Haines-Kroeschel Films Wildlife Center Friday, July 31

On Friday, while at Haines we drove back north on the Haines highway to Mosquito Lake Road. Turning onto this road, we went a mile or so to this private wildlife park. The owner uses these animals in films for National Geographic, PBS and Disney. He is very kind to the animals and loves each of them. He treats them very humanely.

This is a black wolf. He was held by a very long chain and was given frozen chicken to eat. He is still very wild!

This is a red Tailed Hawk. He too was tethered by the handler.

They had some foxes in a pen and this is a rare silver fox. They are hard to find and catch.

This is the handler, Mario, with a great snowy owl. I had never seen one of them before.

Here is an elusive Lynx, the Alaskan version of a bobcat or puma. He only eats snow shoe hares.

Look at the size of his feet! Also he has like a beard on the side of his face.

Isn't he beautiful!

This is a young female grizzly bear they have raised from a orphaned cub.

Here is the bear again.

This animal is very rarely caught & seen. It is a lemming and lives in the artic, under the snow. Seed how small it is!

Here is another photo of the lemming.

This is an irmine in a tunnel they have set up behind a glass so we can photograph it.

Guess what! A Porcupine! They have to be handled gently & carefully! Ther quills can penetrate skin and travel though your body & exit in the weirdest places.

He is cute, though.

This weasel is so fast I could not get a focus on him!

This is a young cross fox coming out of a den.

This animal is very fast also and difficult to get a clear shot. It is a mink and they are very ferocious! They have sharp teeth and can hang on for dear life!

Here i s Jim feeding some overripe bananas to a moose. Bananas are not part of their natural diet but they like them! (Wonder why?_sugar!) I think the owner gets them free from the supermarkets.

I also fed the moose. They are sloppier in that they drool on you when you feed them.

This is the park's owner, Steve.

This is a pine marten. I forget what family he beklongs to but it may be the mink, and weasel family.

I think these animals are amazing!

This is a wolverine coming out of a den. They are rarely seen so not much is know of them. They are fierce animals and fighters. They can bring down an animalthe size of a moose all by itself. It hunts by itself, not in packs.

These lynx kits were soooo cute! We watched them play on this log and almost fall off!

Again, look at the size of their paws, which enable them to walk on top of snow.

See how he almost falls off!