Here is a review of the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, located on the Seward Highway, about 10 Miles south of Girdwood Alaska. The AWCC specializes in "Big Game" animals native (or recently introduced) to Alaska. Indeed, it got it's start as an attraction called Big Game Alaska. The AWCC is not AZA accredited, but does occasionally provide rescued animals to other American and European Zoos. The AWCC lives up to the Conservation part of it's name by providing a home to many rescued animals, providing some excellent educational materials and signs, and by spearheading (with state, federal, and Canadian officials) the re-introduction of the Wood Bison to Alaska. Perhaps controversially, the AWCC has assisted Native Corporations in SW Alaska with introducing Plains Bison on some of their lands (as livestock basically) providing sustenance and tourism (including hunting) Oppurtunities. The AWCC sells Caribou pelts (Reindeer) at it's gift shop. Not exactly a German Wild Park with a Canteen serving game dishes on the grounds, but it is what is.
The AWCC advertises itself as Alaska most visited attraction and it's position along the highway between Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula (and the Kenai's cruise ship ports) probably contributes. But, as I've said, they do a really good job educating their visitors about Alaska's wildlife.
The AWCC sits on a flat plain at the confluence of the Portage Valley, Turnagain Pass, and the Turnagain Arm (a Fjord/Glacial Terminus extension of the Pacific Ocean between the Kenai and Chugach Mountains). In a word it is spectacular. Several hanging glaciers are in view of the grounds. If it's sunny a few miles north and south, the AWCC is still likely shrouded in fog and rain. Even at sea level, snow is here earlier and later than other sea level sites in the vicinity.
The grounds are mostly open with some groves of birch, but mostly low alder and brush, along with the ghostly remnants of Boreal Forest drowned during the 1964 Earthquake and tidal surge through the arm. It is common to see Bald Eagles, Ravens, and Magpies perched on the trees or scavenging among the Brown Bear, Coyote, and Black Bear enclosures. It's not uncommon to observe other bird species, Red Foxes, and Snowshoe Hares moving among the grounds and exhibits. To give you idea of what the area is like, last year a rescued Brown Bear yearling escaped it's enclosure at the AWCC and headed for the hills. It's sibling later went to a zoo in Sweden. The AWCC actually sent staff out to observe other Brown Bears frequenting the area to confirm that they were not the escaped bear. The escaped bear was eventually shot and killed some months later in a Defense of Life encounter with a local homesteader (no comment).
I'd encourage anyone interested to visit the AWCC's website for photos and information from the folks who work at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.
I last visited the center on 5 May 2013. It was about 34F, with light snow/sleet. Upon entering the center you have the option of driving from exhibit to exhibit (almost, but not exactly like a drive through safari park) or parking near the gift shop and walking through the AWCC. I recommend parking and walking, unless you are physically unable.
The first enclosure is a multi-acre semi-wooded field holding a large bachelor herd of Wood Bison. Next you arrive at the gift shop parking area in the western side of the center loop road between the various paddocks. Periodically different species are moved to different paddocks to allow the ground and forage to recover.
The enclosure immediately in front of the parking lot contains a small herd of Caribou descended from animals removed from Adak island in the Aleutians. As we move east on the road we come to a multi-acre, wetland enclosure inhabited by four Moose (all bulls I believe). The pond and trees are home to several species of wild birds. Adjacent to the Moose, is a very personable North American Porcupine in a small, open enclosure. The Porcupine came to the AWCC after being confiscated by the state from a family raising it as a pet.
Next to the Moose, we have another multi-acre enclosure home to a herd of Greenland Musk Ox. Most of this herd is descended from semi-domesticated herds farmed in Fairbanks and Palmer Alaska. One, however, arrived a few years ago from the coastal plain of Nothern Alaska. It was a first summer calf attached to herd of Greenland Musk Ox that descended from animals reintroduced to Alaska in the 1930's. A Brown Bear had charged into the herd and killed a cow Musk Ox, scattering the other animals. After a few hours the Musk Ox had crossed the river and the bear finished feeding and left the kill. The Musk Ox calf was found orphaned and miles from it's herd. Generally with wildlife, nature is allowed to take it's course, but eventually in this case the state determined to take the calf and introduce it into the AWCC's herd. I don't know how evolutionarily equipped Greenland Musk Ox are to deal with Brown Bears.
Past the Musk Ox we come to a large (dozen acre plus) enclosure containing three Brown Bears and a pair of Coyotes. The Coyotes are rarely seen. The bears can usually be sighted. The bears are fed (often road killed Moose) meat or fish near the front of the enclosure. During our visit a feeding took places and it was intersting to see dozens of Ravens and a few Bald Eagles scavenge from the bears. I got several nice photos of airborne Eagles trying to steal a small rib or portion of fish from each other.
The animals resident at the AWCC are often photographed professionally. I've seen a Brown Bear on the cover of Field and Stream Magazine and a herd of Bison on a Jeff Corwin Nature Special. I believe magazines have gotten better about identifying wether the animals pictured are wild or captive, but beware of really good shots of elusive wildlife identified as being photographed at "a wildlife refuge south of Anchorage". In the Jeff Corwin special the Wood Bison segment was introduced as "when I heard of the Bison roaming the valley below Portage Glacier, I had to come find them", or
something like that, but they weren't identified as a (currently) captive herd.
This brings us to the mixed bull/cow/calf Wood Bison herds house in large, multi acre enclosures. One of the most beautiful wildlife photos I've ever taken was last August of a mixed Wood Bison herd spread out across a bright green field, backdropped by the snow capped Kenai Mountains. Probably could have sold it to NatGeo (kidding)!
And there lay the strength of the AWCC...awesome photo Oppurtunities of large charismatic wildlife in very naturalistic enclosures. With the Brown Bears...the best bear exhibit I've ever seen, certainly the largest (possibly Eifel Park in Germany or a mixed Bear/Wolf enclosure I visited in the Netherlands are larger). Basically, if you enclosed 18 acres of well watered, riverine coastal plain and managed to have three native Brown Bears and a couple of Coyotes in the vicinity, enclosed by that photography friendly fencing, you would have a chance to match AWCC's Brown Bear exhibit.
After the Wood Bison the path loops back towards the parking area. You pass a transient enclosure currently occupied by a couple Moose calves, formally the home of a pair of Sitka Blacktailed Deer. You then pass a large enclosure holding a herd of Roosevelt Elk. In my opinion these Elk are the best reason to visit the AWCC in the fall. The subordinate bulls are separated and the dominate bull left with the cows. The bull can smell the seperated subordinate bulls, so he keeps working his harem. Herding the cows and bugleing his challenge. Had the same experience with the Red Deer enclosed at Opel Zoo in Kronberg Germany (a better exhibit in this case), but again the adjacent wild Alaskan scenery adds some panache.
Past the Roosevelt Elk, we find ourselves on the backside of the gift shop/visitor center. A rescued Bald Eagle and a Great Horned Owl are exhibited and a enclosure for a pair of Canada Lynx is built into the rear of the building. While not as naturalistic as the as the Clouded Leopard exhibit in Nashville, other than those extremely photogenic cats, the Canada Lynx displayed here, are among some of the easiest photographed mid-sized forest cats I've seen in captivity.
As you round the building an enclosure currently occupied by Sitka Blacktailed Deer and another large enclosure housing (temporarily) a pair of American Black Bears can be found. We also pass a small educational exhibit holding wildlife artifacts and a display concerning sub-arctic agriculture.
In the near future the AWCC should complete its B.E.A.R.S education center/bear exhibits. The AWCC website has more information.
A personal observation. With all the predetor control programs (providing oppurtunity to aquire) etc and tourist interest, I am surprised the AWCC does not display Grey Wolves or Wolverines. Regarding their focus on game animals, I'm surprised they don't exhibit Dall Sheep or Mountain Goats...although both species can be observed at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, or for that matter along the highway facing cliffs between Anchorage and the AWCC.
The Best:
Brown Bear/Coyote/Scaveging Raptor-Corvid exhibit
Canada Lynx exhibit
The Worst:
The captive birds.
The central paddock currently occupied by the Caribou.
I hope you enjoyed this review, please consider visiting this beautiful, educational facility online or in person if you find yourself in Alaska!
The AWCC advertises itself as Alaska most visited attraction and it's position along the highway between Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula (and the Kenai's cruise ship ports) probably contributes. But, as I've said, they do a really good job educating their visitors about Alaska's wildlife.
The AWCC sits on a flat plain at the confluence of the Portage Valley, Turnagain Pass, and the Turnagain Arm (a Fjord/Glacial Terminus extension of the Pacific Ocean between the Kenai and Chugach Mountains). In a word it is spectacular. Several hanging glaciers are in view of the grounds. If it's sunny a few miles north and south, the AWCC is still likely shrouded in fog and rain. Even at sea level, snow is here earlier and later than other sea level sites in the vicinity.
The grounds are mostly open with some groves of birch, but mostly low alder and brush, along with the ghostly remnants of Boreal Forest drowned during the 1964 Earthquake and tidal surge through the arm. It is common to see Bald Eagles, Ravens, and Magpies perched on the trees or scavenging among the Brown Bear, Coyote, and Black Bear enclosures. It's not uncommon to observe other bird species, Red Foxes, and Snowshoe Hares moving among the grounds and exhibits. To give you idea of what the area is like, last year a rescued Brown Bear yearling escaped it's enclosure at the AWCC and headed for the hills. It's sibling later went to a zoo in Sweden. The AWCC actually sent staff out to observe other Brown Bears frequenting the area to confirm that they were not the escaped bear. The escaped bear was eventually shot and killed some months later in a Defense of Life encounter with a local homesteader (no comment).
I'd encourage anyone interested to visit the AWCC's website for photos and information from the folks who work at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.
I last visited the center on 5 May 2013. It was about 34F, with light snow/sleet. Upon entering the center you have the option of driving from exhibit to exhibit (almost, but not exactly like a drive through safari park) or parking near the gift shop and walking through the AWCC. I recommend parking and walking, unless you are physically unable.
The first enclosure is a multi-acre semi-wooded field holding a large bachelor herd of Wood Bison. Next you arrive at the gift shop parking area in the western side of the center loop road between the various paddocks. Periodically different species are moved to different paddocks to allow the ground and forage to recover.
The enclosure immediately in front of the parking lot contains a small herd of Caribou descended from animals removed from Adak island in the Aleutians. As we move east on the road we come to a multi-acre, wetland enclosure inhabited by four Moose (all bulls I believe). The pond and trees are home to several species of wild birds. Adjacent to the Moose, is a very personable North American Porcupine in a small, open enclosure. The Porcupine came to the AWCC after being confiscated by the state from a family raising it as a pet.
Next to the Moose, we have another multi-acre enclosure home to a herd of Greenland Musk Ox. Most of this herd is descended from semi-domesticated herds farmed in Fairbanks and Palmer Alaska. One, however, arrived a few years ago from the coastal plain of Nothern Alaska. It was a first summer calf attached to herd of Greenland Musk Ox that descended from animals reintroduced to Alaska in the 1930's. A Brown Bear had charged into the herd and killed a cow Musk Ox, scattering the other animals. After a few hours the Musk Ox had crossed the river and the bear finished feeding and left the kill. The Musk Ox calf was found orphaned and miles from it's herd. Generally with wildlife, nature is allowed to take it's course, but eventually in this case the state determined to take the calf and introduce it into the AWCC's herd. I don't know how evolutionarily equipped Greenland Musk Ox are to deal with Brown Bears.
Past the Musk Ox we come to a large (dozen acre plus) enclosure containing three Brown Bears and a pair of Coyotes. The Coyotes are rarely seen. The bears can usually be sighted. The bears are fed (often road killed Moose) meat or fish near the front of the enclosure. During our visit a feeding took places and it was intersting to see dozens of Ravens and a few Bald Eagles scavenge from the bears. I got several nice photos of airborne Eagles trying to steal a small rib or portion of fish from each other.
The animals resident at the AWCC are often photographed professionally. I've seen a Brown Bear on the cover of Field and Stream Magazine and a herd of Bison on a Jeff Corwin Nature Special. I believe magazines have gotten better about identifying wether the animals pictured are wild or captive, but beware of really good shots of elusive wildlife identified as being photographed at "a wildlife refuge south of Anchorage". In the Jeff Corwin special the Wood Bison segment was introduced as "when I heard of the Bison roaming the valley below Portage Glacier, I had to come find them", or
something like that, but they weren't identified as a (currently) captive herd.
This brings us to the mixed bull/cow/calf Wood Bison herds house in large, multi acre enclosures. One of the most beautiful wildlife photos I've ever taken was last August of a mixed Wood Bison herd spread out across a bright green field, backdropped by the snow capped Kenai Mountains. Probably could have sold it to NatGeo (kidding)!
And there lay the strength of the AWCC...awesome photo Oppurtunities of large charismatic wildlife in very naturalistic enclosures. With the Brown Bears...the best bear exhibit I've ever seen, certainly the largest (possibly Eifel Park in Germany or a mixed Bear/Wolf enclosure I visited in the Netherlands are larger). Basically, if you enclosed 18 acres of well watered, riverine coastal plain and managed to have three native Brown Bears and a couple of Coyotes in the vicinity, enclosed by that photography friendly fencing, you would have a chance to match AWCC's Brown Bear exhibit.
After the Wood Bison the path loops back towards the parking area. You pass a transient enclosure currently occupied by a couple Moose calves, formally the home of a pair of Sitka Blacktailed Deer. You then pass a large enclosure holding a herd of Roosevelt Elk. In my opinion these Elk are the best reason to visit the AWCC in the fall. The subordinate bulls are separated and the dominate bull left with the cows. The bull can smell the seperated subordinate bulls, so he keeps working his harem. Herding the cows and bugleing his challenge. Had the same experience with the Red Deer enclosed at Opel Zoo in Kronberg Germany (a better exhibit in this case), but again the adjacent wild Alaskan scenery adds some panache.
Past the Roosevelt Elk, we find ourselves on the backside of the gift shop/visitor center. A rescued Bald Eagle and a Great Horned Owl are exhibited and a enclosure for a pair of Canada Lynx is built into the rear of the building. While not as naturalistic as the as the Clouded Leopard exhibit in Nashville, other than those extremely photogenic cats, the Canada Lynx displayed here, are among some of the easiest photographed mid-sized forest cats I've seen in captivity.
As you round the building an enclosure currently occupied by Sitka Blacktailed Deer and another large enclosure housing (temporarily) a pair of American Black Bears can be found. We also pass a small educational exhibit holding wildlife artifacts and a display concerning sub-arctic agriculture.
In the near future the AWCC should complete its B.E.A.R.S education center/bear exhibits. The AWCC website has more information.
A personal observation. With all the predetor control programs (providing oppurtunity to aquire) etc and tourist interest, I am surprised the AWCC does not display Grey Wolves or Wolverines. Regarding their focus on game animals, I'm surprised they don't exhibit Dall Sheep or Mountain Goats...although both species can be observed at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, or for that matter along the highway facing cliffs between Anchorage and the AWCC.
The Best:
Brown Bear/Coyote/Scaveging Raptor-Corvid exhibit
Canada Lynx exhibit
The Worst:
The captive birds.
The central paddock currently occupied by the Caribou.
I hope you enjoyed this review, please consider visiting this beautiful, educational facility online or in person if you find yourself in Alaska!
