The arctic fox lives farther north than any other fox. They are well adapted for the cold harsh weather of the Arctic. The arctic fox can hunt lemming that they can't see beneath the snow, but if the arctic fox can't kill enough to eat, it will settle for leftovers from other animals.
Identification:
Distinguishing Characteristics: The arctic fox has the warmest fur of any mamma, even warmer than the polar bear and arctic wolf.
Breeding: Mating occurs in early March and early April. Gestation lasts 52 days. Litters average seven pups but may contain as many as 15 pups.
Habitat:
Arctic fox can be either gray-blue or white. The blue coloration is not as common as the white. Young of each color may occur in the same litter.
As summer begins, the arctic fox sheds its white coat for a brown one, perfect cover for summer. The change back to a winter coat occurs in September and October. By November the white winter coat is complete. Foxes of the blue coloring remain dark or charcoal colored all year but become a little lighter in winter.
Arctic fox are scavengers, and will eat almost anything, including what polar bears have left behind when they have feasted. Also, when food is plentiful they will bury it for later.
The arctic fox's adaptation to its subzero habitat include a compact body with short legs, short ears, dense fur, and thickly haired foot pads, which insulate against the cold and provide traction on ice.
Arctic fox sometimes will enlarge ground squirrel burrows with several entrances and use the burrows for dens.
Arctic fox walk along on top of the snow listening for the small creatures under the snow. When they hear one they jump up and down to break through the snow with their front paws. Once the snow is broken they can grab their prey.
Arctic fox have very warm fur that can be used for clothing and can be sold or traded.
The name, the American brown bear, is a misnomer given the many color phases of this bear. While in eastern North America, most brown bears are, in fact, brown, such is not the case as one moves westward across the continent.
It is the one bear species which seems to have the greatest capacity to live in close proximity to man.
The American brown bear is the most widespread and numerous bear in North America. It is estimated that there are somewhere between 400,000 and 750,000 black bears throughout North America.
Its range extends from the northern tree limit of the Arctic far to the south through most of Canada and the United States. It is found as far south as the range of the Sierra Madre Mountains which are located in north-western Mexico.
Its preferred habitat includes forests with occasional open areas such as meadows. This includes the hardwood forests along the eastern side of North America as well as the coniferous forests found in the more central and western parts of the continent. The only habitat from which is excluded are those areas where heavy de-forestation has occurred.
This area encompasses 32 American states; all the provinces and territories of Canada excepting Prince Edward Island; and 5 Mexican states.
The American brown bear is a large mammal whose size and weight show high variability depending on food availability, climatic conditions, etc.
In general, adult brown bears range from 89 to 102 centimeters (35 to 40 inches) tall when on all fours and have a length of 140 to 180 centimeters (4 1/2 to 6 feet).
The weight of a brown bear, which is highly variable, ranges from 57 to 272 kilograms (125 to 600 pounds) with males within a geographic area on average about a third larger than females. The largest American brown bear to date was found in Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba, Canada. It weighed in at 365 kilograms (805 pounds).
The lifespan of brown bears in the wild can be twenty-five years or more.
Brown bears have a heavy body, short tail, rounded ears, plantigrade feet (i.e., both heel and toe make contact with the ground when walking in a manner similar to humans), and a hind foot with five toes. They are much quicker than their appearance would suggest with recorded speeds being in excess of 40 kilometers per hour (over 25 miles per hour) for a short distance.
Brown bears lack the distinct shoulder hump of the brown/grizzly bear and the claws on the front paws are much shorter and generally not visible from a distance. Their curved claws are highly adapted to tree climbing and all black bears are agile tree climbers.
While members of the order Carnivora , they have evolved primarily into vegetarians with accompanying changes in their dental structure and digestive tract.
The fur color of the brown bear is often, in fact, brown but color phases can also include light brown, dark brown, cinnamon, beige, and even a blue-white colour. There is evidence to suggest that in areas of relatively high rainfall, brown bears predominate while in the drier inland areas of the continent, brown and blond bears are more common.
The Kermode bear, often referred to as the ghost bear, has beautiful cream-coloured fur. It is found only on three small, isolated islands found off the western coast of British Columbia. The brown eyes and black nose of these bears eliminate any possibility that the Kermode bears are an albino race.
Brown bears, like most wild creatures, seek foods which will return the highest nutritional and protein value for the least expenditure of energy. Seasonal availability and geographic location are the biggest factors determining the primary food sources of bears.
Eating virtually anything edible, it has been determined that more than 75% of their diet consists of vegetable matter including, berries, flowers, grasses and sedges, herbs, tubers and roots, and nuts of all kinds. For the remaining portion of their diet, animal matter such as decaying animal carcasses, fish, small marine animals, ants and other insects, honey, elk and moose calves and a variety of other small mammals (e.g., ground squirrels, marmots, etc.) are consumed.
Brown bears like to feed in the cool of the evening or in the early morning. During the heat of the day, they will often seek shade in the dense underbrush.
The size of the home range of an individual black bear will vary with the concentration of high energy food sources. Thus, the more concentrated the food sources, the smaller the range necessary to maintain an animal.
In general, females will have a home range which is 6.5 to 26 square kilometers (2 1/2 to 10 square miles) while males will normally have a home range which is four times larger at 26 to 124 square kilometers (10 to 40 square miles). The range of every adult bear is composed of an individual territory part of which constitutes its exclusive domain while the rest it co-habits with other bears. The home range of a mature male bear will often overlap the home range of several female bears.
Characteristically, a home range does not constitute one large area but rather is composed of several smaller food source areas connected by travel lanes. Open areas are usually avoided by black bears as they prefer wooded cover. Stream and creek beds are often used as travel lanes because of the thick undergrowth and a barrier-free escape route. This is particularly true in areas where there is heavy urban build-up.
Female brown bears normally mature at 3 to 5 years of age with some waiting even later for their first mating. Copulation normally takes place in a manner similar to members of the canine (dog) family.
In warmer climates, mating may take place as early as May or June while in more northern (and therefore colder) locations, mating may be delayed until July or early August. Females will normally mate with several males over the two to three weeks of the breeding season. Females will normally breed every other year.
Through a remarkable process referred to as delayed implantation, the fertilized ovum divides a few times and then floats free within the uterus for about six months with its development arrested. Sometime around the denning period, the embryo will attach itself to the uterine wall and after a period of eight weeks (January/February), the cubs will be born while the mother is still in hibernation.
Delayed implantation clearly serves an important survival need for the mother. Should she not have enough fat reserves to carry her through the winter, the embryo will not implant and it is simply reabsorbed by her body.
The number of cubs born ranges from one to a maximum of four with two cubs being average. As a rule, the number of cubs a female will have increases as she gets older. Again, climate and food supply are important determinants of the size of the litter.
At birth, the cubs are blind, hairless and very tiny. They weigh from 240 to 330 grams (8 1/2 to 11 1/2 ounces). Virtually helpless, they are, however, able to move sufficiently to suckle on their mother who remains asleep. Her milk is calorically very rich containing over 20% fat. In contrast, human milk only contains about 4% fat.
Within the next five weeks, the cubs will develop rapidly on this rich diet such that they will be able to follow their mother when she leaves the den.
The survival of bear cubs is extremely tenuous with predation by adult male bears being quite common. Also, wolves, bobcats, eagles, mountain lions and, in more urban areas dog packs have been known to kill young cubs who become separated from their mother's side.
While the mother is foraging , the cubs are often placed under the shelter of a thicket or in a nearby tree. In the event of danger, the cubs will stay in the tree while their mother either takes guard on the forest ground below or climbs the tree after them.
The cubs will stay with their mother for the entire first year. They are generally weaned between July and September of their first year and stay with their mother through the first full winter. Their survival is totally dependent on the skill of the mother in both protecting them and teaching them the basics of what to eat, where and how to get it, where to den, and how to cope with danger.
As adolescents, the young bears are still in extreme danger. Normally they are driven off by their mother as she prepares to breed once more. They must now become rapidly self sufficient if they are to stay alive and find sufficient food to build up their fat reserves to last over the long winter. Occasionally, young bears will spend a period of time together after they have been driven off by their mothers.
During late summer and early fall, all bears have, as a survival imperative, the need to gain as much weight as possible. Through the harvesting of locally available nut crops, berries, etc., black bears normally make very large weight gains. Such gains may be as much as 14 kilograms (30 pounds) per week. At such times, foraging may occur around the clock with only short rest periods.
Most brown bears, including all who live in areas with severe weather climates, will hibernate for between four and seven months. Where the weather is much more temperate and the period without food available is quite short, black bears may either not hibernate or they may simply nest in a thicket or other sheltered area for brief periodsof time.
In northern areas, the arrival of colder weather and/or snow precipitates the bear undergoing a remarkable metabolic transformation as it prepares for hibernation. Hibernation is an energy-saving process bears have developed to allow them to survive long periods when there is insufficient food available to maintain their body mass. As they stop eating and become increasingly lethargic, the bear will enter a cave; dig out a den; or hole up in a dense brush pile, hollow log or tree cavity.
While hibernating, a bear's heart rate drops from between forty to seventy beats per minute to only eight to twelve beats per minute and its metabolism slows down by half. Unlike many other animals who hibernate, its body temperature only undergoes a minor reduction of 3 to 7 degrees Centigrade (5 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit).
During the entire period of hibernation, the black bear will neither pass urea or solid fecal waste. While urea poisoning causing death would occur in all other animals, bears have developed a unique process of recycling the urea into usable proteins.
Most brown bears vacate their winter dens over a one to two month period commencing in April or May. Both the climatic conditions (snow cover and temperature) and physiological factors such as the bear's age, the status of its health and its remaining fat reserves affect the exact timing of emergence from its den. Normally, adult males emerge first. Females with newborn cubs are usually the last to leave their dens.
During the hibernation period, all bears lose a great deal of weight. Adult males and adolescent bears lose between 15% and 30% of their weight while it is not uncommon for a female cub with newborn cubs to have lost as much as 40% of her weight.
The brown bear will then resume its normal foraging pattern as it completes the cycle of life.
BEHAVIOR: Usually solitary except female- cub groups or near abundant food source. Pregnant females den up for winter but do not hibernate. All age and sex classes may den temporarily to avoid harsh weather. Very inquisitive, with an acute sense of smell. Swim with head above water, dog-paddling with front legs. Dive to approach basking seals at edge of floes or to flee from humans.
DISTRIBUTION/MIGRATION: Arctic. From Bering Sea into Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Seasonal movement with ice: n. in summer as ice recedes from coast, s. with advancing ice in fall.
The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) of Alaska’s waterways and the soaring Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) of the Interior are two of this state’s most magnificent birds of prey. Long valued for their aesthetic beauty, eagles are now recognized for their biological importance as scavengers and predators in the natural environment. These raptors deserve our protection and respect.
General description: The Golden Eagle is named for the golden buff-colored feathers on the crown and nape of the neck. The adult body color is usually dark brown, and the dark-tipped tail is either darkly barred or spotted. Adult plumage is acquired over a three to four year period and involves a gradual reduction in the amount of white coloration. Immature Golden Eagles have white wing patches and white at the base of the tail. This bird has a wing span from 6-7 feet (1.8-2.1 m) and weighs 8-12 pounds (3.6-5.4 kg). It may carry a weight up to 7 pounds, but prey averages around 2 pounds.
Golden Eagles are found in northern regions of the entire northern hemisphere. In Alaska, the range extends as far north as the Brooks Range with a limited and scattered distribution in Southeast and rare occurrences in the Aleutians or Alaska Peninsula. Not all eagles migrate but most go south when food supplies decline.
Reproduction and nesting:
Time of courtship varies with elevation and latitude. Golden Eagles arrive at Denali National Park in March and as late as May in the Brooks Range. Egg laying takes place from late April through May. Usually a clutch of two eggs is laid with 35 to 45 days needed for incubation. It takes 90 to 100 days for the hatchlings to become independent of their parents. Nests (eyries) as large as 10 feet across (3 m) and 4 feet (1.2 m) thick are usually located on cliffs, but trees may be used. Overall fledging success is approximately one eaglet per pair. Since mortality in juveniles can be as high as 75 percent, it could take one mating pair up to 10 years to produce two breeding birds.
Food habits: The Golden Eagle feeds mainly on ground squirrels, hares, and birds such as cranes, owls, and ptarmigans. While golden eagles are capable of killing large game animals (i.e., Dall sheep lambs, etc.), few killings have been observed. Eagles also feed on carrion.
Management and protection: Federal and state laws protecting the Bald Eagle also apply to the Golden Eagle, making possession illegal. Chemical contaminants are not presently affecting the Golden Eagle. Loss of undisturbed habitat seems the most serious threat to maintaining healthy populations of Golden Eagles. Increasing human disturbance of eagles and remote area development pose similar problems for Golden Eagles as they do for Alaska's Bald Eagles.
Puffins, because of their large colorful beaks and comical looks, are probably the most easily recognized and most popular Alaska seabirds. Puffins have probably been depicted on more tee-shirts, drinking cups, cards, and souvenir plates, been the subject of more drawings and paintings, and been made into more stuffed toys than any other Alaska bird except eagles and ravens.
Two species live in Alaskan waters: the Horned Puffin (Fratercula corniculata) and the Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata). They belong to the family Alcidae, which includes auks, auklets, murres, murrelets, and guillemots. Alcids spend most of their lives on the open sea and only visit land to breed in the summer. In Alaska, puffins breed on coastal islands and headlands from Forrester Island in southeastern Alaska to Cape Lisburne on the Chukchi Sea Coast. Horned Puffins are more prevalent farther north than Tufted Puffins.
General Description:The most striking puffin feature is the large colorful bill. Early sailors dubbed them the "sea parrot" from their stout bodies, short wings, and their orange or red webbed feet which are placed far back on their body. Both males and females have the same markings.
Horned puffins are the species most often depicted on souvenirs. In summer they have a black back and neck with white on the sides of the head and on their breast. The white breast is so distinctive that in one Eskimo language puffins are called katukh-puk, meaning "big white breast." The Horned Puffin has a small, fleshy, dark "horn" above each eye in the summer. The beak is bright yellow with a red tip. Adults are about 14 inches (36 cm) long and weigh about 1 1/4 pounds (600 gm).
Tufted Puffins are named for tufts of feathers that curl back from each side of the head. They have dark, black bodies and white faces. They have orange feet,and their bills are red and yellow.
Puffin bills are larger and more colorful in the summer nesting season than in winter. Both species shed the bill’s outer layers in late summer, which leaves a smaller, drab-colored bill. Also, their bodies are not as distinctly marked with white but tend to be dusky gray.
