Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Maternal Den Study
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© Daniel J. Cox / Natural Exposures, Inc. Click the image to enlarge.
Wild, Untouched Landscape
We saw grizzly bears virtually every day. Our last day brought us to a grizzly feeding on a large bull caribou it had recently killed; another day brought the same scene, only this time the predator was a wolf. We saw hundreds of individual caribou, although the famous Porcupine herd was long gone, having already migrated to Canada. Other beautiful creatures included tundra swans, musk oxen, lots of loons, Dall sheep, peregrine falcon, golden eagle, and numerous shorebirds. The landscape was equally spectacular, with the coastal plains giving way to the famous Brooks Range. Weather came and went, bringing a rainbow or two, and the red-colored soil of the western refuge was simply astounding.
I’ll never forget my chance to partake in such a worthwhile study and to have the opportunity to see so much of one the last true wilderness areas on the planet.
The USGS's initial assessment of the den habitat map concluded that it closely represents the ANWR's actual ground features. A more detailed analysis will be forthcoming. PBI would like to thank Marcia Guravich, the Thomas Bailey Foundation, and Mrs. R. Allison for donating the majority of the funds needed for this project, as well as additional members who earmarked contributions.
We saw grizzly bears virtually every day. Our last day brought us to a grizzly feeding on a large bull caribou it had recently killed; another day brought the same scene, only this time the predator was a wolf. We saw hundreds of individual caribou, although the famous Porcupine herd was long gone, having already migrated to Canada. Other beautiful creatures included tundra swans, musk oxen, lots of loons, Dall sheep, peregrine falcon, golden eagle, and numerous shorebirds. The landscape was equally spectacular, with the coastal plains giving way to the famous Brooks Range. Weather came and went, bringing a rainbow or two, and the red-colored soil of the western refuge was simply astounding.
I’ll never forget my chance to partake in such a worthwhile study and to have the opportunity to see so much of one the last true wilderness areas on the planet.
The USGS's initial assessment of the den habitat map concluded that it closely represents the ANWR's actual ground features. A more detailed analysis will be forthcoming. PBI would like to thank Marcia Guravich, the Thomas Bailey Foundation, and Mrs. R. Allison for donating the majority of the funds needed for this project, as well as additional members who earmarked contributions.
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