Wild Animals (Sterling, Seward: housing, work, service)

[BudinAk]

It's fairly common to see wild animals walk through the yard here in Alaska. Most common in my area (not counting little game like squirrels): moose. Usually they do not cause a problem (I say usually, because every once in a while an incident will happen). I just stay back out of their way, and they are happy, and I am safe. I have also had (rarely) bears, both black and brown, wander through the yard. None of them have ever caused a problem for me. About the worst that has happened is the moose seem to like to pause for a few minutes to snack on shrubs and bushes just outside the house. They can wreak havoc on young trees, eating twigs and stripping off the bark. In the summer I have seen bears zero in on vegetable gardens and any pet food left outside (a dish full of dog food is a virtual "come and get it" call) Squirrels and birds are an everyday occurance, and I really enjoy seeing them. We keep a bird feeder outside the living room window in the winter. Below is a shot of a yearling moose I saw a few days ago. (They get A LOT bigger...this one's a scrawny little bugger)

Bud

[Rance]

I've got one that won't leave my bird feeder alone!



And it's eaten darn near all of my crab apple tree's...

[Alaskagrl]

LOL Rance! That is neat...she's just chillin' there! Kinda wish we had moose here but all we have is blacktail deer. But up on the north end, they roam around really tame on one of the Forest Service complexes...3 big does had fawns up there and they cropped on the grass in a big field by some housing all the time...pretty cute little fawns!

On the other hand...I've heard moose can sometimes be a menace; a sled dog driver I knew in N. MN once told me a story that a cow attacked his dogs.

[Rance]

The things are darn near a nuisance here in Sterling. Many times I catch them licking the side of my truck to get road salt. I put a pond in my yard last year and they won't stay out of it. One big cow can drop the water level a couple inches every time she gets a drink. This one keeps eating my sunflower seeds off the bird feeder. And I had to put up that fence around my garden to keep them from eating everything in the summer. We have no deer here. Sometimes I wish we had some. But they more than likely would jump my fence to get at the garden!

[citybythebay]

Cool pics! I can't believe they get up that close or just hang out in a yard?
We have whitetailed deer but they are so skiddish they take off pretty quick.
These moose just look like they don't have a care in the world...lol

[BudinAk]

I forgot to mention: we have very very few deer here in the Seward area. Last year I saw ONE, and the year before a couple were seen hanging around near where I work for most of the summer. They are all Sitka black-tail deer...I have not heard of any other species in Alaska. The prevailing theory is that they don't populate much here because the snow depth is just too deep for them to get around. (whereas a moose can cope with that because of their greater size and height). Deer are common in the Prince William Sound islands 30-40 miles SE of here, where they walk down to the beaches in the winter to scavenge for food. There are so many of them that the usual hunting bag limit has been 5 per season per hunter.

Bud

[it's just JB]

Yeah, cool pics. Thanks for sharing!

[Rainy]

Moose can be pretty mean; there was one that used to like to stand between my truck and my front door last winter.

[Rance]

This time of year they can get ornery. Deep snow, or extreme cold temps make them very short tempered. Going out to start a vehicle in the morning can be dangerous. You have to watch your back until your back in the house.

[Alaskan454]

Originally Posted by Rance

I've got one that won't leave my bird feeder alone!



And it's eaten darn near all of my crab apple tree's...

Simply problem to solve with the right size freezer....