bears spend six to

eight months a year

feeding heavily, and

the rest of the year

fasting. They store

this food energy as

fat, and summer in

Alaska is a critical

feeding time.

In the 1800s and early 1900s, the Kenai Peninsula’s wolves were exterminated by miners, prospectors, and homesteaders. Between 1915 and 1965, wolves were only occasionally documented in the region. Between the late 1960s and mid-1970s, however, wolf populations increased as the animals moved into suitable habitats, reproduced, and established territories.

Wolves are social animals. Packs are usually family groups that include parents and young of the year, but larger packs may include pups for two or three litters, from more than one female, and some yearlings that stay with the pack.

In the early 1980s, Kenai Peninsula wolves began to show signs of being infested with dog lice. Despite efforts at treatment, the animals continue to struggle with lice, which damage their fur and cause severe itching.

Weighing between 20 and 40 pounds, coyotes are about one-third the weight of wolves. They average around two feet high at the shoulder, and, including tail, are about 4 feet long. In winter, their grayish-tan coats are usually lighter than they are in summer.

In general, coyotes are small-game specialists, feeding on hares, marmots, small rodents, muskrats, and even insects, berries and fish, although they do occasionally kill a large mammal such as a moose calf or a Dall sheep. They also scavenge carrion from wolf kills or winter-killed animals. Coyotes are not social to the extent that wolves are, although they do sometimes hunt cooperatively, and family groups stay together through the summer. Youngof previous years will occasionally help care for pups.

River Otters

Fairly common along the shores and rivers of the Kenai Peninsula, the river otter is the same playful aquatic weasel found throughout North America. River otters live in freshwater systems and in coastal waters, denning just inside forest edges and foraging on beaches and close to shore. They average three to five feet in length and weigh 15 to 35 pounds.

River otters are agile on land and in the water. They can run as fast as a human, and on snow they can reach speeds of 15 miles per hour by alternately running and sliding on their bellies. They can swim about six miles an hour—faster for short distances by propoising at the surface. Otters eat fish, shellfish, shrimp, sea urchins and virtually anything else aquatic that they can catch.

Otters may live in close proximity to humans, but they tend to be wary. They are delightful to watch when foraging and will usually come ashore or climb on a dock to eat their catch. They’re very social, sometimes seen in groups of five or more. Otters play often, wrestling, hiding and chasing each other on land and in the water.

Dall Sheep and Mountain Goats

The Kenai Peninsula hosts two species of white, mountaineering ungulates (hooved mammals): the Dall sheep and the mountain goat. Both species share the same general range of distribution on the Kenai; they are primarily found in the high Kenai Mountains in the northeastern part of the peninsula. Bird Point and Cooper Landing are good places from which to look for them. So when you spot a group of white critters grazing on a mountainside, how can you tell if they’re goats or sheep? One clue is habitat. Although both species can occasionally be seen together on the same mountainside, sheep tend to prefer drier south-facing slopes. Goats can tolerate deeper snows on the wetter north-facing slopes.

A closer look reveals more clues. Mountain goats (both females and males) have black, sharp, slightly curving horns, while Dall sheep horns are lighter in color and, on the males, can curve in full circles. Mountain goats are more yellowish in color and "squarer" in appearance, and seen from the front are much narrower than Dall sheep. Mountain goat hair, especially in the winter, is considerably longer than that of Dall sheep, and unlike sheep, goats have distinct "beards" under their chins.

Both sheep and goats rely on their agility and strength to clamber through the steep, rocky terrain that protects them from predators such as wolves. Both will graze and rest on moderate slopes but generally keep an escape route to steeper terrain.

In winter, Dall sheep move to "winter ranges"—windswept areas where snow does not drift too deep and the animals can reach the dry grasses and sedges that make up their winter diet.

Nanny and billy mountain goats segregate in spring and summer. Nannies with newborns band together and form "nursery flocks." These groups may include 20 or 30 animals, but tend to break into smaller groups of five to 10 goats that separate and regroup. Billies are found solo or in bachelor groups of a half-dozen animals.

In winter, mountain goats head down the mountains to the protection of the high forests, where they feed on rough forage such as mountain hemlock and blueberry bushes.

Alaska averages about 500 moose-vehicle accidents per year, with many of those on the Kenai Peninsula. Analysis of collision data shows that most vehicle-moose accidents occur at dawn and dusk when moose are on the move. Drivers should slow down and pay close attention to the road and roadside, being alert for moose. if you spot a moose on the side of the road, watch out for more. Calves will often run after cows across roads.

Moose haven’t always been so abundant here. In the early to mid 1900s, populations were declining. In 1947, a huge wildfire burned 300,000 acres of spruce forest near Sterling. In the years following the fire, willow, birch, and alder brush—excellent moose habitat—grew in the burned area. Moose populations increased in response.

In summer, moose can seem almost aquatic. They spend a great deal of time wading and swimming in lakes and ponds, foraging for tender aquatic plants such as horsetail, sedge, and pondweed; they’ll even submerge completely to get at a particularly tasty mouthful. Other summer foods include birch, aspen and willow leaves, and grasses.

Winter is a challenging time for moose. It isn’t the cold that daunts them— their huge bodies and thick pelts keep them plenty warm—it’s predators and food shortages. Heavy snow can make moose vulnerable to wolves. And their winter food, consisting mostly of coarse browse such as willow, birch and aspen twigs and bark, has a very low calorie-to-weight ratio. Moose must browse constantly in the winter. In some densely-populated sites, their busy teeth clip brush into a hedge. The hedge height varies, depending on how deep the snow was when the moose was browsing.

Although native to the Kenai Peninsula, caribou were absent for about 50 years between the 1910s and 1960s. Releases of breeding stock in the 1960s established two herds: one in the mountains near Hope and one in the Kenai River flats area. In the 1980s, additional caribou were released in the Tustumena Lake/Caribou Hills region, eventually establishing three additional herds. They are generally most accessible for viewing in the Kenai/ Soldotna area.

Caribou spend most of their lives in open country such as tundra, with occasional trips into boreal forest. They are superbly adapted to cold, wind, and snow. Their coats are thick with hollow hairs, which provide outstanding insulation. Their large feet act as both snowshoes and shovels, helping them to travel efficiently, and also to dig down to their chief winter forage plants such as lichens (reindeer moss), dried sedges and grasses, and small shrubs. In summer they feed on willow, sedges, herbs, and mushrooms.

Marine Mammals

Most of Southcoastal Alaska’s humpback whales migrate, spending summers in food-rich northern waters and wintering in the warm waters off Hawaii, where they mate and give birth. Gestation takes about 11 months, so a female that mates one winter will return to the tropics the next year to have her calf. The 3,500-mile migration takes about a month each way. The whales feed heavily in Alaska, eating almost 1,000 pounds of food a day. This food energy is stored as blubber. In the winter the whales generally fast, living off their fat reserves.

Unlike most other whales, belugas frequently venture
up rivers in pursuit of prey such as salmon and eulachon.

The Cook Inlet belugas are geographically isolated and genetically distinct from other belugas. Their numbers and range have declined dramatically in the past couple of decades and in 2006 they were added as candidates for listing under the Endangered Species Act.

Unlike most other whales, belugas frequently venture up rivers in pursuit of prey such as salmon and eulachon (a type of smelt common in coastal Alaska). They’re known to eat a very wide variety of foods, including crustaceans, squid, and clams.

Killer whales in Alaska waters are either residents or transients (a third group, called off-shore, has rarely been documented in Alaska waters).

Like other dolphins and porpoises, killer whales are capable of navigating and hunting under water in complete darkness using sound and echolocation, much like sonar. They emit a series of clicking sounds that they direct forward in a focused beam. They listen for the echoes of their sounds bouncing off objects in their surroundings and can judge the size, distance and speed of swimming prey.

Resident killer whales feed on fish, primarily salmon. They are very vocal and have sophisticated calls. Resident pods are more stable than transient pods. They often number more than 10 animals and can be as large as 50 animals.

Transients feed on marine mammals. Because marine mammals can hear echolocation sounds and whale vocalizations, transient killer whales tend to be very quiet and usually vocalize only after making a kill. Transients live in small, dynamic pods of three to seven animals.

Dall’s porpoises are usually the more visible of the two porpoises of this region. They typically travel in groups of two to 20 animals. These compact, muscular porpoises rival killer whales as the fastest creatures in Alaska waters. Their black backs and white bellies and flanks resemble the markings of killer whales, but they are much smaller, averaging about six feet in length and weighing about 300 pounds.

Harbor porpoises are dark gray or dark brown, with noticeably smaller dorsal fins than Dall’s porpoise fins. They are the smallest cetaceans in Alaska, averaging about 120 pounds. Although often described as shy, it may be more appropriate to say they are indifferent to boats and human activities. They do not bow ride.

Sea lions eat a variety of fish, from bottom-dwelling rockfish to salmon and herring. They also feed on squid and octopus. They forage from the intertidal zone to deep offshore waters. Although they have been documented diving as deep as 1,000 feet, feeding dives average about 60 feet.

Harbor seals feed on fish, clams, mussels, and crustaceans such as shrimp. They are hunted and preyed upon by sharks and by transient killer whales. In May and June they tend to move to sheltered waterways such as the deep bays of Kenai Fjords National Park, where each female gives birth to a single pup, often on an iceberg. Harbor seals favor nearshore water and will also swim up rivers.

Sea otters eat almost any fish or shellfish they can catch. They consume the equivalent of about 20 percent of their body weight every day and can dive as deep as 250 feet when foraging. Tool-users, they sometimes lug rocks to the surface to use as anvils on which to bash and break shellfish. Because they have voracious appetites, sea otters have a profound effect on their environment, significantly reducing the numbers of prey animals, such as sea urchins, in an area.

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, Russian, American and British fur traders virtually wiped out sea otters in Alaska and along the Pacific Coast. By 1850 just a few isolated groups remained, mostly in the Aleutian Islands. Their habitat remained intact, so once protected from hunting, their populations rebounded.

Most bald eagles are primarily fish hunters and carrion scavengers. Although they do make spectacular swooping flights to snatch small fish and unwary marmots, eagles are just as likely to steal other eagles’ food or scavenge a winter-killed mountain goat as they are to catch their own prey.

For the best eagle viewing, visit a salmon stream during spawning season, when scores at a time gather to feast. With a wingspan of up to 90 inches (7.5 feet) and weighing up to fourteen pounds, they will be the largest raptors (birds of prey) you’ll see. Females are slightly larger than males.

Eagles are monogamous and generally pair for life. They prefer to nest along rivers, lakes, or the ocean, and usually choose a large, prominent tree for a nest site. A pair will use the same nest year after year, repairing and adding to the nest platform—which can grow to the weight of a pickup truck.

Eagles can be seen on their nests in late May and early June, and they care for the chicks over the summer. The chicks fledge in August and September, just in time for autumn salmon runs.

Young bald eagles go through a gradual color change as they mature. In their first year, they are dark brown, with brown eyes and a brown bill. Second- and third-year birds develop a white "bib" that stands out against their dark belly feathers. The bib darkens over the next one to two years. The white head and tail develop around the fifth year. As an eagle matures, its bill and eyes gradually turn yellow.

Gulls are among the most challenging of birds to identify, but because of their abundance they offer lots of opportunities to practice—and their visibility makes them great subjects for extended viewing.

To start gull-watching, focus on adult birds (white bodies with gray wings) and pass on the more challenging juveniles (brownish). Once you’re familiar with the more common species, the rarer ones will stand out.

• Three common gulls are large (raven-sized) birds, about 24 inches long, with pink legs and yellow bills with red dots. Glaucous-winged gulls have gray wing tips. Herring gulls and Thayer’s gulls both have jet-black wingtips and are difficult to tell apart. Look into their eyes, if you can. Usually, herring gulls have pale irises and Thayer’s have dark irises. Some gulls are hybrids of two species. On the Kenai Peninsula this is common; virtually all of the gulls nesting at Skilak Lake are hybrids.

• Mew gulls are crow-sized (about 17 inches long). They have greenishyellow legs, yellow bills, and black and white wing tips. They may be confused with black-legged kittiwakes, which are about the same size but have black legs and black-tipped wings without white spots.

• Bonaparte’s gulls are pigeon-sized (about 13 inches long), with thin black bills and orange-red legs and feet. From April to August, they wear black hoods; the rest of the year they have obvious dark "ear" spots on their white heads. Bonaparte’s gulls can be confused with slightly larger Arctic and Aleutian terns (which also have black caps and gray backs), but both tern species have forked tails, and Arctic terns have red bills.

Winter and spring are good seasons to be particularly owl-aware, as that’s the time of year that these birds are setting up territories and preparing to nest. During this season, owls call frequently during the dark hours.

At 18-25" long and weighing up to 4 pounds, great horned owls are the Kenai Peninsula’s most powerful owls. They are the only large Alaskan owls with prominent ear tufts. Great horned owls hunt primarily by sight. Their populations fluctuate with the populations of their primary prey animals (snowshoe hares).

Short-eared owls are open-country birds, haunting marshes and tundra in search of voles and other small mammals, and small birds. They hunt primarily in evening and morning, but are active during the day as well. Watch for their distinctive fluttering flight.

Is that a hawk? Or is in an owl? The northern hawk owl lives up to its name, with its hawk-like silhouette, prominent perches and day-hunting habits. Hawk owls hunt a wide variety of small animals including rodents, hares and small birds. Watch for them in evergreen forests and along the edges of open areas such as meadows and bogs.

The smallest of the Kenai Peninsula’s common owls, the boreal owl is about the size of a robin. Like great gray owls, these white-spotted woodland owls hunt primarily by listening for the subtle sounds of their prey. Smaller yet, the northern saw-whet owl is increasing in numbers on the peninsula.

Members of this bird family are known as corvids. They are monogamous and generally mate for life. Flocks forage cooperatively, working together to capture prey that is too much for a single bird.

Ravens are playful and social, and are outstanding aerial acrobats. They carry sticks and feathers aloft, dropping them and then swooping to catch them mid-air as they fall or drift in the wind. Ravens also play tag, barrel- rolling and matching each others’ flight patterns. They slide and roll on snowy slopes like children at recess. In addition to their raucous "caw" calls, ravens have a wide range of vocalizations, some quite musical. They gurgle, chirp, warble and imitate sounds.

The crow species of coastal Alaska, known as the Northwestern crow, is a different species than the American crow found across the rest of the continent. Northwestern crows are slightly smaller than American crows, and have deeper voices.

Black-billed magpies are striking iridescent black birds with long tails and bold white patches on their wings and bellies. Like their larger cousins, they’re gregarious, scrappy and talkative.

Both Steller’s jays and gray jays are found on the Kenai Peninsula. Steller’s jays are rich cobalt blue shading to black on their jaunty, crested heads. Gray jays have downy-soft gray and white plumage and no crests.

Ptarmigan are close relatives of grouse, but where spruce grouse are forest specialists, ptarmigan prefer the open country of alpine tundra.

A winter treat is the discovery of a grouse’s bed: look for a hole in the snow where the bird plunged down to sleep, then scan for the tracks and wingmarks the bird made when it emerged.

Ptarmigan are close relatives of grouse, but where spruce grouse are forest specialists, ptarmigan prefer the open country of alpine tundra. There are three species of ptarmigan on the Kenai Peninsula: willow ptarmigan (Alaska’s state bird), rock ptarmigan, and white-tailed ptarmigan. In areas where all three species overlap, the birds segregate themselves by elevation, with the willows the lowest, followed by the rocks, and finally the white-tails.

As favored meals of many predators, including eagles, owls, coyotes and falcons, ptarmigan must blend with their surroundings as best they can. In summer, that means delicately dappled and speckled feathers that match the heathers, rocks and lichens of their mountain homes. In winter, that means the white of snow. All ptarmigans molt their body feathers at least twice each year, and male willow ptarmigans molt three times: in spring to breeding colors that include a chestnut cape and white belly, in summer to mottled browns and grays, and in fall to winter white.

Warblers are bug specialists. Their beaks are tiny and tweezer-like, perfect for picking caterpillars, spiders, and other small prey from among the leaves. Some warblers have perfected the art of snatching insects in mid-air.

Birdwatchers on the Kenai will also find thrushes: the familiar, ubiquitous American robin; the similarly-sized (but more gaudily-colored) varied thrush of the coastal rainforests; Swainson’s thrush; gray-cheeked thrush; and the small, shy hermit thrush with its lovely eerie song around Seward.

There are three species of chickadee known to breed on the peninsula. Blackcapped chickadees, the familiar chickadees of the "lower 48" can be seen in deciduous forests throughout the region. Boreal chickadees, with their brown caps and rusty flanks, are more common in dry forests of white spruce. Chestnut- backed chickadees are common in the coastal rainforest.

Chickadees nest in tree cavities excavated by woodpeckers and sapsuckers. They eat a wide variety of foods, including seeds, insects, and berries. They’re common visitors to birdfeeders. Like many seed-eating birds, they cache food, especially during the winter. A single chickadee can remember the locations of dozens of food caches.

Three species of loons nest on the peninsula’s many lakes: common loons, Pacific loons, and red-throated loons. These large birds build mounded nests of shoreline debris just adjacent to the water (loons are master divers, but can not walk on land). Loon chicks can sometimes be seen riding on their parents’ backs.

On ponds and small lakes, you’ll find many species of ducks, including mallards, teal, pintails, shovelers, and wigeons. These dabbling ducks feed by tipping downward from the water’s surface with their tails pointing to the sky. When startled, they spring directly from the water into the air. Winter birders will find some dabbling ducks in saltwater.

Goldeneyes, mergansers, and buffleheads nest in hollow trees near ponds and lakes. These diving ducks submerge completely as they seek out the fish and aquatic insects that make up their diets. When disturbed, they usually must make short runs along the surface of the water to get airborne.Kachemak and Resurrection bays are important winter habitat for a variety of sea ducks, including the endangered Steller’s eider.

Swans—Alaska’s largest flying birds—are often seen here. Tundra swans and trumpeter swans are the two species that migrate through; watch for them at Potter’s Marsh, Tern Lake, and the Kenai River estuary. Some trumpeter swans remain on the peninsula to nest on larger lakes. A few swans winter in the region, and can be seen on the Kenai River where water remains unfrozen.

During migration at these sites, every view can be filled with birds. Flocks of western sandpipers sweep across the landscape, shaping and reshaping, flashing dark and light as hundreds of birds turn as one. Dunlin quick-step through estuaries, their beaks stitching in and out of the mud like sewing machines at high speed, while turnstones skitter along rockier shores.

For the birds, the region’s estuaries and wetlands mean plenty of food: energy to carry them across hundreds or thousands of miles of inhospitable territory. For humans, this means outstanding birdwatching, including the chance to see not just lots of birds but unusual birds—stray migrants from Asia, for example. If you’re planning a visit to the Kenai Peninsula during shorebird migration, check ahead for birding tours and other events designed to help people learn about and appreciate this phenomenon. For example, Homer hosts an annual Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival, featuring tours, presentations, and artwork.

The sandhill crane migration is a treasure of Kenai wildlife viewing. Thousands of these birds descend on the region’s wetlands each May. Some remain to nest, while others continue further north. In September, they gather into flocks to head back to their wintering sites in California’s Central Valley. To watch crane flocks rise in graceful spirals to migration altitude, calling all the way, is to witness a truly unique and thrilling wildlife event. Sandhill cranes average around 3 feet tall and have wingspans of up to 6 feet. Although they resemble fish-eating herons, they’re much more catholic in their tastes, feeding on berries, amphibians, fish, small mammals, seeds, and roots.

Another crane display well worth seeking out is their "dancing." When greeting each other (particularly in spring), sandhill cranes perform elaborate bowing, leaping and skipping dances that are a joy to watch.

FISHING CROWDS

Fish don’t draw just bears. When salmon are running, some of the Kenai Peninsula Wildlife Viewing Trail Sites are occupied by hundreds of anglers. Wildlife viewers may find those sites busier than preferred during the short fishing season (dates vary by run and location), but tranquil and great for viewing most of the year.

By caring for watersheds and critical spawning habitat and carefully managing the harvest of adults, Alaska has maintained healthy salmon populations and sustainable fisheries. No populations of Alaska salmon are listed as threatened or endangered.

Five species of Pacific salmon spawn on the Kenai Peninsula. All are routinely referred to by at least two common names.

Aquatic insects are wonderfully adapted to their watery environment. Mayflies and stoneflies are tiny crawling insects that can often be found clinging tightly to stones in fast currents. Some even have suction-cup-like structures on their undersides to help keep them in place. Some caddisflies build themselves tube-like cases out of sand grains, bark, needles or other debris, while others spin silken nets to trap drifting prey. Juvenile dragonflies and damselflies are fierce predators, ambushing other aquatic insects and even fish in ponds and slow-moving streams. Diving beetles are also predators, chasing their prey down like wolves. Perhaps the most infamous of aquatic insects are mosquito larvae, which can be seen backflipping their way through the stillest waters.