Friday, August 27, 2010

Wildlife of Denali

It was time to leave Denali.  An early morning departure meant we might have some good wildlife viewing.
Denali was again wearing its white cloak.
The driver pointed out where he had seen a wolf eating its kill the previous day and there was the wolf, checking to see if anything had been left.  The carcass looked to have been picked clean.
Further down the road, this guy was along the road.  Was he licking his chops, expecting tourist for breakfast?
I didn't like the look in his eyes.
Down the road yet another wolf was hunting.  The driver said the black wolf was a member of a different pack.
Then we spotted this cow moose with her calf.
It was a challenge to get a good shot at such a distance.
Then we saw caribou.  It's amazing how they can hold up those antlers!
I think this one was scratching its chin.
A Dall sheep was just barely in view.  On the trip out of the park we saw four of the big five, only the grizzly eluded us.  As I have mentioned before, in this park the people are in cages (buses) and the animal roam free.  It makes it difficult to get great shots but I have never before been in a place that felt so wild, so real.
Then it was time to board this man-made critter.  After our six hour bus ride we still had a seven hour train ride.  Once in Anchorage we would grab a taxi to the airport for a 1:30 am plane home.  We had awoken at 5 am and would travel until 10:30 am the next day.
For more of the worlds critters, check out Camera Critters.

12 comments:

Diane AZ said...

Amazing wildlife images! The black wolf is gorgeous and I love the moose with calf.

Gaelyn said...

Wow! So worth getting up early to catch all this wildlife. Sort of like Kruger NP, where people stay in their cage/car and the animals, although very different from here, roam free. I've sure enjoyed your trip to Alaska.

fredamans said...

Amazing critters! Amazing shots too!

Paulie said...

You got some nice photos! I especially loved the closeup of that wolf in the third photo!

Left a comment below also.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Incredible pics of the wolves. I loved the sheep also. Good point about the people being confined the critters can wander.

Adrienne Zwart said...

That's a lot of traveling to do in one day. But the sights are amazing! Thank you for sharing them. You may not have liked the look in the wolf's eyes, but I find the pale eyes mesmerizing.

Coming by from Camera Critters,
Adrienne

Mimi said...

Amazing to see all those animals. Great pics!

Anonymous said...

I love your wildlife photos. They are truly amazing. The black wolf is my favorite.

Well done! It must have been a wonderful trip.

Anonymous said...

These are wonderful! I don't like the look in that wolf's eyes, either.

Anonymous said...

What an amazing range of shots! Just wonderful.

Katney said...

Whoa!!! You saw wolves? I guess we traded wolves for grizzlies.

Glad Jules got his wish. You had a tremendous Denali view.

We'll bring all our Scotland pictures when we see you --there are more that I haven't posted on the blog. I'm sure you have mroe, too.

Anonymous said...

Those wolves looked scary to me! The antlers on the caribou are so very large! Wonderful photographs!