If you are even near Skagway Alaska you need to go to the Kroschel Wildlife Center. Its more an interactive animal experience than a zoo and the owner Steve Kroschel is an entertaining and eccentric guide to this unique animal habitat. There are a couple of unique animals here that you probably can't see any where else. Alaska is more lax with laws protecting you from animals so you will be able to get closer to these animals than you could anywhere else.
Steve Kroschel is well regarded wildlife film maker and has created some award winning films for PBS. He is also one of the main sources of snow and avalanche scenes in movies. He has been on a number of talk shows with his animals and was a favorite of Johnny Carson. His wildlife rescue center in Haines Alaska is clearly his passion and the orphan animals he recuses he treats as his family.
After a ferry ride from Skagway to Haines followed by a bus ride we arrived at a remove driveway in the middle of nowhere. A women meet us at the bus and told us about the refuge as we walked up the hill. In the background we saw a man running through the woods making some crazing chirping sounds. When we arrived at pen in enclosure there was Steve standing next to a wolf who was nipping at him like a friendly dog.
He told us a lot of interesting information about the wolf and made it pose for some photos. He then had us howl at the wolf until it howled back then ran off to the woods again as his assistant took us to the main compound.
The main compound has a series of pens and what can be best described as outdoor stages that are used to show the animals. Each pen and stage is made in such a way that if you take photos from a certain points it looks like the animals are in the wild in their natural environment. This is one reason Steve gets a lot of visits from film makers looking to get shots of animals. Instead of spending days in the wild hoping to get the shot they need they can just come to the wildlife refuge.
In the main compound we got to see and pet a fox and arctic fox. He also when into a pen and picked up a sleeping Lynx. He must have a good relation with it to wake it up and give it a stretch.
Steve also brought out a wolverine on a lease. If you ever see a wolverine in the wild you are probably seconds from dying as these small animals are known for their ferocity and strength. Wolverines can easily kill a full size moose. They are very intelligent and are one of the few animals that can kill a porcupine without getting stung by its needles (it does this by quickly biting its face off).
Speaking of porcupines he brought one out for us to see and pet. It was pretty dam cute until he explained that if you get a needle in you it can't just be pulled out but will burrow into your skin until it comes out some where else or kills you. There have been cases where people died from a needle that pierced their skin and then months later pierced one of their vital organs.
We keep walking uphill until be got to one of the larger areas that contained a couple of caribou. The assistant brought out one of the baby caribou that we could pet and feed. Caribou's have really soft fur.
Then we got to kiss the moose.
Steve brought out a bucket of large carrots and feed them to a moose in a pen through an open door. Then he asked people to put the carrot in their mouth and let the moose take it from them. It was a little scary to be that close to a moose because in the wild they are very mean and will charge and kick people to death with out any warning. They are actually more dangerous to encounter in the wild than grizzly bears.
This one however was well trained. After we saw how easy it was everybody wanted to do it. My wife was real excited about doing it and I got a great shot of it. I did it too because how many times are you going to be able to kiss a moose. In case you are curious I will say the moose was gentle and had really soft lips so I won't mind a second date.
After the moose encounter we headed back down hill. We hear the wolf howling call us, he new pack, so we all howled back at him. Steve asked us to say "he kitty, kitty, kitty" and we did expecting some type of cat but instead a grizzly bear ran out from the woods. It was behind a wire fence so we were not in any danger but it is still scary to see a grizzly bear running towards you. It was feeding time so they feed the bear, who's name is kitty, some blueberry pie and salmon. Bears it turns out are picky eaters. They love salmon of course but only like the good salmon like king and sockeye and won't eat the chum salmon which is the worst tasting of the salmon.
During the entire visit Steve was constantly making chirping, moaning or other weird sounds as he handled the animals. He even kissed the wolverine. He is a strange man with some eccentric new age ideas but he was also very charming and you can't visit this place and not want to help him preserve these animals and the wilderness they live in. It was a really fun experience.
After our visit ended we got back on the bus to the ferry and then back to the cruise ship. Although it was an hour and a half ride to get to the wildlife refuge and back the bus driver and ferry operator kept us entertained with stories about the area and a description of the land around us.This was true of all our transportation for all our tours. The rides never seemed long because of the scenery and the skill in all our tour guides in sharing their knowledge and experience of Alaska.
The day after Skagway we were in Hoonah Alaska which is a town owned by one of the native Tlingit tribes. Originally this town was a fishing village that was used by the tribe to gather the many salmon in the area. I was hoping for some interesting history of the native culture here but what we found was more a shopping village with some outdoor amusements like a zip line. It was about as authentic as the Indian casino in Connecticut. It was still a cool place to walk around.
We also ended up doing another whale watching trip and saw more orcas. This time I tried to get a video of them to try and capture more of what it feels like to be so close to them.
Seeing whales no matter what type they are is a surreal experience and makes you appreciate these great animals a lot more than seeing them in an aquarium.
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