Although Wrangell-St. Elias National Park is home to millions upon millions of acres of wilderness, it’s not what most folks think of as a great place to make wildlife photos. The populations of most species aren’t high, by many standards, largely because the terrain here is relatively inhospitable. The park tends to be more about geology than ecology, so to speak. Dense populations of animals don’t fare well on piles of rock and ice. Not for long, anyway.
Much of the park is simply not great “wildlife habitat”, and the areas that are, are often areas that are either hunter or very tough to get to. Or both. As a result, we don’t see Wrangell-St. Elias National Park as a popular destination for wildlife photos. The photography is challenging; the terrain is tough to get around on, the animals are often tough to find, skittish and difficult to approach, and few and far between.
That said, the park is home to a substantial diversity of animals and birds. Caribou and moose are found here, grizzly and black bears live here, wolves, and a host of other mammals. There are dozens of species of birds that migrate to the park in the summer, and the months between March – October can be a productive time for those dedicated to making wildlife photos. But it’s a tough gig!
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- Arctic loon, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. (Gavia arctica)
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- American Oystercatcher, Icy Bay, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska. (Haematopus palliatus)
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- An American Porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum, in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
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- Snowshoe hare, winter molt, camouflage on snow, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska. (Lepus Americanus)
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- A photo of a male Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator), perched on a small spruce tree in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
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- Great Horned Owl chick (owlet – Bubo virginianus), in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
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- A young grizzly bear walks across the alpine tundra in search of food, not long before hibernation Wrangell-St Elias National Park, Alaska.
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- Stellar’s sea lions sit on a rock offshore near Sitkagi Bluffs.
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- Caribou digging for snow, or cratering, near the Nutzotin Mountains.
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- Male Barrow’s Goldeneye, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska. (Bucephala islandica)
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- Photo of a Northern Shoveller duck, male, stretching his wings on a pond in spring, breeding plumage, Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. (Anas clypeata)
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- Grizzly Bear Photo
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- Gull
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- A young bull moose yearling walks through deep powdery snow in winter, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.
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- 2 beaver grooming each other in a pond, fall or autumn, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. (Castor canadensis)
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- A male Greater Scaup.
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- Trumpeter swan,
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- Caribou cow and 2 calves on frozen lake, ice and the snow in the winter, Nelchina herd, Wangell – St. Elias National Park, Alaska/
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- Beaver hauling wood, stores for the winter – willow branches in a small pond, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska. (Castor canadensis)
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- A female Canada Lynx in snow
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- A snowshoe hare, molting in spring.
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- A bull moose browses aquatic plants in Long Lake, early summer, water dripping from his velveted antlers. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. (Alces alces)
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- Female Barrow’s Goldeneye, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska. (Bucephala islandica)
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- Adult beaver browsing on willow branches in a pond, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska. (Castor canadensis)
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- Hoary Marmot (Marmota caligata), in alpine meadow near Chitistone Pass, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.
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- Grizzly Bear (Usus arctos), Chitistone Pass, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.
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- A beaver swimming in a small pond in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. (Castor canadensis).
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- Trumpeter swan on ice, a frozen lake, spring, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.
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- Female Willow ptarmigan in fall plumage, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.
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- Cow moose (Alces alces) in winter, standing in snow, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.