Plants and Animals Category 6 - 3/14/2003 Blueberries Blueberries (Vaccinium uliginosum)Mmm Mmm Good They are so good that every type of wildlife from ptarmigan (Alaskan Chickens) to insects, Grizzly Bears to little shrews, even humans, gorge on them. Grizzly Bears in Denali National Park eat over 30,000 to 50,000 berries a day and a large portion of them are blueberries. More... White Hellebore (Veratrum album L.) Venomously Poisonous White Hellebore Veratrum album L. is a perennial, herbaceous, rhizomatous plant that is highly toxic. It produces steroidal alkaloids, which can cause skin irritations and is poisonous if injested. More... Petrified Forest Seward Peninsula How Does Wood Become Petrified? Usually, it takes over 100,000 years for it to be completely turned into stone, but in the Seward Peninsula it only took a few years! The astonishing rapid permineralization of forests in Kenai Fjords National Park has once again proven that "Alaska is the Land of Extremes". More... Pika or "Rocky Rabbit"(Ochotona collaris) Pika Collared or Northern (Ochotona collaris) is one of the few mouse families living in Alaska that the casual observer usually misses while hiking in rocky areas. We usually look for Arctic Ground Squirrels or Marmots, but few people ever see the elusive Rocky Rabbit. More... The Brown Bear - "Grizzly" (Ursus arctos) The Brown Bear (Ursus arctos), an Alaskan Icon, and has become synonymous with Alaska and the Great Outdoors. We have three different species of North American Bear that roam our vast wildernes and sometimes our back yards. The different species and their habitats are the Brown Bear (Islands of Southeast to Arctic), Polar Bear (Northern & Western Alaska, also Arctic Ice Sheet), and Black Bear (Forested Areas). More... The Glacier Ice Worm Ice Worms really do live on glaciers. In fact they ONLY live on glaciers! Ice worms in Alaska were first discovered in 1887 by George Frederrick Wright, a glacier geologist and theologian. He reported finding ice worms on the Muir Glacier in southeast Alaska. But it wasn't until recently that ice worms began being the subject of much scientific research. More... Hoary Marmot (Marmota caligata) - The Godzilla of Squirrels Hoary Marmot (Marmota caligata)are some pretty large relatives to the squirrel (Family Sciuridae, Order Rodentia) and their average weight is 10 pounds (4.5kg) with an average length of 24 inches (61cm). The only other North American Rodent that large is a beaver. How would you like seeing a 10 pound squirrel running along a telephone wire? More... Canada Geese - The Harbinger of Spring Canada Geese have landed at Creamers field! Spring in Fairbanks Alaska has officially started. The sight of a flying "V" formation and the sound of honking overhead is a sight for sore winter eyes and ears. The Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) are usually the first to arrive and the last to leave our Alaskan Frontier.  More... Greater White-Fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) The Greater White-Fronted Goose (Anser albifrons)(Geese - Plural) also are the harbingers of spring and arrive a few days after the Cananda Geese at Creamers Field in Fairbanks. They are another common medium size goose, 5 to 7 pounds (2.3-3.2kg), species found in Alaska. More... Trumpeter Swan - "Graceful & Magnificent Bird" (Cygnus buccinator) Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) is a graceful giant of the waterfowl family. It is the largest member, weighing an average of 28 (12.7kg) pounds for males and 22 pounds (10.0kg) for females. The eggs are up to 5 inches long (12.6cm), which is the average length of a human hand. More... Tundra Swan - "A Majestic Bird" (Cygnus columbianus) The Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) is a majestic and stately bird. They are one of the larger waterfowls that migrate to Alaska for their breeding grounds. More... Alaskan Moose - "The Godzilla of the Deer Family" (Alces alces gigas) An Alaskan Moose (Alces alces gigas)is one large creature and is the largest species in the deer family!! It is also the largest moose out of all other races, even the European moose called an "Elk".  More... The Wild or Arctic Iris (Iris setosa) - Beautiful but Dangerous The Arctic Iris (Iris setosa) is a beautiful violet colored early blooming flower. It usually blooms around June and July in a habitat of bogs, meadows, and shores of lakes in Alaska. You can see the distinct broad, thin, sword-like leaves shooting out of the ground in the beginning of May. It is a U.S. native plant that is a perennial in Alaska. More... Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla patens [L.] Mill.) - The Spring Crocus The Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla patens [L.] Mill.) is the first spring flower of Interior Alaska. It is greeted with a heartfelt welcome, since it is a harbinger of things to come! The pasqueflower is a perennial and a native plant from the group Dicot and the family Ranunculaceae (Buttercup). Its habitat is dry or sandy soil in Alaska, the Yukon, and northern British Columbia. The blooming time is May to the  first week of June in Mountainous Regions.  More... Wood Frogs (Rana sylvatica) are a Croaken! Once the Wood Frogs (Rana sylvatica)have awaken from their long Arctic winter hibernation, you can hear their Croaking (mating call) through out the day and short night. Almost any Alaskan who has travelled the outdoors in the Alaskan early spring can hear them since it is the most widely distributed frog in Alaska, from southeastern Alaska to north of the Brooks Range. More... Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) "Sawbills" Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)are a large diving fish duck with an average length of 22-27 inches (55-68 cm). You can readily spot them among other ducks, because their long and barreled shape body causes them to sit low in the water. The shape of their body helps them move swiftly and almost effortlessly through the water when they are diving for their food source. Have you ever tried to catch a fish with your bare hands? More... Beavers (Castor canadensis), "The Engineers of the Animal Kingdom" Beavers  (Castor canadensis)are the engineers of the animal kingdom. They build phenomenally huge dams spanning across rivers and streams through out North America. The beaver migration into the plateau in Denali National Park located between Eielson rest stop and Kantishna, has converted a geographic area of a continuous river region into multiple small lakes and streams. They now support many different types of wild life; moose, muskrats, mink, lynx, bears, migrating birds and ducks, that depend upon the aquatic ponds for survival. More... "Hear Ye, Hear Ye! The Kings are a RUNNING in the Interior of Alaska" More... Lesser Yellowlegs "The Dignified Shorebird" (Tringa flavipes) Lesser Yellowlegs  (Tringa flavipes) are one of the more dignified shorebirds in Alaska that populate our coastal wetlands. You can usually spot them among the other running and skittering shorebirds by their more graceful heron-like carriage. The other shorebirds are chasing the water's edge, while the Yellowlegs are wading in ponds and tidal sloughs.  More... Sandhill Crane "The Graceful Dancer" More... Muskox "The Arctic Symbol" (Ovibos moschatus) Muskox (Ovibos moschatus) is a symbol of the Arctic. Found in remote regions of the far north, are an ancient mammal from the ice age that the Inupiaq-speaking Eskimo call "omingmak" (the animal with skin like a beard), referring to their long guard hair that hangs nearly to the ground. During the Pleistocene, the muskox crossed the Bering Sea land bridge into Alaska with the likes of the wooly mammoth, saber-toothed cat, and giant ground sloth. More... The Compton Tortoiseshell Flutters Northward in Alaska During the past 20 years, Ken Philip has driven 240,000 miles in his 1984 GMC pickup in search of the northern butterfly. The Compton tortoiseshell is a palm-sized butterfly that people had long reported seeing in Haines and southcentral Alaska but never north of the Alaska Range. In July 2002, Fairbanks entomologist Jim Kruse saw and collected a Compton tortoiseshell at the Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest southwest of Fairbanks. More... Bonaparte's Gull Larus philadelphia Bonaparte's Gull  Larus philadelphia Gulls Subfamily Larinae are one of the hardest families to identify individual species. The Bonaparte's Gull was named after a nephew of Napoleon, Charles Lucien Bonaparte a naturalist, who was called the father of American ornithology. More... Alaska's Swordtail Butterflies: Old World (Papilio machaon aliaska) & Canadian Tiger (Papilio machaon canadensis)   b>Old World Swallowtail (Papilio machaon aliaska) and Canadian Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio machaeon canadensis) Butterflies are the rare and beautiful Alaska's swordtail butterflies. During early July, while hiking on the trail from McCarthy to Kennicott, a fluttering movement caught our eye. More... Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) "The Backyard Scamp" Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), the backyard scamp, is the most notable and voracious of our backyard denizens. The Alaskan backyard during the middle of winter is usually peaceful with no background noise of insects or birds. More... Ladybugs or Lady Beetles (Coccinellidae) Ladybug or Lady Beetle (Coccinellidae) is the one beetle everybody can identify on sight, but did you know it is not a bug (Hemiptera); instead it is a beetle (Coleoptera). The lady beetle belongs to a whole family of beetles  More...
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