Post Archive by Year

Hoary Marmot, Denali National Park, Alaska.

While I was photographing this Dall Sheep recently in Denali, I heard a bunch of rocks sliding down the scree hillside next to me.  I looked over, and this Hoary Marmot came running down the hill and right up to me!  He stopped long enough to stare at me while I grabbed then photo, then it turned and ran off.  Really cool experience.

I’m not sure why he came up to me like that, I’m thinking it was just curious.  He acted like he was used to being feed, but it is very early in the season in an area few visitors are going to be walking, so I don’t think he was feed.  Plus, I don’t think they would like most hand outs.  So, I’m sticking with the curious story.

A wild wolf with an arctic ground squirrel, Denali National Park, Alaska.

We were fortunate to see wild wolves everyday during our time in Denali last week, but they were often hunting or resting too far away for decent photography.   The exception was this one who shared this squirrel with another wolf just out of sight, and then came back for another look as you see below.

Wolves have long been a favorite subject for me – here are more wild wolf photos.

Wild wolf, Denali National Park, Alaska.

Does this mean us?

I was photographing this cow with two young calves at sunset in Denali recently when they passed in front of this sign.  I decided to focus on the sign instead of the moose as it kinda looked like they were stopping to read it.  This is a long running restricted area in Sable Pass – an area known for grizzly bears – not a good place for moose calves.

Below is a cow moose near the front of the Park.

Moose, Denali National Park, Alaska.

Moose cow and calf at sunrise, Denali National Park, Alaska.

If you look close you can see the ears of the calf just behind it’s mom.  This cow and calf ran by us at full speed early one morning last week.  We never could see what it was running from, but it is safe to say, this is a really tough area for newborn moose.  Not only are there predators everywhere, but the vegetation is so tall and thick, this one had a difficult time just keeping up with its mother.

In the photo below is a cow with 3 calves which is some what rare.  She has taken a little different approach hanging out near the campgrounds at the front of the park where the predators are more uncomfortable, and the traveling is much easier!

Cow moose with 3 calves, Denali National Park, Alaska.

Dall Sheep, Polychrome Pass, Denali National Park, Alaska.

These are such amazing animals – it is hard to believe the steep terrain these guys can traverse with ease!

These were captured last Saturday on my recent trip to Denali, the bottom image just after 4:00 a.m., the above photo much later the same day – around 10:00 p.m.  The days can be long this time of year!

Dall Sheep, Polychrome Pass, Denali National Park, Alaska.

Grizzly Bear, Denali National Park, Alaska.

We are back from a really fun trip to Denali National Park.  We saw lots of wolves, bears, moose with calves, wildflowers and all kinds of weather – perfect!  I will be sharing more in the upcoming days.

Typically in early June, the landscape is still very brown with gullies still full of snow – it gives the park a zebra kind of look.  Not this year – Denali was incredibly green and we found all kinds of wildflowers – it was beautiful.  I thought it was at least 2 weeks ahead of schedule.  A ranger who lives in the area year around told us that many of the wildflowers were actually 3 weeks early.  So in the desert this spring they were 3 weeks late, here 3 weeks early – crazy stuff.

In the top photo is a sow with an approximately two year old cub.  We started watching them a long distance away.  At one point the sow playfully chased the cub right at us – I couldn’t roll the windows up fast enough!  They seem oblivious to vehicles and buses and hung around us feeding and interacting for a wonderful hour.  Below is a much more distant bear – notice how green it is.

Grizzly Bear near Polychrome Pass, Denali National Park, Alaska.