Anchorage Wildlife Conservation Center

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The Anchorage Wildlife Conservation Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving Alaska’s wildlife through conservation, public education, and quality animal care. We took a drive through the Center on our transfer tour that took us from Whittier to Anchorage. The center is about halfway through the transfer trip, so it was a convenient place to stretch our legs and explore.

Porcupine at Anchorage Wildlife Conservation Center

This little guy was one of our favorites! We would later see a porcupine in the wild during our trip to Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area. This was our first “real-life” introduction to this fascinating (and slightly stinky) creature. Watching him root around his large enclosure was very entertaining!

Supporting Wildlife is the #1 Goal

Herd of elk

Visiting the Conservation Center not only allows you to support hundreds of displaced animals, but it also gives you the opportunity to get up close and personal with native Alaskan animals you may not have the chance to see in the wild! All of the animals looked healthy and strong. Sometime you visit a zoo or animal “sanctuary” only to find that the conditions for the animals are not ideal. This was not the case at the Anchorage Wildlife Conservation Center.

Grizzly bear

It was incredible to (safely) get this close to Alaskan grizzly and black bears!

Grizzly bear Grizzly bear

Don’t let that cute face fool you! Grizzly bears are tough and fierce creatures that should never be approached in the wild.

Grizzly bears Grizzly bears

Injured and orphaned animals are brought to the center year-round for rehabilitation.

Wood Bison

Alaska Wood Bison at Anchorage Wildlife Conservation Center

 After 100 years of extinction in Alaska, the wood bison have found their way back.

Alaska Wood Bison

According to the AWCC website, the first of the wood bison herd arrived in November 2003 from the Yukon Territory in Canada and is part of a wood bison recovery program designed to reintroduce the species to Alaska.

Alaska Wood Bison

The center is home to the only wood bison herd in the United States.

Herd of Alaska Wood Bison

I loved seeing the baby animals at the rehabilitation center. The baby musk oxen were among my favorite!

Young Juvenile Alaska Wood Bison Young Juvenile Alaska Wood Bison

The adult oxen were mighty cute as well!

Alaska Wood Bison Alaska Wood Bison

Even MORE Animals

The adorableness continues with the baby moose!

Baby Moose Baby Moose

It was surreal getting this close to such a regal creature.

Moose Moose Moose

The Anchorage Wildlife Conservation Center Is A Haven For Rehabilitated Animals

We saw countless bald eagles during a recent trip to Washington State and several on our Alaskan cruise, but again, none this close! Adonis has lived at the center since 1995. Due to a gunshot wound, he had one of his wings amputated. So, here he sits, unable to fly, yet majestic and beautiful as ever.

Bald eagle

Other rescued animals at the center include an owl, sitka black-tailed deer, and caribou (pictured below).

Owl

Sitka black tailed deer

Caribou reindeer Caribou reindeer

We arrived at the Conservation Center via a tour with Anchorage Tours & Transfers, after disembarking from a week-long Alaskan cruise.

For more information about the Anchorage Wildlife Conservation Center, please visit their website.

If you can’t make it to Anchorage and still wish to support this worthwhile endeavor, feel free to make a donation!


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