Alaska Fish & Wildlife News
February 2011

Muskox in Alaska
New guide highlights identification

Muskox are arguably one of Alaska's greatest wildlife success stories. Interest in these shaggy northern beasts is growing, as are their numbers in Alaska, and the Department of Fish and Game has produced a new publication – “Muskox: A guide to identification, hunting and viewing.”

The 30-page color guide, rich with photographs, offers natural history, identification tips addressing sex and age (complete with an ID quiz), information on hunting, meat care, and viewing; and for folks living ...   Muskox in Alaska ArticleContinued

New Invasive Species Detected in Alaska

Generally, when searching for something and then finding it, one feels a sense of mild success. “Eureka! I found the keys.” “Aha, the long lost mate to my favorite pair of socks.” When it comes to invasive species (organisms that harm economies, environments or humans) we look for them with fingers crossed that we won't find anything. Last summer while scoping for marine invasive species we found the invasive colonial tunicate, Didemnum vexillum. There were no celebratory high fives, fist ...   New Invasive Species ArticleContinued

New Names for Old Birds

The remarkable song of the winter wren is a blizzard of burbling notes, drawing attention to this tiny, otherwise easily overlooked forest bird. It's appropriately named, as the winter wren can be found year-round in coastal Alaska. But Alaska's winter wren is no more.

Last year, the American Ornithologists Union changed the name of the winter wren. Alaska's winter wren is now the Pacific wren.

This name-changing is a mixed bag. It's done by the American Ornithologists' Union ...   New Names for Birds ArticleContinued