Wildlife
Lawsuit challenges state program that allows killing of Southwest Alaska bears in effort to rebuild a caribou herd
Monday’s lawsuit is the latest in an ongoing legal fight over what Fish and Game has cast as an effort to restore the Mulchatna caribou herd in Southwestern Alaska.
‘Explosion’ of invasive European green crabs reported in Southeast Alaska
The Metlakatla Indian Community, which has been at the forefront in the effort to control the invaders, has trapped more than 40,000 of them this year.
North Atlantic right whale, one of the world’s rarest, sees encouraging population growth
It’s a welcome development in the wake of a troubling decline in the previous decade for the whales that are vulnerable to collisions with ships and entanglement in fishing gear.
Grubby, the opossum that came to Alaska in a shipping container, dies of old age at Alaska Zoo
The Virginia opossum ran loose for weeks in Homer before being caught and taken to the Anchorage zoo.
After years of coming in 2nd, a 1,200-pound bruin named Chunk wins Alaska’s Fat Bear Week contest
The burly brown bear with a broken jaw swept the competition this week, after finishing the popular online contest in second place three previous years.
2 hikers injured in bear attack on popular trail near Seward
The pair fought off a bear about a quarter mile up the trail to Exit Glacier, Alaska State Troopers say. The attack marks the fourth bear mauling reported since July.
Owner of Southeast Alaska wildlife center charged with animal cruelty
State and federal regulators have had concerns about the treatment of animals at Stephen Kroschel’s tourist attraction near Haines for years.
Wildlife abounds as Denali National Park opens road to private vehicle traffic until Oct. 15
The Denali Park Road was packed with bears, moose, ptarmigan and curious guests on the first weekend.
What to know about Fat Bear Week, and the brawny bruins battling for the title
Those casting votes online starting Tuesday will choose between 11 mammoth brown bears and the winner of last week’s competition for cubs.
The adventures of Emil the moose keep a corner of Austria on its toes
The moose appeared nearly three weeks ago in Lower Austria, a province in the country’s northeast that surrounds Vienna.
Fat Bear Week dates are set. Prepare to binge on bear cams.
Find out where to vote and how to watch your favorite bears of Katmai National Park and Preserve during Fat Bear Week 2025.
Anchorage man cited for illegally killing moose just off Powerline Pass Trail in Chugach State Park
The 28-year-old in an interview Thursday said he did not intend to kill a bull outside a legal unit but ended up about a mile from where he intended to hunt.
Ned is a perfectly nice snail, but his unusual shell has doomed his love life
Only 1 in 40,000 common garden snails have shells that coil to the left like Ned’s, instead of the right.
Calling lost chickadees in far-north poplars
The gray-headed chickadee was last heard in Alaska in 2018 and encroaching beavers may diminish what was the birds’ natural habitat.
Jogger mauled by bear near her Kenai Peninsula home
The 36-year-old woman was medevaced with serious injuries after being attacked near the Kenai River, Alaska State Troopers said.
Hiker mauled by bear in 2nd attack in a week on Anchorage-area trails
The man walking with a dog on a trail to Barbara Falls in Eagle River suffered arm injuries on Saturday morning, police said. Spawning salmon are drawing bears to rivers near trails.
Bull moose blocking a New York mountain trail mystifies wildlife researchers
The moose appears thinner than expected, but no obvious signs of disease have been found. The trail remains closed to prevent potential danger to hikers.
Wildlife officials working to identify bear in Anchorage attack, with 67-year-old hiker stable
The victim sustained injuries to her head, neck and arm, according to the Anchorage Police Department.
Where will the next big hurricane hit? Ask the sharks.
Researchers are equipping sharks with sensors that may help predict the power and path of Atlantic hurricanes.
Hiker mauled by brown bear in Anchorage’s popular Basher Trail area
A spokesman for the Anchorage Police Department, which was leading rescue operations, described the victim’s injuries as not life-threatening.
Essay: A life compressed into a month
On the 25-day miracle of an Alaska songbird adolescence.
Alaska Board of Game approves revived program for culling bears on caribou grounds
The controversial program, aimed at boosting the population of a struggling caribou herd in Western Alaska, had been halted by court rulings because of legal flaws.
Toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning blamed for Alaska seal deaths
A die-off last year at St. Paul Island, the first compelling case of fatal saxitoxin poisoning in marine mammals, comes as more harmful algae is found farther north
Appeals court backs NMFS decision rejecting Alaska effort to remove ringed seal protections
The state and the North Slope Borough had been seeking to compel NMFS to delist ringed seals, meaning remove the threatened listing status that had been enacted in 2012.
This summer, it’s bears vs. chickens on the Anchorage Hillside. Here’s how they can both survive
Local biologists are recommending electric fences, “unwelcome mats” and coop fortification.
Owner and staff at Southeast Alaska wildlife center say close to 20 animals missing after raid by state authorities
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game said it left some animals behind, but provided no firm number.
Whale severely injured in apparent boat strike in Glacier Bay
Park Service officials said they’re looking for more information on last month’s encounter with what appeared to be a medium to large vessel.
Wild orcas have been trying to feed people, new research shows
On more than 30 occasions and across four oceans, orcas have attempted to share their prey with people, potentially to develop relationships with humans, researchers have found.
Alaska wildlife action plan faces uncertainty as Trump seeks to end grant funding
Political uncertainty swirls around the future of 10-year state plans like that of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Federal government will allow more harm to polar bears near oil facilities
A new rule, scheduled to take effect Thursday, follows a series of lawsuits brought by environmental groups claiming that the federal government failed to adequately justify prior rules that allowed lower levels of harassment.