Wildlife center is saving lives and showing you the survivors

PORTAGE VALLEY, Alaska — Travelers who are interested in taking a good look at Alaska wildlife without taking a trip into the wilderness can find grizzly bears, musk oxen, moose, caribou and much more at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.

Just an hour's drive south of Anchorage on scenic Turnagain Arm, the center is spread out over 140 acres and provides a more natural setting for viewing wildlife than many zoos.

"We are trying to create more of an experience," said Mike Miller, AWCC's director.

The center is set up so that visitors can see the animals either by walking or driving around the park.

All the animals at the center were taken in because they were injured, ill or orphaned. They wouldn't survive if released in the wild, so the center adopts them and uses them in its educational programs. A nonprofit organization, AWCC generates its operating funds through admission fees, gift-shop sales, grants and donations.

One of the biggest draws at the center is a female grizzly bear named Hugo. An encounter with a porcupine left Hugo with hundreds of quills imbedded in her skin. She is doing well now and has an 18-acre section to herself. Miller said it's the largest bear enclosure in North America.

Also of interest is the herd of wood bison, a species that once ranged across a vast region of northwestern Canada and Alaska. Like their smaller cousins on the plains, wood bison were nearly extinct by the early 1900s because of hunting and loss of habitat.

Wood bison are being bred in captivity, and the state Department of Fish and Game is exploring population restoration possibilities in the interior part of the state.

"Eventually there will be herds of wild wood bison in Alaska," Miller said.

In addition to mature animals, the center has its share of young critters.

AWCC's newest animals are seven coyote pups found wandering around on an air strip after their mother was hit by a plane.

A young moose calf arrived at the center after a collision with a car killed her mother.

Except for a donated Siberian wild boar, all the animals at AWCC could at one time be found naturally in Alaska. The animals rely on the center's habitat for much of their food and are adapted to cold weather.

The center is open through the winter, giving visitors an idea of how Alaska wildlife live in snow and ice.