Living with Wildlife in Anchorage:
A Cooperative Planning Effort
Appendix C — Fish and Wildlife (Vertebrates) of Anchorage, Alaska

Mammals

This list includes 48 indigenous species and four feral introduced species known or suspected to occur in Anchorage, Alaska. Footnotes identify introduced and suspected species. All others are either well-known residents or are represented by specimens at the University of Alaska Museum in Fairbanks or published reports in scientific journals.

Common Name	Scientific Name
INSECTIVORES
Shrew family	Soricidae
Common (or masked) shrew Pygmy shrew¹ Tiny shrew¹ Dusky shrew Water shrew Tundra shrew	Sorex cinereus Sorex hoyi Sorex minutissimus Sorex monticolus Sorex palustris Sorex tundrensis
BATS
Vesper bats	Vespertilionidae
Little brown bat	Myotis lucifugus
PRIMATES
Hominids	Hominidae
Human	Homo sapiens
CARNIVORES
Dog family	Canidae
Coyote Wolf Red fox Dog²	Canis latrans Canis lupus Vulpes vulpes Canis familiaris
Cat family	Felidae
Lynx Cat²	Lynx canadensis Felis domesticus
Weasel family	Mustelidae
River otter Wolverine Marten Ermine (short-tailed weasel) Least weasel Mink	Lutra canadensis Gulo gulo Martes americana Mustela erminea Mustela nivalis Mustela vison
Bear family	Ursidae
Black bear Brown bear (grizzly)	Ursus americanus Ursus arctos
PINNIPEDS
Steller’s sea lion Harbor seal	Eumetopias jubatus Phoca vitulina
WHALES
Orca (killer whale) Beluga (white whale) Gray whale Minke whale	Orcinus orca Delphinapterus leucas Eschrichtius robustus Balaenoptera acutorostrata
HOOFED MAMMALS
Deer family	Cervidae
Moose Caribou Sitka black-tailed deer¹	Alces alces Rangifer tarandus Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis
Goat/antelope subfamily	Caprinae
Mountain goat Dall sheep	Oreamnos americanus Ovis dalli
RODENTS
Squirrel family	Sciuridae
Hoary marmot Arctic ground squirrel Red squirrel Northern flying squirrel	Marmota caligata Spermophilus parryii Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Glaucomys sabrinus
Beaver family	Castoridae
Beaver	Castor canadensis
Jumping mouse family	Dipodidae
Meadow jumping mouse	Zapus hudsonius
Mouse family	Muridae
Northern red-backed vole Singing vole or tundra vole Long-tailed vole¹ Meadow vole Alaska vole Brown lemming¹ ³ Muskrat Northern bog lemming¹ House mouse²	Clethrionomys rutilus Microtus oeconomus Microtus longicaudus Microtus pennsylvanicus Microtus miurus Lemmus trimucronatus Ondatra zibethicus Synaptomys borealis Mus musculus
New World porcupine family	Erethizontidae
Porcupine	Erethizon dorsatum
LAGOMORPHS
Pika family	Ochotonidae
Collared pika	Ochotona collaris
Rabbit and hare family	Leporidae
European rabbit² Snowshoe hare	Oryctolagus cuniculus Lepus americanus
¹ Probable, but not substantiated. ² Introduced species. ³ See Chernyavsky, F. B., Abramson, N. I., Tsvetkova, A. A., Anbinder, E. M. and Kurysheva, L. P., 1993, Zoologicheskii Zhurnal 72:111-121.

Fish

This list includes species confirmed on both Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base.

Common Name	Scientific Name
pink salmon (“humpy”) chum salmon (“dog”) coho salmon (“silver”) sockeye salmon (“red”) chinook salmon (“king”) Dolly Varden arctic char rainbow trout (stocked) three-spine stickleback nine-spine stickleback* slimy sculpin* arctic grayling	Oncorhynchus gorbuscha Oncorhynchus keta Oncorhynchus kisutch Oncorhynchus nerka Oncorhynchus tshawytscha Salvelinus malma Salvelinus alpinus Onchorynchus mykiss Gasterosteus aculeatus Pungitius pungitius Cottus cognatus Thymallus arcticus
* Confirmed on Elmendorf AFB only. Sources: Gossweiler, W.A. 1984. Fort Richardson Natural Resources Plan. Table 4 and Rothe, et al., 1983. Natural Resource Inventory of Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.

Amphibians and Reptiles

Common Name	Scientific Name
wood frog	Rana sylvatica
No reptiles occur in Anchorage.

Birds

The following list includes common, uncommon, rare, and casually-seen species that occur within the boundaries of the Municipality of Anchorage. Many other species may occur here, but so rarely that they are referred to as “accidental,” and are not included in this list. For an indication of how common or rare, etc. the different species are, see Birds of Anchorage, Alaska checklist (Anchorage Audubon Society, 1993) and Anchorage Area Military Reservations checklist (Department of Defense Partners in Flight, Elmendorf AFB and Fort Richardson). Species are grouped in taxonomic order.

Common Name	Scientific Name
LOONS AND GREBES
common loon Pacific loon red-throated loon red-necked grebe horned grebe	Gavia immer Gavia pacifica Gavia stellata Podiceps grisegena Podiceps auritus
SHEARWATERS AND PETRELS
fork-tailed storm-petrel	Oceanodroma furcata
CORMORANTS
double-crested cormorant	Phalacrocorax auritus
HERONS
great blue heron	Ardea herodias
CRANES
sandhill crane	Grus canadensis
WATERFOWL
tundra swan trumpeter swan greater white-fronted goose snow goose brant Canada goose mallard gadwall green-winged teal American wigeon Eurasian wigeon northern pintail northern shoveler blue-winged teal cinnamon teal canvasback redhead ring-necked duck greater scaup lesser scaup common eider Steller’s eider black scoter white-winged scoter surf scoter harlequin duck long-tailed duck Barrow’s goldeneye common goldeneye bufflehead	Cygnus columbianus Cygnus buccinator Anser albifrons Chen caerulescens Branta bernicla Branta canadensis Anas platyrhynchos Anas strepera Anas crecca Anas americana Anas penelope Anas acuta Anas clypeata Anas discors Anas cyanoptera Aythya valisineria Aythya american Aythya collaris Aythya marila Aythya affinis Somateria mollissima Polysticta stelleri Melanitta nigra Melanitta fusca Melanitta perspicillata Histrionicus histrionicus Clangula hyenemalis Bucephala islandica Bucephala clangula Bucephala albeola
MERGANSERS
common merganser red-breasted merganser hooded merganser	Mergus merganser Mergus serrator Lophodytes cucullatus
RAILS
American coot	Fulica americana
SHOREBIRDS
semipalmated plover blackbellied plover lesser golden plover marbled godwit bar-tailed godwit Hudsonian godwit whimbrel greater yellowlegs lesser yellowlegs solitary sandpiper spotted sandpiper wandering tattler Wilson's phalarope red-necked phalarope red phalarope short-billed dowitcher long-billed dowitcher common snipe ruddy turnstone black turnstone surfbird rock sandpiper dunlin sanderling semipalmated sandpiper western sandpiper least sandpiper Baird’s sandpiper pectoral sandpiper	Charadrius semipalmatus Pluvialis squatarola Pluvialis dominica Limosa fedoa Limosa lapponica Limosa haemastica Numenius phaeopus Tringa melanoleuca Tringa flavipes Tringa solitaria Actitis macularia Heteroscelus incanus Phalaropus tricolor Phalaropus lobatus Phalaropus fulicaria Limnodromus griseus Limnodromus scolopaceus Gallinago gallinago Arenaria interpres Arenaria melanocephala Aphriza virgata Calidris ptilocnemis Calidris alpina Calidris alba Calidris pusilla Calidris mauri Calidris minutilla Calidris bairdii Calidris melanotos
JAEGERS, GULLS, AND TERNS
parasitic jaeger long-tailed jaeger Bonaparte's gull common black-headed gull ring-billed gull mew gull herring gull California gull glaucous gull Thayer’s gull slaty-backed gull glaucous-winged gull black-legged kittiwake arctic tern Aleutian tern Caspian tern	Stercorarius parasiticus Stercorarius longicaudus Larus philadelphia Larus ridibundus Larus delawarensis Larus canus Larus argentatus Larus californicus Larus hyperboreus Larus thayeri Larus schistisagus Larus glaucescens Rissa tridactyla Sterna paradisaea Sterna aleutica Sterna caspia
AUKS AND PUFFINS
common murre	Uria aalge
VULTURES, HAWKS AND FALCONS
golden eagle bald eagle northern harrier sharp-shinned hawk northern goshawk red-tailed hawk (Harlan’s hawk) rough-legged hawk osprey American kestrel merlin peregrine falcon gyrfalcon	Aquila chrysaetus Haliaeetus leucocephalus Circus cyaneus Accipiter striatus Accipiter gentilis Buteo jamaicensis Buteo lagopus Pandion haliaetus Falco sparverius Falco columbarius Falco peregrinus Falco rusticolus
GALLINACEOUS BIRDS
spruce grouse white-tailed ptarmigan rock ptarmigan willow ptarmigan	Dendragopus canadensis Lagopus leucurus Lagopus mutus Lagopus lagopus
PIGEONS AND DOVES
rock dove (pigeon)	Columba livia
(This bird is a non-native, introduced species.)
OWLS
short-eared owl great horned owl great gray owl snowy owl northern saw-whet owl northern hawk owl boreal owl	Asio flammeus Bubo virginianus Strix nebulosa Nyctea scandiaca Aegolius acadicus Surnia ulula Aegolius funereus
HUMMINGBIRDS
rufous hummingbird	Selasphorus rufus
KINGFISHERS
belted kingfisher	Ceryle alcyon
WOODPECKERS
northern flicker downy woodpecker hairy woodpecker northern three-toed woodpecker black-backed woodpecker	Colaptes auratus Picoides pubescens Picoides villosus Picoides tridactylus Picoides arcticus
PERCHING BIRDS
olive-sided flycatcher western wood-pewee Say’s phoebe alder flycatcher horned lark tree swallow violet-green swallow bank swallow rough-winged swallow cliff swallow barn swallow Steller’s jay gray jay black-billed magpie northwestern crow common raven black-capped chickadee chestnut-backed chickadee boreal chickadee brown creeper red-breasted nuthatch winter wren arctic warbler golden-crowned kinglet ruby-crowned kinglet Townsend’s solitaire Swainson's thrush gray-cheeked thrush hermit thrush varied thrush American robin northern wheatear northern shrike American pipit American dipper bohemian waxwing European starling warbling vireo orange-crowned warbler yellow-rumped warbler Townsend’s warbler blackpoll warbler yellow warbler Wilson's warbler northern waterthrush savannah sparrow song sparrow American tree sparrow dark-eyed junco white-crowned sparrow golden-crowned sparrow fox sparrow Lincoln's sparrow Lapland longspur snow bunting red-winged blackbird rusty blackbird brown-headed cowbird pine siskin red crossbill white-winged crossbill pine grosbeak common redpoll hoary redpoll brambling	Contopus borealis Contopus sordidulus Sayornis saya Empidonax alnorum Eremophila alpestris Tachycineta bicolor Tachycineta thalassina Riparia riparia Stelgidopteryx serripennis Hirundo pyrrhonota Hirundo rustica Cyanocitta stelleri Perisoreus canadensis Pica pica Corvus caurinus Corvus corax Parus atricapillus Parus rufescens Parus hudsonicus Certhia americana Sitta canadensis Troglodytes troglodytes Phylloscopus borealis Regulus satrapa Regulus calendula Myadestes townsendi Catharus ustulatus Catharus minima Catharus guttata Ixoreus naevius Turdus migratorius Oenanthe oenanthe Lanius excubitor Anthus rubescens Cinclus mexicanus Bombycilla garrulus Sturnus vulgaris Vireo gilvus Vermivora celata Dendroica coronata Dendroica townsendi Dendroica striata Dendroica petechia Wilsonia pusilla Seiurus noveboracensis Passerculus sandwichensis Melospiza melodia Spizella arborea Junco hyemalis Zonotrichia leucophrys Zonotrichia atricapilla Passerella iliaca Melospiza lincolnii Calcarius lapponicus Plectrophenax nivalis Agelaius phoeniceus Euphagus carolinus Molothrus ater Carduelis pinus Loxia curvirostra Loxia leucoptera Pinicola enucleator Carduelis flammea Carduelis hornemanni Fringilla montifringilla

Sources

CH2M Hill, 1994. Comprehensive Evaluation Report, Eagle River Flats, Fort Richardson, Alaska. Table 2-5.
Cook, J.A. and C.T. Seaton. 1996. Checklist to the mammals of Fort Richardson, Alaska.
Elmendorf Air Force Base. 1994. Natural resources management plan. Appendix E.
Gossweiler, W.A. 1998. Integrated natural resources management plan 1998-2003: U.S.Army Alaska Vol. 2 - Fort Richardson. Appendix 8-2
--------. 1984. Fort Richardson natural resources plan. Table 4.
Sinnott, R. 1999. Alaska Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game

Living with Wildlife in Anchorage:A Cooperative Planning Effort Appendix C — Fish and Wildlife (Vertebrates) of Anchorage, Alaska