Are Alaska Ravens Responsible for Wolf Packs? By Ned Rozell People who study animal behavior think they may have found out why wolves hunt in packs — because ravens are such good scavengers. Scientists who watched wolves on Isle Royale in Lake Superior came up with the raven-wolf pack theory after puzzling over a question: [...]
Northern Alaska Lake Trout Living in Mystery By Ned Rozell In early March up on the frozen Arctic Coastal Plain, as the wind sculpts snow into drifts, it’s hard to tell northern lakes from surrounding tundra. But lurking deep beneath that flat white world are toothy predators as long as your arm. In pools 60 [...]
More tropical nights in Alaska’s future? By Ned Rozell [fusion_dropcap]B[/fusion_dropcap]y the end of this century, Alaskans may be enjoying tropical evening breezes for about a week each year. That's an increase from the almost zero such nights we currently savor. But it could happen, according to a graduate student who has tightened the grids of [...]
Lack of sea ice near Savoonga, Alaska and Lower 48 weather By Ned Rozell [fusion_dropcap]L[/fusion_dropcap]ast month, villagers in Savoonga landed a bowhead whale. Before 2017, in every January people can remember, sea ice surrounded St. Lawrence Island, locking it in for the winter. Boat-launching and whale-taking were not possible. Now, the disc of ice chunks [...]
To Alaska and then some for Yukon Lynx By Ned Rozell [fusion_dropcap]A[/fusion_dropcap] lynx that roamed more than 200 miles from Kluane Lake in the Yukon Territory to near Chitina is still being tracked across the Alaska landscape, thanks to a curious couple living off the Edgerton Highway. A lynx that a couple in Kenny [...]
NOAA Fisheries finds harbor seals in Iliamna Lake not warranted for listing under ESA November 16, 2016 NOAA Fisheries/Dave Withrow NOAA Fisheries concluded that the listing of Pacific harbor seals in Iliamna Lake, Alaska as an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is not warranted. The seals do not constitute a [...]
Living On An Alaska Glacier By Ned Rozell [fusion_dropcap]C[/fusion_dropcap]ANWELL GLACIER — This summer, Sam Herreid has slept for 12 nights on these rocks that ride slowly downhill on a mass of ice. For a few days at a time during the last six summers, the 28-year-old has lived on this ephemeral landscape in the eastern [...]
Exotic ticks found on Alaska dogs, Alaskans By Ned Rozell [fusion_dropcap]W[/fusion_dropcap]hile Alaskans have long endured dense mosquitoes and frigid air, we’ve always had the absence of venomous snakes and dog ticks. But the latter may be establishing themselves here. Ticks that infest red squirrels, snowshoe hares and a variety of birds have always been present [...]
Introducing “Nanuq,” the mini tyrannosaurus of Alaska's North Slope By Ned Rozell [fusion_dropcap]S[/fusion_dropcap]eventy million years ago, the baddest predator on top of the world was a pygmy tyrannosaur about half the size of Tyrannosaurus rex. The creature became known to the world in mid-March 2014, when Texas-based dinosaur hunters Tony Fiorillo and Ron Tykoski unveiled [...]
Alaska's Augustine Volcano Has An Amazing Legacy By Ned Rozell [fusion_dropcap]A[/fusion_dropcap]ugustine Volcano sits alone, a 4,000-foot pyramid on its own island in Cook Inlet. Like many volcanoes, it has a tendency to become top heavy. When gravity acts on Augustine's oversteepened dome, rockslides spill into the ocean. A scientist recently found new evidence for an [...]
