a very weird winter.

Well these blue skies are becoming a common thing this winter.  The other common thing that we usually don't see.....BEARS!  With the warm weather and lots of rain the past few weeks; our 3 brown bears have consistently been active this past month or so.  As I was on my way to work a few days ago; we received a call from Challenge Alaska.  

Challenge Alaska is an adaptive ski and snowboard school.  This season I have been volunteering for them by cleaning their building twice a week.  It is a great cause that I love to support.  

Anyways, they received a road kill moose that they processed and had scraps for us to pick up.  I honestly wasn't sure if our bears were even going to be able to digest the meat or be interested in the bones.  Boy was I wrong!  

When I called the bears all 3 came running out of their dens and immediately snatched up their pieces.  

in the below pictures Patron is eating the scraps.  

You can tell that she has the ribs and loves them like a Texan loves their baby back ribs.

On my way to work earlier that morning I have never been so blinded by the sunrise.  It was gorgeous!

It is the strangest feeling to prepare for darkness for the next few months and snowy weather; but get sun and blue skies......and no snow!

Don't get me wrong, these blue skies and sunny days have been great; but I really would like for their to be snow on the ground.  The animals are liking the warmer weather but they do like snow to eat as well.  The musk Ox especially are missing their favorite time of year right now.


In the winter since the wildlife center is closed during the week I do a lot of school programs.  This winter Kara is working as the winter intern.  she just returned from Christmas break and I think some of the animals missed her.  what do you think?

Jade is so stinking cute!  he is getting big too!
i gave Jade a moose bone from that road kill moose and it was like christmas for him.

Imagine if you gave you dog a bone that big.  Their mouths would be watering!


Currently this year Snickers has visited 629 students in the Anchorage school district!
way to go Snickers!

   If you have been reading my blog for a while you may have heard me mention a musk ox named Mukluk.  Mukluk is a 3 year old female musk ox that we received when she was just 3 months old.  She was orphaned in Dead horse,Alaska when a brown bear killed her mother.  She was our first musk ox calf to ever bottle raise here at the wildlife center.  she is now in with the herd.  Since she was raised on our grain she is also the musk ox that eats the most of it which in turn causes her hooves to grow much quicker than the other musk oxen.  One time a year we have to dart her and trim her hooves.  She does have sharp horns so hence the reason why we dart her.  It is safer for her and the handlers.

This picture is me walking her after she already had her hoof trimming.  We just wanted to keep her up and moving to walk off the remaining drugs in her system before we left her to rest for the night.