Denali National Park and Preserve - Animals

This park was founded in 1917 as a game refuge first and a park second. Originally it was named Mount McKinley National Park after then senator William McKinley. In 1980 it was expanded from 2 million acres to 6 million acres and renamed to Denali National Park and Preserve. At its current size it is larger than the state of Massachuetts.

Over hunting of the animals to feed the men of the gold rushes of the early 1900’s had severely reduced the animal population. So congress created the park as a preserve with no intent of allow visitors. The park’s only ranger was responsible for eliminating poaching. Although it seems an impossible task for one man to cover the then 2 million acres, somehow he did it. The animals revived and the area is again a great spot for viewing.

The big five are Grizzly Bear, Moose, Caribou, Dahl Sheep, and Wolves. I went out on a mission to get pictures for you.......










Oh yeah, that last one is not a wolf. I never saw one. The little creature doing the stand in is an Artic Ground Squirrel. Sorry for the low quality of the pictures. I was over a mile away from the sheep and the caribou. Probably a quarter mile from the grizzly. The moose was a bit more cooperative at 100 yards. The ground squirrel was a show off and posed at less than 5 yards. I can’t say that I am sorry that the grizzly didn’t want to come over and give me a close up.