fbpx
Tag

moose

Browsing

Absolute Perfection The jet skiff skimmed up the Ambler River, my guilt fading with each bend. I’d sworn to myself to stay glued to home, attending to a pile of now-or-next-year chores. But here I was, heading out into the country instead. The day had started with the same grungy, rain-spattered weather that had defined the past month; but by afternoon the clouds had dissolved into a blue sprawl of sky, colors glowing, the breeze sighing of summer—the best day of the whole damn fall. As a bonus, the hordes of mosquitoes and gnats that had plagued us had evaporated. So, what to do—spend this afternoon patching and painting a storage shed desperate for it five years ago, or take a river run somewhere? Not much of a decision. The shed was good at waiting, after all.  Soon as I’d decided to duck out, I knew where I was going—up…

Art by Tim Bower Why do moose have that weird goatee thing? The unofficial answer is… well… because… nature’s weird? The flap of skin that hangs underneath a moose’s chin is known as a dewlap, or bell. Scientists have theories about the purpose of the dewlap, including that it may be used for communication during the rut. Another theory is that it may act as a sign of social hierarchy; a larger dewlap could signal a more dominant male. Ultimately, there’s no conclusive evidence explaining exactly why moose have dewlaps. That means the official answer is, well, because nature’s weird. Nature is, in my opinion, pretty neat. What’s the neatest thing about nature in Alaska? During winter, wood frogs in Alaska will stop breathing, their hearts will stop beating for days to weeks, and two-thirds of their body will freeze before they thaw and return to life as usual in…

A bull moose rubs his antlers on weather instruments in Anchorage. Photo courtesy Dan Peterson, NOAA/NWS/WSFO Anchorage It’s uncommon to see wolverines in Anchorage, but one rogue wolverine ventured into the city where it could prey on chickens and chase stray cats. Biologist Dave Battle got a call one day that the wolverine had killed someone’s rabbits and stashed them under a low deck. Every time the homeowner approached the deck, the wolverine growled. To solve the dilemma, Battle first used a garden tool to pull the rabbits out from under the deck. Then, he and a fellow biologist turned on the hose and jetted water at the animal. The wolverine sprinted out from under the deck and never returned. “Not every day that you spray a wolverine out from under a deck with a garden hose,” Battle says. Battle, who has worked as the management biologist for the Anchorage…