Wildlife of Denali

Denali abounds in wildlife. In addition to the usual small stuff, we saw scores of grizzly bears, many caribou and Dall sheep, and some moose, including one bull moose, and one fox. We struck out on black bears (they are rarely seen here) and wolves (the current wolf population is about a hundred). The park has an interesting policy when it comes to "undesirable" animal-human interactions. In most national parks, when bears become too used to people and troublesome; they are relocated to the backcountry. At Denali it is different; when the bears or wolves start getting into campgrounds and raiding the campers for food, they close the campground and let the animals take over the area. Some areas along the road were closed to off-road hiking because bears or wolves had moved into the area.

That said, you still see a lot of wildlife during the bus rides through the park. The drivers are generally good at spotting the animals and stopping to let you watch or photograph them. In addition, bus rides have the advantage that about 40 pairs of eyes are looking for wildlife. Here are a few of the photos I took:

Ptarmigans were easily seen along the Savage River.
 

This cow moose was having her lunch within a few hundred yards of the main visitor center at the park entrance.
 

This bull moose was also chowing down, but was much farther into the park.
 

This grizzly bear was walking down the park road towards the bus. When the driver spotted the bear, he stopped and we watched, hoping that the bear would walk right past the bus. But the bear turned and went into the bush. We saw several animals using  the park road; they probably find it easier than walking through the bush.
 

This fox was also using the park road; she appeared to be hunting for food, possibly squirrels.
 

A cow caribou with her calf trailing along behind. We had expected to see caribou in herds, but all the ones we saw were by themselves, or at most two or three together.
 

This bull caribou was walking along the road when we spotted it; the bus driver tried to slowly follow him, but the caribou spooked and took off running.
 

Dall sheep normally appear as small white dots on the mountain sides; they like high places and leave you wondering how they negotiate the terrain. These sheep were closer than most.
 

These two fellows were especially accommodating; they were on a ledge next to the road and didn't budge when the driver drove right up in front of them.