Wildlife

Try to spot some of the park's many terrestrial or marine mammals, fish, and birds during your visit!

Plan Around Wildlife

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Wildlife Details

Many visitors to the park come hoping to get a glimpse of Alaskan wildlife. The diverse ecosystems and varied habitats created by the meeting of land, sea, and ice are home to many animals. Land animals that live in the park include brown bears, black bears, mountain goats, wolverines, hoary marmots, moose, wolves, and porcupine. A spectacular place to birdwatch, the park is home to many coastal birds. Although perhaps the most famous is the bald eagle, it is joined by cormorants (three different species), pigeon guillemots, marbled murrelets (the only sea bird to nest in trees), harlequin ducks, gulls (at least three different species), oystercatchers, and puffins (two species). Try to spot some of the park's marine mammals, whether it's from a tour boat, kayak, or from the rocky shore. Keep an eye out for humpback whales, gray whales, orcas, Dall's porpoises, harbor porpoises, Steller sea lions, harbor seals, and sea otters. There are even critters living IN the ice! Ice worms, inch-long earthworm-like animals, survive in the top few feet of glaciers in channels of water between ice crystals. They provide a food source for local birds, such as snow buntings. Below the surface of the water, a whole other world of wildlife exists. Many species of fish, including five species of salmon, attract anglers from around the world to the Kenai peninsula. They also help support the other animals who live here, weaving together the plant and animal communities and playing a critical role in both the ecological and historical/cultural patterns of this region.

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