Southcentral Alaska's wildlife habitat has been severely affected by drought in 1997; consequently, moose, sheep, bears, and other wildlife have moved closer into residential areas, sharing the same habitat with their human neighbors. In two Anchorage neighborhoods, Eagle River and the Hillside this means residents must keep their area neat and tidy, with no garbage overflow, utilizing the proper garbage containers; keeping their pets under surveillance, storing pet food in a secure area; and making certain small children are kept out of harm's way.

There are about 300 black bear and brown bear living in Chugach State Park. The park is a 395,000 acre wilderness wholly contained within the Municipality of Anchorage, and there are a slew of homes that march right up to the park, and in the homestead areas there are a number of homes within the park. When you build houses in a wilderness area, wildlife will come - especially when the houses are located in an active wildlife habitat.

ALASKA MOOSE TRIVIA. Moose residing in Anchorage are extremely urbanized, and it is not unusual to find them looking both ways before attempting to cross a busy road. There are approximately 300+ moose living in the green belt sections of Anchorage, with another 1500+ living in the less populated areas, such as Chugach State Park and the small community of Girdwood.

Moose are dangerous and will kill if they feel threatened. But if one keeps on the alert so as not to startle them, and also not to get between a cow and its calf, there should be no problem. Simply give them the space they require, and enjoy observing them. We have several moose that constantly visit our yard in midtown in Anchorage. We are not in the wilds, but we have 1 acre of spruce trees, a whole lot of willows-moose love them, birch trees, and alders, plus scads of bushes. And we have clover and chamomile in our 'lawn.' Moose love this, and many times we have sat in the family room and observed them chowing down. When eating ground cover or low growing twigs, moose get down on their front legs in a kneeling position and eat, eat, eat. When they want a twig, or branch, they will pull down the particular one they wish to dine on and munch, munch, munch.

Moose are browsers and during the short Alaska summer season, an adult moose requires 50 lbs. of food daily, while in the winter an adult moose would only require 15 lbs. of food daily just to maintain their weight.

50 lbs. of food = approximately 2000, 8-inch, twigs. Food sources are willow trees, birch trees, various grasses, imported trees, and if pressed they will eat alder shrubs. Moose especially love all the many imported tree, such mountain ash, apple, flowering cherry and plum trees that may be found in well-tended yards. Dried food is a plus. With a drought this past year [before August 1997], and a dry winter in 1996/97, along with their steadily increasing population, the moose habitat in the Anchorage Bowl does not have enough food resources to continue maintaining the moose population.

NEW: 1997/1998 Winter was also drier than normal. So once again it will be tough going for the local moose population to sustain their present level.

The Municipality of Anchorage's Assembly has been trying to decide what to do about our urban moose, because there is not enough natural resources to support a large moose population. Moose cannot digest straw or carrots, yet this has not stopped good-intentioned people from feeding straw and carrots to the moose in their yards. One can only marvel at those who attempt to feed moose carrots from their hand. Up to the early 1980's moose were legally hunted in the Municipality. Now there is talk of reopening a moose hunt in Anchorage. Well, I do not want starving moose, but neither am I eagor for shotgun use in a heavily populated area, and cross bow hunting would not be any safter. Anchorage has over 240,000 residents and a large number of them would be only too eager to hunt moose on their turf-in their back yard.

Unfortunately, moose can not be picked up and transported to another area within the state, and the cost of sterilization would be prohibitive. Anchorage residents are about evenly divided on a moose hunt. Most long-time residents do not want one for a variety of reasons. First, nature will compensate and the moose population will crash due to lack of available food resources, and due to a natural increase in the local bear and wolf populations. Every year bear an wolf, throughout the state, kill 90 percent of newborn moose calves. [Do not lose your cool on this statement--it is very well documented.] Older moose and young calves experience difficulty in surviving harsh winters..moose do not hibernate.

When I arrive in Anchorage Alaska in July 1979, there few moose living here. Now it is very common to observe them .. in my yard, in the driveway, walking down the street, crossing busy streets, strolling through mid-town's finanical district, walking around downtown, on bike trails, in green belts, parks, on the hillside..they are everywhere. And of course the bear population is increasing. There are trade offs in life. However, until the bear growth increases to hold down the moose, many moose will slowly die from starvation. And that is the other side of the coin.

Hungry moose are more likely charge, or at least stand their ground defending their food source. Cows will defend their calves.

Consider this - a bull [an adult male moose] weights on the average 1200+ lbs. An adult cow [female moose] weighs on the average 800+ lbs. A one year old may weigh 300-400 lbs. An adult moose has legs that are about 4 feet high. Moose attack and kill by stomping their enemy. Moose that may be ready to attack have certain characteristics, similar to a dog: the ears flatten down, and lie close to their head, and the hairs on their back raise straight up and the head is lowered. When charging, moose run in a straight line. If a moose gives chase, I run to the nearest doorway, if one is not available the I try to find a tree to stand behind. If no tree..I run like the devil is chasing me. I NEVER get between a cow and its calf. Cows are so aggressive, and have been know to kill people who do not give it and its calf plenty of space.

All of Alaska is a wildlife habitat and that is what Anchorage is - a wildlife habitat. If you visit the Great Land - Alaska - enjoy the experience, do not scare the wildlife, do not crowd them. Do not feed them. Do not encroach upon their territory. Rather welcome the opportunity that allows you to observe wildlife without intruding .. leave no trace of yourself in the environment.

Alaska is a large piece of land - a huge peninsula - that is one-fifth the size of the contiguous Lower 48 states, however, it is not 100% arable. Since most of Alaska has poor soil cover and mammals have to cover large areas to feed on a daily basis, do not expect Alaska's bears, moose, wolves, caribou, etc., to leap from tall grasses, out of bushes, from behind large boulders, into a perfect photo opportunity, as you travel along the roadways. Having said all of that mouthful, while there is never any guarantee of observing wildlife species in their natural habitat, there is always the opportunity for doing so in Alaska.

Hope you enjoyed this article. Click here for AlaskaMac's fish tale. Click here for Alaskan Wheelchair Fishing. Click here for a link to Alaska Welcomes You's web site, designed for disabled and mature travelers. For accessible Alaska information,Click here for a link to the Alaska Update, an electronic newsletter.

Click here for more travel sites, Keith's Travel Links; Alaska Cruises. If you would like to build your own free homepage, CLICK here to the link for Tripod's Web site.

Thanks for dropping in.

Sign AlaskaMac's Guestbook.