Wildlife
RSSAlaska News covers wildlife issues including marine mammal entanglements, bear safety, hunting regulations, and federal management of fish and game.
Tok's 40-Mile Air gets $45,000 contract for helicopter flights to track Yukon-Charley wolves
The Park Service is paying a Tok air service $45,000 for on-call helicopter time to keep tabs on Yukon-Charley's wolves. The wolves were not consulted.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1d ago1 min read
Board of Game proposals would cut Western Arctic caribou limits further as the herd declines
The Western Arctic Caribou Herd is down to about 121,000. Proposals to cut harvest further go before the Board of Game in Kotzebue, and comments are due Jan. 9.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3d ago2 min read
Hiker injured by bear on Jones Point Trail in Haines
A hiker attacked by a bear on the Jones Point Trail got herself out. It is the second bear attack in Haines in under a month, and both bears are loose.
by Maggie AlaskaNews6d ago2 min read
A police drone searched south Anchorage for a brown bear before dawn
Anchorage police flew a drone over a south Anchorage neighborhood before dawn looking for a brown bear. Whether they found it is not public.
by Alaska News6d ago1 min read
Katmai superintendent reports more bear cubs at Brooks Camp than in years
Katmai's superintendent says there are more bear cubs at Brooks Camp than in years, an observation with no published count behind it.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Rabies is climbing among wildlife across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta
Rabies is rising among Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta wildlife. Foxes come in to den in village landfills in late winter, and rural dogs live outdoors.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Nine new deep-sea sponge species confirmed in Gulf of Alaska and Aleutians
Scientists found nine sponge species new to science off Alaska, one so strange it needed its own genus. Alaska now claims 232 kinds of sponge.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
A third Baranof Island goat zone closes early as the state guards the herd
Baranof Island's Lisa Creek goat zone closes Sept. 13 after two billies filled its quota — the third zone shut down early this year over population worries.
by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Fish and Wildlife is putting GPS collars on moose in the upper Tanana
Tetlin refuge would like a word with its moose. It is spending $94,542 on GPS collars to learn where they go and how well they are eating.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Koyukon elder ties Galena swallow decline to Air Force mosquito spraying in TCC bird booklet
Elder Benedict Jones links Galena's 89 percent swallow decline since 1970 to Air Force pesticide spraying, documented in a Koyukon bird knowledge booklet published by the Tanana Chiefs Conference.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Kodiak's landfill is out of compliance because bears keep getting in
Kodiak gave every household a bear-resistant cart. Bears keep getting into the landfill anyway, and the borough wants to talk about it privately.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Haines woman seriously injured by bear on Mt. Riley Road
A Haines woman was seriously injured in a bear attack on Mt. Riley Road early Saturday, Aug. 29, after the animal may have been drawn by dumped food waste nearby.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read
Bear mauls dog walker in Haines, animal not located
A bear attacked a dog walker in Haines early Saturday, striking from behind, but the animal remains unfound despite search efforts by troopers and police.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
New Potter Marsh boardwalk and ice-skating ramp open Saturday
Potter Marsh opens a 200-foot boardwalk, viewing platform, and ADA-accessible ice-skating ramp Saturday, Aug. 29, giving visitors a dedicated alternative to using narrow highway shoulders.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Researchers get $812,016 to study Glacier Bay's iceberg seal habitat
Glacier Bay's harbor seals pup on icebergs. The glacier making those icebergs slowed 45 percent, and researchers got $812,016 to study what that means.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read
Southeast wolf hunters will be asked to leave a little of the animal behind
Southeast wolf hunters will be asked to leave a strip of hide, a bit of muscle, and on Prince of Wales, the foreleg bones. Season opens Sept. 1.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Moose in Gates of the Arctic are up 48 percent, and researchers point to shrubs
Moose in the Gates of the Arctic survey area are up about 48 percent since 2015. Researchers tie the Arctic's moose expansion to taller shrubs.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Park Service urges hard-sided bear containers in the Arrigetch Peaks
A brown bear took food from a soft-sided bear-resistant container in the Arrigetch Peaks on August 13. The Park Service now strongly recommends hard-sided containers, which backpackers can check out at the Bettles Ranger Station.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
NOAA pays $1.57 million for samples from subsistence-harvested seals
NOAA is paying $1.57 million for samples from seals Alaska Native hunters take for food. The science depends on hunters volunteering what they harvested.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A toxic bloom killed fur seals off St. George with the highest saxitoxin level ever recorded in the species
A toxic bloom killed fur seals off St. George with the highest saxitoxin level ever recorded in the species. Tribal monitors get another year to track it.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Catch a pike in an Anchorage lake and you have to kill it
Catch a northern pike in an Anchorage lake and you have to kill it. They are invasive south of the Alaska Range and they eat salmon and trout.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Woman injured by brown bear sow near Bells Flats in Kodiak
A woman was hurt by a brown bear sow while walking her dog near Bells Flats on Kodiak, but her dog's barking distracted the bear long enough for her to escape.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A second person has been hurt in an Anchorage otter attack in three weeks
A second Anchorage resident in three weeks has been hurt by a river otter, and Fish and Game is telling paddleboarders and dog walkers to carry bear spray.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
State says Kodiak landfill is out of compliance on bears and borough could be fined
Alaska says Kodiak's landfill violates wildlife rules because bears keep reaching trash, and the borough could face fines for negligently feeding them. A $250,000 fence won't solve it alone.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read
ADF&G asks Kenai bull moose hunters for tissue samples within 24 hours of harvest
Alaska Fish and Game wants Kenai bull moose hunters to deliver tissue samples within 24 hours of harvest, a tight window that will force some hunters to cut their field time short.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Federal regulators weigh a noise permit for a Douglas Island cruise terminal, with sea otters in the balance
Federal regulators are weighing a noise permit for a Douglas Island cruise terminal that could affect sea otters, with public comment open through Sept. 11.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Trail runner injured by brown bear near Anchorage's Prospect Heights trailhead
A woman running alone on Wolverine Bowl trail near Anchorage was injured by a brown bear Thursday, deployed bear spray, and walked out; she was hospitalized and the bear was not located.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Sheep mortality has run near triple its long-term rate in three Alaska ranges, state research finds
A GPS collar on a Dall sheep ram triggered a mortality signal, leading state biologists to a kill site showing signs of bear predation in the Alaska Range.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Bears are still raiding the Kodiak dump, weeks after a state plan to keep them out
Bears are still raiding the Kodiak dump weeks after the state approved a plan to keep them out, because the landfill is full of fish and game waste they can't resist.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska moves to cut white-fronted goose limits again as the Y-K Delta population falls
Alaska wants to cut white-fronted goose limits in Unit 18 again as the Y-K Delta population falls, the second reduction in recent years. Comment is open through Aug. 16.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Pollock fleet holds an Anchorage job fair days before a bycatch-shaped election
Days before the final vote, the Bering Sea pollock fleet holds an Anchorage job fair — as salmon bycatch, and a new mandatory chum cap, roil the 2026 campaign.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read
Most of the deer Alaska moved to the Kenai died over winter. The state is trying again.
Most of the 19 deer Alaska moved to the southern Kenai last fall died over a brutal winter, but the state is releasing 15 to 20 more this fall to try to build a future huntable herd.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min read
An Eagle River man is accused of feeding bears, which can get them killed
Hey! No feeding the bears....allegedly.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Alaska Zoo moves injured rescued bear, closes exhibit after threats
A rescued brown bear was moved from the Alaska Zoo after a fight left her hurt, and the backlash brought threats against the other bears, closing the exhibit.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
The state ordered Cook Inlet setnetters onto gear their permits don't allow
Alaska ordered Cook Inlet setnetters onto gear their permits don't allow, deepening a years-long squeeze on a fishery it controls in state waters.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
With 331 belugas left, the Park Service is chartering a boat to learn what they eat
Just 331 Cook Inlet belugas remain, so the Park Service is chartering a boat to study what they eat in winter — while critics say research alone won't save them.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Federal rule changes loosen protections for Alaska's listed species
New federal rules quietly loosen Endangered Species Act protections just as Alaska's development push accelerates, with belugas, polar bears and eiders in the balance.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A permit to study 14 Alaska marine mammal species is up for comment
A Fairbanks firm wants a federal permit to study 14 Alaska marine mammal species. NOAA is taking public comment through Aug. 26.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Mercury in Western Aleutian sea lion pups exceeds safety thresholds, prompting $1.5M NSF study
Mercury in endangered Aleutian sea lions has doubled in a decade, and pups now top safety limits. Scientists want to know why before it reaches people.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
A dog reported killed in the Bear Valley bear attack turned up alive
The dog reported killed in Saturday's Bear Valley bear attack is alive and unhurt — another hiking party found it and brought it home.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
