Where the Big Game Roam
Photos & Story by Candy
While spending another glorious summer in Alaska, I had the opportunity to work at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC). The center is located about an hour south of Anchorage on the Seward Highway. It is situated on the former town site of Portage which was destroyed in the 1964 earthquake. AWCC is a non profit organization dedicated to providing refuge for orphaned, injured and animals who can no longer survive in the wild. Another important goal is to educate the public about Alaskan wildlife. The center is open to the public year around and is visited by thousands of people each year from all over the world. The 200 acre compound is home to brown and black bear, moose, elk, caribou/reindeer, wood and plains bison, deer, muskox, coyotes, eagles, owls and other birds and small mammals in their natural habitat.
The center is manned by groups of young interns whose duty it is to see to the feeding and other caregiving chores. This can mean 4 hour around the clock bottle feeding of the moose calves, to feeding the large brown bears to moving the bison and elk herds around for grazing and to educational behind the scenes tours. Their duties are endless. They are a host of educational information to help visitors learn about Alaskan wildlife and are available to answer questions and put on demonstrations.
Muskox
Plains bison
Caribou
Candy feeding two baby moose
Most of the animals here are not returned to the wild because they have become accustomed to their caregivers and abundance of human interaction with the many visitors. One exception to this is the wood bison who are a part of the Wood Bison Restoration Project. The bison became extinct in Alaska during the early 1900's due mainly from hunting. From a herd wondering wild in Canada, seven male and seven females were brought to the center. They now number over 100 and will be released back to the wild to roam free.
Moose
Wood bison
Brown bear
Brown bearThe AWCC is a great family destination for a day outing. The opportunity to see these Alaskan wild animals is a must and unforgettable. As long as you are in the area, the Portage Glacier tours are only six miles away and the chance to take the tunnel to Whittier just another six miles. The AWCC is another of Alaska's many jewels.
(The pics are muskox, plains bison and calf, brown bear, kodiak cubs, wood bison, moose calves, caribou and bull moose)