Bald Eagles
Photograph by Michael Melford
According to Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, “The Chilkat Valley in Haines is the site for the world’s largest annual gathering of bald eagles. Every autumn, up to 3,000 or more eagles fill the trees and river flats to feast on a late run of Chilkat River chum salmon. With a wing span of 6-8 feet, bald eagles mate for life and can live to be 40 years old. With a year-round resident bald eagle population of 200-400, the area is known as the “Valley of the Eagles.”
In June of 2007 the American bald eagle was removed from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants, it remains protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
The eagle population in southeastern Alaska rely on large supply of salmon. One reason to look critically at the proposals for building roads and permitting logging in the Tongass forest is to balance economic interests of the communities without threatening eagles or salmon habitats.
Filed under Animal Facts | Comment (0)Narwhal Info
One of the most interesting animals known as the “Unicorn of the Sea,” is a narwhal. They dolphin-like animals that have only two teeth. In the male narwhal, one of the teeth grows out through the lip and extends about 8 feet. Experts are unclear as to the purpose of the the tooth, but one theory is that it is used in fighting between male narwhals.
The National Geographic website has some interesting multimedia about narwhals.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)Endangered Species - the Monarch Butterfly
Photo Credit: WWF-Canon / Fritz Pölking
The average adult Monarch butterfly lives about 4 to 5 weeks. However, there is a special type of Monarch, called the “Methuselah generation,” that participate in an incredible migration taking them from Canada and the U.S to a region in central Mexico.
“Awell-preserved forest ecosystem in Mexico is critical for the survival of the Monarch butterfly wintering, which has been recognized as an endangered biological phenomenon, and the first priority in world butterfly conservation,” according the the World Wildlife Fund’s website.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)