Tag archives for Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
What It Means To Be ‘Bear Aware’
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on April 10, 2012 To be “Bear Aware” has come to mean different things to different people and different communities, which is why I am not always a fan of choosing such phrasiology. At it’s most fundamental level “Bear Awareness” emphasizes a commitment to keeping bears wild. It suggests a certain stewardship of these iconic species, a respect for…
Bringing Back Bison–Brings Back Biodiversity
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on March 3, 2012 Bringing back the wood bison is not just about the restoration of a charismatic mega-vertebrate. Indeed, the wood bison–the larger of the two subspecies of the American bison–is a magnificent beast and reintroducing the subspecies is a heck of an achievement. But its return to Wild Alaska signifies much more. I’m privileged to be able to…
When Mr. Bovid Meets Mr. Cervid by Accident
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on November 15, 2011 I wasn’t on campus yesterday when one of our younger bull elk jumped an eight foot perimeter fence surrounding his enclosure. He found himself face to face with a muskox. The muskox was in his own paddock with his caprine herd-mates looking on. Our staff photographer, Doug Lindstrand, was on site to capture footage of…
Please Excuse the Tidal Bore
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on September 30, 2011 Contributing Editor Jordan Schaul recalls yesterday’s tide that brought a surge of water to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center campus. It was reminiscent of the great tidal bores that are particularly pronounced during the equinox. My colleagues and I pretty much rowed in to work yesterday as the tide nearly engulfed our campus. A few times…
Cabbage Conundrum: What Do You Do with a 125 lb Cabbage?
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on September 11, 2011 What to do with a giant cabbage? Eat it? Show it? How about feed it to an 800 lb grizzly bear? The 14th Annual Giant Cabbage Weigh-Off at the Alaska State Fair produced some gigantic heads of cabbage. I mean gigantic! When I first moved to Alaska I was aware that the citizens of the Frontier…
Surrogate Ambassador Species: The Lynx as a Case Study
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on August 21, 2011 Here at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC), we are at the forefront of educating people about native Alaskan game species–the only living institution like it in Alaska and the world, for that matter. Likewise, the Alaska SeaLife Center is the only living institution in the world dedicated to conservation, research and education of regional marine life. As we…
USFWS Acting Director Visits the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center’s Wood Bison Handling Facility and Experimental Reintroduction Herd
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on July 8, 2011 On June 29th, the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Acting Director, Rowan W. Gould and Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s (ADF&G) endangered species coordinator, Doug Vincent-Lang, and colleagues visited the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC) to see the experimental reintroduction herd of wood bison that will soon be released into the wild. Mike Miller, the…
“Gilly” the Moose Calf– Video Gone Viral
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on June 17, 2011 “Gilly” the Moose Calf (click on link to see video) Our first orphaned moose calf of the season has received quite a bit of acclaim and a lot of attention from our animal care interns. Erin Leighton from Houston, Texas filmed this segment. The link above takes you to a You Tube video featuring this…
Mamma Moose & Jack
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on May 22, 2011 One of the emerging disciplines in veterinary science and medicine is the study of the human-animal bond. As defined on the website of Purdue University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, “The Human-Animal Bond is the dynamic relationship between people and animals in that each influences the psychological and physiological state of the other.” A field that was once centered on…
The Art and Science of Captive Animal Enrichment: Part 1 – Bears
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on May 19, 2011 In celebration of Bear Awareness Week (May 15th – May 21st), Contributing Editor Jordan Schaul discusses enriching the lives of bears in captivity and particularly those at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is home to the largest bear exhibit in the United States. Zoo Keepers can relate to that puzzled expression…
Calving Season in Full Swing at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on May 15, 2011 Just a week after Mother’s Day we find ourselves overwhelmed with calves and new mothers at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. I counted 11 bison calves this morning and passed by two curious musk ox calves and one caribou calf on my early morning tour around the AWCC campus. I share below, recent photos taken by our staff…
Alaska Zoo Rescues Polar Bear Cub
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on May 9, 2011 Just over a week ago a 17lb polar bear cub was rescued from Alaska’s North Slope with the help of ConocoPhillip’s Alpine oil field operators and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Alaskan zoological facilities were prepared to take in the cub and she was eventually placed at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage. The zoo currently cares…
Chicago Zoological Society Spearheads Zoo Community’s Climate Awareness Initiative
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on May 9, 2011 Here in Alaska, the last frontier, the impact of climate change is particularly noticeable and clearly indisputable. Melting polar ice and the retreat of glaciers, among other changes, compromise polar and circumpolar fauna. As the Earth’s surface temperatures have warmed the impact on more temperate, subtropical and tropical regions is perhaps less obvious. Nonetheless, effects…
Road Deaths May Be the No. 1 Threat to U.S. Wildlife
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on April 25, 2011 
Millions of animals are killed on U.S. roads every week — more than hunting and lab testing combined. What can be done about it?
The Kodiak Cubs Meet Their Neighbors, The American Black Bears
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on April 6, 2011 
Confrontations between American black bears and grizzly bears are fairly rare. If a black bear encounters a grizzly the black bear typically runs away or climbs a tree, but more than often they can smell each other long before they get too close. Occasionally black bears will attempt to defend themselves against small subadult brown bears and…
Posted by By Jordan Schaul Bison are symbolic of the American prairie and the wooded landscape and meadows of Canada’s boreal forest. But today they are no longer part of Alaska’s landscape. As the largest terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere, they are an iconic species, and their return to Alaska would be monumental. I became involved with the wood…
Kodiak bears are a large subspecies of brown bear, found only on the Kodiak archipelago off the Alaska coast. The population of Kodiak bears is considered to be healthy relative to populations of other brown bears, so there is no need to develop a breeding program. Consequently, bears orphaned on Kodiak are often left to…
In the instant that a female Kodiak bear was shot dead on Alaska’s Kodiak Island last month, life changed irrevocably for her baby cubs. The mother had made the fatal error of wandering into a human settlement and, as normally happens when large wild carnivores come into contact with people, she paid with her life.…
