Denali National Park – Syndication Server

Grizzly bear cub appears to dance while getting its scratch on

Footage from Alberta, Canada, shows a large grizzly bear cub breaking out all the moves while enjoying a good scratch.

Alaska’s Denali National Park on Sunday shared footage showing a grizzly bear “satisfying its itch” by rubbing its back against the bottom of a campground sign.

“While amusing, this video serves as a reminder that the Park is home to many bears and other animals that may be encountered on or near roads and in other front-country areas,” Denali stated via Instagram. “As you travel in the park this shoulder season, enjoy wildlife from a safe distance.”

The clip is reminiscent of footage captured in 2022 by a trail camera operated in Alberta, Canada, by the Help Alberta Wildies Society, which studies wild horses.

The accompanying Alberta clip is a classic because the large grizzly bear cub stands on its hind legs and appears to dance while rubbing against a tree.

It’s made more entertaining by music that transforms from suspenseful to fun and lively once the scratching begins. Click here to view the footage if a video player does not appear below.

https://www.facebook.com/HelpAlbertaWildiesSociety/videos/742508471239072

Denali National Park employee dies in avalanche while skiing

Alaska’s Denali National Park and Preserve on Wednesday confirmed that one of its employees was killed by an avalanche last Thursday while skiing inside the park.

Alaska’s Denali National Park has confirmed that one of its employees was killed by an avalanche last Thursday while skiing inside the park.

Eric Walter, a senior dispatcher, was backcountry skiing near Mile 10 on the Park Road when he triggered the avalanche that claimed his life.

A park news release states that a witness reported seeing a lone skier trigger an avalanche on an unnamed slope in the area.

A rescue team was dispatched and a ranger with a spotting scope saw two skis – one vertical and the other flat – and an orange bag in the avalanche debris field.

“Upon reaching the scene it was determined that the skier had died,” the park explained. “The skier was later identified to be Eric.”

The park elaborated Wednesday via Facebook:

“Eric was a skilled outdoorsman and a beloved member of the Denali family and our hearts are broken.

“Because Eric was a senior dispatcher with the Alaska Region Communications Center, where he provided radio-based safety and support services for park employees across the state, his warm and comforting voice was known to many hundreds of NPS employees who never met him in person.”

A memorial service is planned for today (May 11) at 5 p.m. at the Denali Sled Dog Kennels. The accompanying image shows Eric with his adopted sled dog, Fin.

Tourists spot two of Denali National Park’s rarest critters

Denali National Park and Preserve on Saturday shared images of animals so elusive that even staff and frequent visitors rarely see them.

Denali National Park and Preserve on Saturday shared images of critters so elusive that even staff and frequent visitors almost never see them.

“A rare appearance by two wolverines quickly became the talk of the park this week,” Denali announced on Facebook. “These critters spent part of their day peeking at visitors from a culvert along Denali Park Road.”

The post continued: “Since these animals are so rarely seen, some park staff had to brush up on their wolverine knowledge!”

ALSO: Grizzly bear chases oil-field worker onto top of truck; video

The park explained that wolverines are related to weasels, mink, martens, and otters; that they’re super scavengers “that will eat just about any type of meat they can find.”

Wolverines roam expansive territories, often in rugged terrain, and are solitary except for a short mating period during the summer. So the sight of two wolverines was extraordinary for Denali visitors who observed them.

Pregnant females, according to the park, build snow dens for birthing and nursing.

Because of their solitary, wide-ranging nature, wolverines are extremely difficult to study.

The population in Alaska is stable, but numbers have declined in the western contiguous United States and Canada.

In January 2021, Yellowstone National Park shared its first-ever trail-cam footage of a wolverine, and the footage went viral.

Last March at Yellowstone, a father and daughter on their first trip to the park spotted a wolverine walking across a snowy road. MacNeil Lyons, their tour operator, told FTW Outdoors:

“For the rest of the tour, the 9-year-old daughter couldn’t stop saying, ‘Wow… we saw a wolverine today! She told me it was the most amazing day ever in her life.”

Last April, a trail-cam operator in Canada’s Yukon Territory shared a video compilation featuring amusing wolverine footage captured during a six-month period on multiple trails.

To be sure, trail cameras are the most effective means of capturing footage of wolverines in the wild.

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