About a week before Thanksgiving we read an article in the Fairbanks newspaper about the Fortymile Caribou Herd, about 50,000 animals, surrounding the Steese Hwy. by the thousands. So the day before Thanksgiving, we took a drive 150 miles north of Fairbanks to see what there was to see. All in all, we saw between 350-400 caribou! It was a pleasure to be in the presence of such graceful and inspiring animals for the day.
The White Mountains provide beautiful scenery and great wintering grounds for the caribou. Caribou have always amazed me. They get my utmost respect. First of all, they have managed to survive for thousands of years, in large numbers too (today there are about 900,000 caribou living in Alaska). Meaning they don't over-graze their slow growing food sources and have survived increased human impact. They live in one of the harshest climates in the world, above treeline (for the most part) battling bone-chilling winds and extreme cold. They travel hundreds to thousands of miles every year to. And, most mind-blowing to me, they survive on lichen for half the year....in the harshest half of the year! Another very cool thing about caribou (only member of the deer family where the females grow antlers) is that the pregnant females will carry their antlers all winter long because it makes it easier for them to shovel snow off of the very important food source, lichen. Again, such amazing creatures.
The first group of about 50-60 caribou that we saw was just before Twelvemile Summit. They popped up almost out of nowhere, and for 15 minutes or more they slowly meandered across the road.
In fact, two young bulls used the road to duke it out a little. That was fun to see!
After a while we decided to move on which caused the rest of the group to hurry across the road.
We started seeing small groups, 10-50 animals, all around.
Beautiful animals.
Love this picture! These animals are so nimble and full of spunk!
It's Prancer!
Going to find Dancer, Dasher and the gang no doubt.
Another group in no hurry to run away.
I love the inquisitive look caribou often give you.
This guy was a little more cautious than the others and rightfully so with hunting season opening in ten days.
Not this guy...he was on a mission!
A larger group in the distance, just below Eagle Summit. They were mostly lying down until our car stopped and they saw humans get out. Then, they stood up and pondered their options.
Best defense...RUN!
Another group, way out there.
Being above treeline, the wind molds the landscape into intricate designs and the sun provides great light and shadows for a dramatic effect. These "snow dunes" as I like to call them will change shape and form all winter long, growing and shrinking. I wish I could capture the detail of some of the individual snowflakes or the crystal feathers that they grow into...they are just magnificent. I will try eventually.
By late afternoon on Eagle Summit the wind started to pick up. Time for us to go.
Just as we topped Cleary Summit about to descend into the Fairbanks valley, The Mountain was singing loud and clear. For us, it was the perfect way to end yet another perfect day in our wonderful lives. (Actually it ended just perfectly with a great meal and great company in Two Rivers, AK! :)
Always so thankful to share another day in this beautiful world.
Great experience.
ReplyDeleteAs a boy, I was greatly interested in Farley Mowat's People of the Deer, which was more about the native americans than the caribou, but was about both, really. It was in my parents' library.