | June, 2011
Even though this picture is not the quality I would normally use it is still one of my favorites. It was taken one windy, overcast day with very poor lighting. This is a Barren-Ground Grizzly crossing the tundra on the North Slope between the Brooks Range and the Arctic Ocean. These bears living on the North Slope are at the absolute northern most limit of their range. This bear was only about 70 miles south of the Arctic Ocean and may spend part of the summer along the coast where it could very well cross paths with a Polar Bear. | MC42-0314
Read MoreRed Fox – Pup | Atigun Pass, Alaska | June, 2011
We found this Red Fox den site quite by accident when we pulled off the Haul Road to look for musk ox.The den was not that far off the edge of the road, and if you remained still, the young foxes would come out of their den to watch us. They seemed as curious of us as we were of them. |MC42-0179
Read MoreMusk Ox | Atigun Pass, Alaska | June, 2011
The Musk Ox is one of the oldest species of mammals living today, and one of the very few large animals that managed to hang on after the end of the last ice age 10,000 years ago.They shared this world with mammoths, mastodons, saber-toothed cats and giant ground sloths,yet while the vast majority of these animals disappeared the Musk Ox has managed to survive. |MC42-0215
Read MoreArctic Tern | Anchorage, Alaska | June, 2011
Arctic Terns have, by far, the longest regular migration of any animal, from it’s summer breeding grounds in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic, to the oceans around the Antarctic. They will chart a meandering course to take advantage of prevailing winds and can easily travel 40,000 to 50,000 miles during a yearly migration. These birds may live to 25 or 30 years of age and will travel 1.5 million miles during their lifetime. |MC45-0324
Read MoreRed Fox – Pup’s | Atigun Pass, Alaska | June, 2011
There were 5 young Red Foxes in this den that were 6 or 8 weeks old. We did not see either one of the adults which, I assume, were kept very busy hunting to feed these guys. |MC43-0128
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Sagavanirktok River | Deadhorse, Alaska | June, 2011
This river is usually called Sag River. It flows north past Deadhorse and into Prudhoe Bay. |MC40-0295
Read MoreArctic Ocean | Deadhorse, Alaska | June, 2011
This picture was taken the first week in June and the ice on the Arctic Ocean was just starting to break up. |MC40-0329
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Grizzly Bear | Atigun Pass, Alaska | June, 2011
This is a Barren-Ground Grizzly crossing the tundra on the North Slope between the Brooks Range and the Arctic Ocean. This bear is at the northern limit of where it is possible for it to live. Living this far north will force it to hibernate for 6 to 7 months each winter. The picture certainly does not do it justice. It was a drop dead beautiful bear. |MC42-0306
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Brown Bear – Cub | Haines, Alaska | June, 2010
This is 1 of 3 Brown Bear Cubs and their mother that we watched for quite some time as they feed on dandelion stems along the coast outside Haines, Alaska. |MC46-0281
Read MoreBrown Bear – Female | Haines, Alaska | June, 2011
This female Brown Bear had 3 cubs with her that were 1 year old. She appeared to be quite old and we could not help but wonder how many cubs she had raised in her lifetime. |MC46-0266
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Arctic Ground Squirrel | Deadhorse, Alaska | June, 2011
Arctic Ground Squirrels are the champion hibernator of the Arctic. Each winter they spend from 6 to 8 months in their underground burrows, where their heartbeats slow to about 2 per minute, and their core body temperature drops as low as 27 degrees for up to 3 weeks at a time. |MC44-0012
Read MoreCaribou – Bulls | Deadhorse, Alaska | June, 2011
These 4 bulls are Barren-Ground Caribou and belong to the Central Arctic Herd. The spring migration for these bulls will be complete when they reach the coastline of the Arctic Ocean, which is still about 50 miles further north. When they reach the coast they will spread out to feed, the cows will have their calves, and in 2 to 3 months they will start migrating back south for the winter. |MC44-0265
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Mew Gull | Anchorage, Alaska | June, 2011
This Mew Gull seems to have choosen a good location for a nest. We have seen these gulls nest on gravel bars beside small streams where they appear to be very vulnerable to predation. |MC45-0325
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Musk Ox | Atigun Pass, Alaska | June, 2011
Musk Ox have a double coat of hair,a long outer layer that hangs to the ground in winter, and a under layer called qivuit which is the warmest and lighest wool in the world. Prices for qivuit yarn range between $40 to $80 dollars per ounce. This animal has started sheading it’s outer coat. |MC42-0216
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Caribou – Bull | Deadhorse, Alaska | June, 2011
This is a Barren-ground Caribou bull from the Central Arctic Herd. |MC44-0059
Read MoreSpectacled Eiders – Male and Female | Deadhorse, Alaska | June, 2011
These large sea ducks spend the majority of their lives far offshore, coming to wet coastal tundra areas to nest in the spring. As soon as the female finishes laying eggs, the male will leave for offshore molting areas. In early fall the female and young birds will join with large flocks that will move far offshore to spend the winter in openings in the nearly continuous sea ice. |MC44-0239
Read MoreMusk Ox – Cow | Deadhorse, Alaska | June, 2011
This Musk Ox cow had a very young calf with her that is out of the picture to the right. |MC44-0201
Read MoreMusk Ox – Calf | Deadhorse, Alaska | June, 2011
This calf is only four or five weeks old. It’s mother is laying out of the picture to the left. |MC44-0208
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Brown Bear – Cub | Haines, Alaska | June, 2011
This is 1 of 3 Brown Bear cubs we watched for quite a long time along the coast near Haines, Alaska. |MC46-0305
Read MoreCaribou – Bull | Deadhorse, Alaska | June, 2011
This bull is a Barren-ground Caribou and belongs to the Central Arctic Herd. |MC45-0011
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Moose – Bull | Seward, Alaska | June, 2009
If you look close you can see an excellent example of moose drool. |MC7-0154
Read MoreMusk Ox | Atigun Pass, Alaska | June, 2011
Contrary to their name and appearance, Musk Ox have no true musk gland and are not oxen. Musk Ox are more closely related to sheep and goats and are in their own genus, Ovibos, which is Latin for sheep ox. The males do emit a musty cologne during the mating season. |MC43-0150
Read MoreSpectacled Eider – Male | Deadhorse, Alaska | June, 2011
This picture was taken on a snowy and very windy morning that was far from ideal for photography. It is still one of my favorite pictures of these truly amazing ducks which are experiencing a sharp decline in Alaska and are listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. |MC44-0230
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Musk Ox | Deadhorse, Alaska | June, 2011
We watched this cow and her calf that is out of the picture to the right for two hours the morning this picture was taken and they would not stand up. It was very windy and snowing but they apparently were comfortable. |MC44-0191
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