Alaska Fish & Wildlife News
July 2025

How old is my bear?
Using a tooth to age animals

By Riley Woodford

Bear hunters are curious about the bears they harvest in Alaska – as are wildlife biologists. Hunters are required to bring the hide and skull to a Fish and Game office for “sealing” (so named because a seal or tag is attached to the hide) and we gather information on the animal and the hunt. One important piece of that is the bear’s age.

Paul Converse in Douglas seals bears, which includes extracting a very small tooth which is used to determine the bear’s ...   How old is my bear? Article Continued

Swallow Tales
The plight of aerial insectivores

By Arin Underwood

I’d never seen a Bank Swallow in Anchorage before this summer. Tree Swallows are the most visible of the Southcentral swallow species, as anyone who visits Potter Marsh can tell you, but this June I witnessed an unusual flocking of swallows in the city. I was at the Lake Hood seaplane base and a windstorm was sending a huge murmuration of swallows spiraling over the floatplanes. Though silhouetted and hard to see, I caught at least one forked tail out of the corner of my eye - a Barn Swallow? ...   Swallow Tales Article Continued