Wildlife Spotting on the Alcan Highway

The well camouflaged mountain goats

Posted by Anna:

We had scoured in vain for wildlife the past 5000 miles and were giving up hope of spotting anything more exciting than a crow.  That was until the morning of Day 12 driving north from Fort Nelson, BC to Whitehorse, YT.  Today we weren’t expecting anything unusual, since the last time we’d been promised by a local that we’d see wildlife we were sorely disappointed.  However, our drive today provided not only gorgeous scenery, but the best wildlife spottings we’ve had the whole trip. 

First, we spotted a mama mountain goat and her kid nibbling something delicious along the side of the road.  Anna was so excited that she hopped out of the truck cab with an apple, intent on feeding them, only to have them jump off the side of the road and trot away.  As you can see, they are quite camouflaged with the stony landscape (Thomas commented later that we were surrounded by hundreds of mountain goats and just didn’t know it). 

A herd of Caribou that were not shy

Then we came across a herd of caribou also grazing at the side of the road.  Thomas and Dad got out o the truck this time and chased them off.  Luckily they are not hostile like moose, which are still hoping to see. 

We were also pleased to see some buffalo grazing, which was all the more exciting since it was not in a National Park.  We have been dissing on Yellowstone ever since we left, noting that so far it hasn’t beat any of the scenery we’ve passed on the Alcan Highway.  We did not get out of the truck to take pictures of the bison, since none of us want to end up like the bear in the other post. 

A large bull Buffalo that lumbered across the road behind us

Lastly, as we were eating dinner by a lake, we noticed a bird approaching from the distance.  As it got closer, we identified it as a bald eagle, and it flew so close over top of us that we could hear its wing beats.  I wasn’t quick enough with my camera to get a close shot, but if you look carefully, you can see it in the upper left part of this picture. 

All in all, it was a great day on the road, and we look forward to more wildlife once we arrive in Alaska, hopefully in another day or 2.  Just as long as we don’t have any more 12 hour wrong turns!