Animal life played a fun component in our Alaskan trip. We went to the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward which was very much like the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I could see native fish, birds, and mammals that I otherwise would have not seen in the wild.
Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving Alaska’s wildlife through conservation, public education, and quality animal care. AWCC takes in injured and orphaned animals year-round and provides spacious enclosures and quality animal care. Animals that cannot be released into the wild are given a permanent home at the center.
Institute of Arctic Biology is part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and they study the diet, reproduction and behavior of native arctic animals such as the caribou and muskox. We visited their Large Animal Research Station where we heard about the research and observed some of the animals up close-and personal.
We visited a husky kennel where we learned all about the care, feeding, training and breeding of these furry creatures. These dogs WANT to run, are bred to run, and need to run. Our guide noted that the dogs didn’t look like the sled dogs from the movies because what we saw in movies were “movie star dogs” comparing that she was a real person and didn’t look like Angelina Jolie.
We did see some wild animals in our travels: moose, Dall Sheep, bald eagle, and a million ravens.