Wildlife News

Moose injures girl in Eagle River

A moose stomped the arm of an elementary school-aged child Monday evening in Eagle River, police say. The girl's injuries do not appear to be life-threatening.

Black bear causes stir in Anchorage visit

Police tracked a black bear in the Abbott Loop area of South Anchorage through residential and industrial areas Saturday. The small bear, which residents said they've seen in the neighborhood recently, scampered away unharmed after officers followed it for about 30 minutes.

Genetically engineered salmon face tough road to market

AquaBounty, the U.S. company hoping to market genetically engineered, fast-growing salmon, is running out of money while waiting for final federal approval. Some would cheer the company's demise.

2 Denali wolves killed in buffer zone, setting off public outcry

Conservationists are demanding an immediate halt to wolf trapping around Denali National Park after two primary breeding females from the park's best-known pack died, one of them killed by a trapper operating just outside the park's boundary.

People get too close to Turnagain bear

A brown bear frequenting popular spots along the Seward Highway and the Turnagain Arm Trail is showing signs of being uncomfortable with picture-snapping humans who have come far too close.

Turnagain Arm Trail Run leaders encounter grizzly

Four groups sue to protect Cook Inlet beluga whales

Four groups including an Alaska Native village are suing the National Marine Fisheries Service, claiming the federal agency's permit for oil exploration will hurt endangered beluga whales in Cook Inlet.

Eagle River bear-mauling survivor surprised to be alive

When a brown bear charged him Saturday from about 30 yards away while he was on his property bordering Chugach State Park, Howard Meyer had one thing on his mind: "I thought that it was the end of my life."

More bear attack stories

Eagle River man hospitalized after brown bear attack

A brown bear mauled an Eagle River man walking on a hiking trail near his home Saturday evening, leaving him with scalp injuries and claw marks on his back.

Orphaned newborn seal proves too hard to resist

Tracy Mikowski holds a degree in wildlife biology and knows animals found in the wild should be left there. But when Mikowski came across a newborn seal in beach grass along Chilkat Inlet recently, she scooped it up.

Denali bear missing half of leg seems healthy

A three-pawed grizzly bear -- nicknamed "Tripawed" -- that turned up in Denali National Park last summer with a bloody stump for a right front leg is back, just in time for the start of the tourist season.

Reader photos: Bear sightings

Post your 2012 bear-sighting photos

Whaling commission's ex-chief pleads guilty to stealing funds

A longtime head of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission pleaded guilty Monday to stealing and misspending hundreds of thousands of dollars from the organization, and her successor is scheduled to plead to similar charges Wednesday.

Fairbanks hunter recalls weekend mauling in Kodiak

One minute, Rodd Moretz was high-fiving his 13-year-old son, Caleb, after shooting the biggest brown bear of his life. The next minute, he was tumbling down the hillside with another giant brown bear, wondering if he was going to die and how things could have gone from so good to so bad so quickly.

Read more about bear attacks in Alaska

Alaska's former top game official enters guilty pleas

A former top official in the Alaska Department of Fish and Game pleaded guilty Friday to two misdemeanor charges stemming from an illegal bear hunt in 2008, Alaska State Troopers say.

Moose Federation gets more funds for controversial program

For the second straight year, the Alaska Moose Federation has received more than $1 million in state funding for a "rescue and relocation" program that didn't move a single moose last winter.

It's time to raise your bear awareness

Although the heavy winter snow may have them wanting to hit the snooze button, it won't be long before local bears begin to rise and shine for the spring. That means now is the time to begin making preparations to avoid dangerous encounters with Alaska's most notorious forest dwellers.

Polar bears not descended from brown bears, scientists say

A research team that looked at DNA samples from brown, polar and black bears says the brown bear and polar bear ancestral lines have a common ancestor and split about 600,000 years ago.

Eastern Steller sea lions no longer endangered, feds say

Steller sea lions from Alaska's Panhandle to California have reached recovery targets and should be removed from the endangered species list, according to the federal agency that oversees them.

Feds again omit greenhouse gas from policy on polar bears

Polar bear management policy proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will continue to omit regulation of greenhouse gases blamed for the climate warming that's reducing the animals' summer sea ice habitat.

NOAA to update recovery plans for 2 whale species

Uncommon winter tough on moose

It's been a tough year for moose in Southcentral Alaska. Record snow has fallen this year, driving more moose down from the mountain valleys into the most populated parts of Alaska.

Fishery managers call for review of underwater canyons

Fishery managers in the North Pacific last week voted unanimously to reassess how to treat two large underwater canyons in Alaska's Bering Sea that lie near one of the nation's most profitable fisheries.

US, Russia to begin count of Bering Sea seal population

A team of researchers will begin flights over Bering Sea ice to answer a basic question about four of the region's most important species: How many ice-dependent seals are out there?