Alaska Fish & Wildlife News
May 2026

Mule Deer Harvested in Alaska
First Report of New Deer

Mule deer are expanding their range beyond western Canada into Alaska, and in mid-April a hunter harvested a mule deer near Skagway. This is the first report of a mule deer harvested anywhere in Alaska.

Mule deer and white-tailed deer are found in the Lower 48 and Canada but were not historically known to be in Alaska. Mule deer are the larger “cousins” of the Sitka black-tailed deer native to Southeast Alaska (black-tailed deer are a subspecies of mule deer). The smaller deer ...   Mule Deer in Alaska Article Continued

Mountain Lion Hunting in Alaska
Part 2 – How might this work?

Mountain lion hunting will be legal in Alaska beginning Aug. 1, 2026, but wildlife managers don’t expect much hunting to take place.

Two mountain lions were documented in Southeast Alaska in recent years. In April 2025, and adult male was caught in a wolf snare on Kuiu Island; and in June 2024, a hunter opportunistically killed a young male on a Wrangell Island Beach. Two similar incidents occurred in the same general area in 1989 and 1998. A handful of sightings in this area, between ...   Mountain Lions Article Continued

Ask a Wildlife Biologist features popular songbird
How many eggs does a chickadee lay?

A student at Birchtree Charter School asked, “How many eggs does a chickadee lay?”

Chickadees are fairly tame and are perhaps the most widely recognized songbird in Alaska, given their recognizable call of chicka-dee-dee-dee and their frequent visits to birdfeeders. They are found across the state and are year-round residents. They survive the cold winters by lowering their body temperatures at night to save energy and by caching food, with a remarkable memory to find ...   Chickadee eggs Article Continued