Just before winter fully took its hold in Alaska, we were able to drive down from Anchorage to Alyeska to spend a few days welcoming the new year, snowboard style. Just passed Aleyska however, is a wildlife conservation center which is basically a zoo but more concerned about helping wildlife get back to its original standing populations, in short. So, we obviously had to visit it!

It’s easy to navigate and if you so choose, could stay in the comfort of your vehicle. During our visit, it was pouring rain which made these grizzlies angry and kind of sad in appearance. It was humbling to hear the cracks in the ice due to this beast’s massive weight!

The views were phenomenal to witness. The fog rolling in, snow falling in the distant mountains, wildlife running around was incredibly awesome to see in person. It made us ponder on what times would have been like without us humans around, what a pleasure to have seen these animals in their natural habitat, oh wait, that’s exactly what this wildlife conservation does!

It’s home to more than a dozen animals: black and brown bears, bison, deer, eagles, elk, foxes, lynx, moose, musk ox’s, owl, porcupine, wolves, and reindeer.

Wolves, bears, whitetail deer, and far more others that are hard to pronounce, even in person, were gorgeous to see in person. The wolves seemed smaller but more vicious (first time seeing a wolf up close), the bears seemed so much bigger and wider than what media shows (also first time seeing a bear up close), and the surrounding wildlife seemed to teem with life even through the cold rains. After all, this is Alaska, maybe they loved it! If you love wildlife and want to experience first hand in the comfort of your car, this is definitely a place to visit. It’s only 20 minutes away from Alyeska!

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