Alaskan Wildlife - Where Are the Puffin?

If Alaskans were going to sell so many likenesses of these creatures, why had we not seen any yet? Where were the puffin? I guess I could have asked. I just had not had a chance. I am sure the Alaskans took it for granted that everyone knew what a puffin was. I did not have a clue! Besides, I was just a little embarrassed to ask.

Moose and Reindeer in Wasilla

Wildlife is close by almost everywhere in Alaska. Wasilla is north of Anchorage. We had a close encounter with a moose as it wandered onto the road at night in Wasilla. Our hosts at The Agate Inn in Wasilla had reindeer. We could walk up to these reindeer, pet their noses, and rub their backs. As I understand it, trained caribou are reindeer. We did not see caribou in the wild. The reindeer were a close enough example.

Puffin Merchandise and Advertising

With all the wildlife around, something just did not seem right. Puffin signs, puffin carvings, puffin T-shirts, puffin stuff was all over the place. Where were the puffin? To me puffin looked sort of like a penguin. They had a black back, white breast, large orange beak, and large orange webbed feet. I had no perception of what size they actually were. I had seen them in tiny carvings and huge street signs. There was plenty to occupy my mind besides puffin though.

Musk Ox in Palmer

Palmer, east of Wasilla has a musk ox farm. We did not make that trip, but musk ox are another unusual animal found in Alaska. Musk ox resemble large oxen but grow long coats that remind you of what a wooly mammoth might have had.

Dall Sheep at Turnagain Arm

Traveling south from Anchorage by the water inlet called Turnagain Arm some of the people in our group spotted a Dall sheep (Alaskan big horn) on the other side of the road on the mountainside. The Dall sheep (sounds like "doll" sheep) are anything but small as I thought the name indicated. They look more like mountain goats with white coats and huge horns that curl above their heads. The closest I got to one was a stuffed head in a ski lodge.

Other Wildlife

Wildlife we should have paid more attention to was all around us. We saw many birds. No Alaskan bird watcher, I could not name most. In the coastal fishing villages, we could have found out more about the marine life from the local fishermen. However, the favorite coastal food seemed to be a fish called halibut. At Valdez, Whittier, and Seward we all ate halibut and it was quite tasty.

Short Alaskan Cruise

Before we left Alaska, we decided to take a short cruise. We expected to see large glaciers; wildlife would be a bonus. The cruise left from Seward in Resurrection Bay. Just barely out, the announcer told us to look at the sea otter in the water. They looked like playful little balls of fur - diving, floating on their backs (feet and head sticking up). I do not know much about them because even though they were the first we saw, they were still far away from shore. Next, I think we saw the sea lion. They were lying out on the rocks; almost the same color as the rock. These huge animals just lie there sunning - bothered by nothing.

Puffin

The announcer seemed to think that we might be able to get close enough to some puffin to see them dive. There are some PUFFIN! Dive! Now these are some special birds. Puffin are sea birds. They live in the cliffs during the nesting season. We had almost missed the puffin. Many had already gone out to sea where they spend their winters. No wonder I had not seen any. I did not find out everything I wanted to know about puffin on that cruise but it was a start. Puffin are about 15 inches tall. They usually weigh less than 2 pounds. Puffin are deep-sea divers - up to 80 feet. Puffin mystery solved!

More Marine Wildlife

Our cruise continued. Porpoise swam along side our ship for a while. The porpoise enjoyed swimming in the waves next to the ship. Then we got a real treat when some whales decided to flip their tails. The ship even floated through a group of jellyfish. The announcer hoped we would be able to see some bears in the mountains next to the waters edge. No bears; but I did not mind.

I had the chance to see real puffin. I still feel somewhat silly admitting my ignorance. But how was I supposed to know? I do not live anywhere close to a sea. Anyway, I love puffin now too.

For more information about all the birds of Alaska and the government research programs associated with them, see the following web site. Some of the links are old and some are new but there is a lot of information.
http://www.absc.usgs.gov/research/programs/birds.htm#seabirds

For more information about Dall sheep, see the following site.
http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?shapeID=1033&curGroupID=5&lgfromWhere=&curPageNum=19