Brown Bear
By all indications, bears are extremely intelligent and most have individual personalities.

• Size
  Up to 1,500 lbs
• Distribution
  Brown bears occur throughout Alaska except on islands south of Frederick Sound in southeast Alaska, west of Unimak in the Aleutian Chain, and Bering Sea islands.
• Diet
  Omnivorous
• Predators
  Other Brown bears
• Reproduction
  Twins are most common, but litter sizes can range from 1 to 4
• Remarks
  Can be a wide range of colors
• Other names
  Brown and grizzly are both used in Alaska

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Black Bear
Bluish-colored black bears called glacier bears are found in Southeast Alaska.

• Size
  up to 350 pounds
• Distribution
  Occur over most of the forested areas of the state; not found on the Seward Peninsula, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, or north of the Brooks Range. Also absent from Kodiak, Montague, and Hinchinbrook Islands, and from the Alaska Peninsula beyond Lake Iliamna.
• Diet
  Omnivorous.
• Predators
  Other bears, usually brown.
• Reproduction
  Twins are most common, but litters may contain 1-4 cubs.
• Remarks
  Black bears are the most abundant and widely distributed of the three species of North American bears; they have been recorded in all states except Hawaii.

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Polar Bear
Polar bears do not undergo true hibernation.

• Size
  Males: 600–1200 lbs. 8–10 ft.; Females: 400–700 lbs.
• Lifespan
  25 years
• Distribution/Range
  Circumpolar, northern hemisphere only
• Diet
  Ringed seals, bearded seals, walruses, beluga whales
• Predators
  Male polar bears, and Alaska Native hunters
• Reproduction
  2 cubs once every 3 years

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Alaskan Moose
Moose are an important source of food for Alaskans, and at least 7,000 moose are harvested annually in Alaska, amounting to about 3.5 million pounds of meat.

• Size
  Up to 1,600 pounds
• Distribution
  Generally associated with northern forests; found in Alaska from the Unuk River in Southeast to the Colville River on the Arctic Slope.
• Diet
  Herbivorous, eating willow, birch, and aspen leaves and twigs, along with sedges, Equisetum, pond weeds, and grasses.
• Predators
  Wolves, black bears, and brown bears
• Reproduction
  Usually one calf is born, but twins can occur if food has been plentiful

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American Bald Eagle
The bald eagle builds the largest nest of any North American bird, up to 8 feet across and weighing as much as a ton.

• Size
  The bald eagle is Alaska’s largest resident bird of prey with a wing span up to 7 1/2 feet (2.3 m) long and weights of 8 to 14 pounds (3.6-6.4 kg). Like many raptors, females are larger than males.
• Range/Distribution
  Bald eagles are often found along Alaska’s coast, offshore islands, and Interior lakes and rivers. The highest nesting densities occur on the islands of Southeast Alaska. The total population is estimated at 30,000 birds.
• Diet
  Fish are the main diet of the bald eagle. Eagles are opportunistic and also prey upon waterfowl, small mammals, sea urchins, clams, crabs, and carrion.
• Reproduction
  In late April, two eggs are laid several days apart. Incubation lasts about 35 days. When the young hatch, the weaker, usually younger, chick is killed or starved. The surviving young leave the nest after approximately 75 days.

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King Salmon (Chinook)
3% of Chinook have white meat.

• Size
  Length = 36 inches (Record: 58 inches); Weight = 30 lbs (Record: 126 lbs).
• Lifespan
  3 to 7 years
• Distribution/Range
  North America "– Monterey Bay, CA' to the Chukchi Sea. Asia – Hokkaido, Japan to Anadyr River, Siberia
• Diet / Feeding Type
  Plankton, insects, amphipods, and fish
• Predators
  Birds and fish eat juveniles; marine mammals eat adults
• Reproduction
  Anadromous and semelparous
• Remarks
  Official state fish of Alaska
• Other Names
  Chinook, chins, king. quinnat, tyee, tule, blackmouth, and spring salmon.

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Killer Red (Sockeye Salmon)
The striking orange color of sockeye salmon flesh comes from eating plankton and krill while in the ocean.

• Size
  Length = 24 inches (Record: 31 inches); Weight = 6 lbs (Record: 16 lbs).
• Lifespan
  3 to 7 years
• Distribution/Range
  North America "– Klamath River, OR to the Chukchi Sea. Asia – Hokkaido, Japan to Anadyr River, Siberia
• Diet
  Zooplankton,small crustaceans, small fish
• Predators
  Marine mammals, bears
• Remarks
  The most economically important species of salmon in Alaska
• Other Names
  Red and blueback salmon, kokanee (landlocked form in lower 48 states and Canada) 
• Stock Status
  3rd most abundant species of Pacific salmon. Populations currently healthy in Alaska. Human induced habitat loss and direct mortality has depressed populations in the lower 48 states.

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Silver (Coho Salmon)
Coho spawn primarily occurs at night.

• Size
  24-30 inches long, 8-12 pounds
• Range/Distribution
  The traditional range of the coho salmon runs from both sides of the North Pacific Ocean, from Japan and eastern Russian, around the Bering Sea to mainland Alaska, and south all the way to Monterey Bay, California. Coho salmon have also been introduced in all the Great Lakes, as well as many other landlocked reservoirs throughout the United States.
• Diet
  Aquatic insects, fish, squid
• Predators
  Whales, sharks, marine mammals, birds, mammals, humans
• Reproduction
  Deposit 2,400-4,500 eggs in freshwater from September-February
• Other Names
  silver salmon

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Humpy (Pink Salmon)
There are more pink salmon than any other wild Pacific salmon.

• Size
  18”- 25” long and between 3- 5.5 lbs
• Diet in freshwater
  Adults returning to spawn do not eat. Young salmon migrating to the ocean may eat aquatic insects and zooplankton.
• Diet in saltwater
  Plankton, marine shrimp and krill, other smaller fish, squid, and the occasional aquatic insect.
• Predators
  Anything larger than them including killer whales, bears, birds, and humans just to name a few.
• Reproduction
  A female lays between 1,200 and 1,900 eggs during spawning June through late October. Eggs incubate over winter for 5-8 months and hatch in late winter or early spring. Fry migrate to saltwater as soon as they emerge from the gravel. They feed for 18 months in the ocean, and return to spawn and die at two years of age.
• Ocean-Phase Identifying Characteristics
  Mouth is white with a black gum line
  Very small or almost no teeth, and no “teeth” on the tongue
  Large oval spots on both lobes of tail
  Large black spots on back
  Pointed lower jaw
  No silver on tail
  Very small scales compared to other salmon that are of similar size
• Remarks
  The Alaska Department of Fish and Game manages pink salmon in fresh waters of the state and in saltwater up to 3 miles from shore.
• Other names
  Humpback salmon, humpy

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Chum Salmon
Fossils demonstrate that Pacific salmon have existed for at least 6 million years.

• Size
  Average 24-28 inches and 10-13lb; males usually larger than females
• Range/Distribution
  Chum salmon range throughout Alaska, but are scarce north of Kotzebue Sound. While at sea, most of Alaska’s chum salmon remain in the eastern Chukchi and Bering seas and the Gulf of Alaska.
• Diet
  Insect larvae, copepods, tunicates, mollusks and a variety of fishes
• Predators
  Marine mammals, birds, bears, wolves, humans
• Reproduction
  Spawn only once before dying
• Other Names
  dog salmon, calico salmon

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Everyone fishes in Alaska ...

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Even the tots!  Children learn about fish and how to fish by fourth grade. 

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Alaskan transportation - Beaver
Everyone should have one of these if you live in Alaska.  :)

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King Salmon fishing on the Kenai River.

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