Saturday 19 August 2017

Denali National Park - the small creatures



Having arrived back from Alaska just this morning it seems a long way away already.  The photos and memories will stay - both of the big sightings - majestic glaciers and Grizzly bears - but also the small creatures and details.



This is a Snowshoe Hare in Denali - looking more like a rabbit in the first photo but much more hare-like in the second.



This seemed like strange behavior but is apparently quite normal as a bit of grit nibbling stops the teeth from overgrowing!



The rather endearing ground squirrel is also a member of the hare family.  Although these animals are very small, they are also very numerous and play an important part in sustaining some of the larger mammals



These rather difficult to spot birds are Ptarmigan - state bird of Alaska and quite prolific.  If you zoom in you may be able to see their white feather covered legs and feet.  In winter they are equally well camouflaged by turning as white as their snowy surroundings.



We bought a little book for Theo to tell him about everything we have seen and I am looking forward to sharing it with him very soon!

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