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Guidebook for Alaska Adventure Travel |
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Southeast's geography and climate provide conditions for good habitat for a variety of big game. Sitka black-tailed deer are found throughout the region. Black bears are particularly abundant on Prince of Wales and the islands in the central portion of the region. Goats are indigenous to the coast mountains and transplanted to Baranof Island. Moose are not numerous in Southeast Alaska, although reasonable populations are found on the Yakutat Forelands, in the Haines area, and smaller populations near Juneau, Petersburg and Ketchikan. Wolves are found in parts of Southeast Alaska. Much of the guided big game hunting in this region is by boat. Boat rentals are available in some communities for hunters wanting to roll their own. A variety of air charter services with float planes also provide an important transportation alternative.
Southcentral Alaska:
Southcentral Alaska is more
varied. Climate ranges from wet
along the coast to dry inland.
Deer are currently abundant on
Kodiak Island and are found in
good numbers on the islands of Prince William
Sound. These are transplanted deer originating from Southeast
Alaska, and as is the case in Alaska, annual abundance depends
much on winter snowpack. Kodiak and the Alaska Peninsula are
famous for their grizzly bear populations. Moose in parts of
Southcentral are currently among the most numerous in Alaska,
especially in the Matanuska and Susitna valleys. Good
populations exist in suitable habitat throughout the region.
There are good numbers of caribou in parts of the region,
although access is not always easy. Dall sheep are found in the
drier mountains in the region, and mountain goats nearer the
coast, although there is some overlap. Black bears are not as
numerous as in Southeast, but they are widespread. Wolf and
wolverine are present. In fact, wolves tend to be numerous where
there are good numbers of moose and caribou. Waterfowl hunting
can be quite good here, although the effective season is short
as birds are moving south. Bird hunters will be pleased to see
growing ruffed grouse populations from recent transplants to the
Matanuska and Susitna valleys and to the Kenai Peninsula.
Arctic,
Interior, and Western Alaska:
Moose and caribou are the most visible big game in Interior,
Arctic and Western Alaska. This region encompasses the huge area
drained by the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers and draining into the
Bering Sea, Kotzebue Sound and the Arctic Ocean. This is
relatively dry country, and habitats vary from the forested
Interior to the western and arctic treeless tundra. Caribou
exist in more or less discrete herds, and some of these herds
are huge. Moose are most abundant in western Alaska, but are
found in good numbers throughout the region, except on the
Yukon-Kuskokwim delta, where they are just becoming established.
There are black and grizzly bears throughout the region, but
bear populations here are not as dense as in the coastal
regions.
There are populations of wild bison, transplanted earlier in the
century from Montana. Dall sheep are found in most of the
mountain ranges. Muskox, almost wiped out from Alaska in the
late 1800's. are now present in good numbers in some areas of
coastal western and arctic Alaska. Wolves are also numerous in
places in this region. It is not uncommon to hear wolves howling
on fall evening while sitting around the hunting campfire.
Wolverine are distributed across the region. Waterfowl hunting
is locally good, but again, only for a short time. Waterfowl
begin moving out of the Interior as early as mid-August, several
weeks before the beginning of the hunting season.
Hunting Big Game in Alaska:
Alaska has 12 species of big game animals spread across
365,000,000 acres - an area one-fifth the size of the entire
United States. Big game densities are generally much lower than
you are probably used to in more southern states. Many big game
species in Alaska make long movements between seasonal ranges.
The key to successful big game hunting in Alaska is in doing
your homework to determine both the best areas and times to hunt
the species you are seeking.
For example, in many lowland areas moose are abundant all summer
feeding in roadside ponds and sloughs, but begin moving up to
less accessible higher elevations in early September, just when
most areas open to fall moose hunting. The choice of hunting
location in relation to moose movements at that particular time
of year can make all the difference between coming home with a
moose or not.
Caribou have even more pronounced seasonal movements. Caribou
hunters traditionally experience feast or famine depending upon
whether they are hunting where caribou are moving through, or in
an area away from the herd's location. Doing your homework with
local area biologists and air taxi operators can make the
difference between success and failure.
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