Alaska Fish & Wildlife News
May 2024

Ask a Wildlife Biologist: May is for Migration
Q) What Alaskan animal migrates the farthest?

By Edited by Jen Curl

Q) What Alaskan animal migrates the farthest?

Question from 8th grade students at Birchtree Charter School - Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District

A) To start - what is migration, anyway? A simple explanation: migration is animals moving between different habitats, usually in a seasonal cycle. Animals generally migrate to find food, breed, give birth, raise young, or escape predators and/or unfavorable conditions. Alaska is ...   Migration: Ask a Bio Article Continued

Harbor Porpoises Highlighted for Surveys
New tools aid study of secretive marine mammals

By Riley Woodford

In February, Biologist Christi Bubac looked out the window of her office on the Juneau waterfront and saw a pair of harbor porpoises surface near the Juneau-Douglas Bridge. The water flowed like a river in the ebbing tide, and their dark gray backs broke the surface without splashing. Their timing was excellent: Bubac, a marine biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, is organizing a three-year, region-wide survey of harbor porpoises in Southeast Alaska. She called Seth Bartusek, ...   Harbor Porpoises Article Continued

A Caribou Heritage
Anaktuvuk Pass Elder Charles “Sollie” Hugo

By Deb Lawton

When the Alaska State Board of Game met in Kotzebue in January of 2024, public testimony focused on caribou. Specifically, proposed harvest limits of the Western Arctic Herd. Caribou are important to the indigenous Iñupiat living in northern Alaska, especially in Anaktuvuk Pass, where most of their protein comes from caribou. Among the many voices that testified, one stood out - Anaktuvuk Pass elder Charles “Sollie” Hugo. He told the board that for many residents of Anaktuvuk ...   Caribou Heritage Article Continued