Dengler Images

Marine debris a threat to Steller sea lions

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A Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) with a trolling flasher caught in its mouth sits with other Steller sea lions at the Gran Point haulout located on the Lynn Canal near Haines in southeast Alaska. Entanglement in fishing equipment and other marine debris can harm and even cause death in Steller sea lions. In a research project by Sea Gypsy Research and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin 58 (2009), researchers noted “when a flasher is near the mouth the hook is probably embedded in the animal's stomach. Stomach penetration likely leads to peritonitis and death.” Additionally, infection of the jaw can lead to tooth loss or the inability to feed. The project found that of ingested fishing gear (longline gear, hook and line, spinners/spoons and bait hooks) salmon fishery flashers accounted for 80% of ingested fishing gear. Researchers estimated that flashers are used by commercial trollers on only 20% of their hooks. Trolling flashers like the one shown are used by both commercial and sports fisherman with commercial fisherman. In Alaska, trolling flashers use is legal only in Southeast Alaska. There are two distinct populations of Steller sea lions in Alaska. The majority of Stellar sea lions that frequent the Lynn Canal are part of the eastern population of Steller sea lions which are not listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act; unlike the western population of Steller sea lions which are listed as endangered. That said however, there have been confirmed sightings of the western population Steller sea lions at Gran Point. (John L. Dengler)

I’ve been editing images that I took several years ago of Steller sea lions at the Gran Point haulout near Haines. Among the images was the photo above of a Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) with a trolling flasher caught in its mouth. Entanglement with sport and commercial fishing equipment and other marine debris can harm and even cause death in Steller sea lions.

In a research project by Sea Gypsy Research and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin 58 (2009), researchers noted “when a flasher is near the mouth the hook is probably embedded in the animal’s stomach. Stomach penetration likely leads to peritonitis and death.” Additionally, infection of the jaw can lead to tooth loss or the inability to feed.

The project found that of ingested fishing gear (longline gear, hook and line, spinners/spoons and bait hooks) flashers accounted for 80% of ingested fishing gear. Researchers estimated that flashers are used by commercial trollers on only 20% of their hooks.

Trolling flashers like the one shown are used by both commercial and sports fisherman to catch salmon. In Alaska, trolling flasher use is legal only in Southeast Alaska.

There are two distinct populations of Steller sea lions in Alaska. The majority of Stellar sea lions that frequent the Lynn Canal are part of the eastern population of Steller sea lions which are not listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act; unlike the western population of Steller sea lions which are listed as endangered. That said, there have been confirmed sightings of the western population Steller sea lions at Gran Point.

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Grant Creek wolf pack of Denali National Park in jeopardy

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An adult member of the Grant Creek wolf pack looks at other adult members of the pack as the pack was traveling near Stony Creek in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The Grant Creek wolf pack of Denali National Park and Preserve has been described as one of the most visible and photographed group of wolves in the world as the pack's home range includes the park road that bisects much of the vast six million acre park. In May of 2012, The Los Angeles Times wrote about the deaths of the two primary breeding females of the pack. The death of one of these females was the result of being snared by a trapper just outside the park boundary. According to the story a trapper shot an aging horse near its death and used it as bait to lure and fatally snare the female radio-collared wolf and a male wolf. It is unknown if the male wolf was part of the Grant Creek wolf pack. The wolf kills were within a former no-wolf-killing zone that had been established by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game because the zone was surrounded on three sides by park land. In 2010, the regulation expired and the board of the department declined to retain the special area designation. What makes the loss of this female troubling to advocates of the no-wolf-kill zone is that the female wolf was believed to be the only remaining primary breeding female wolf in the Grant Creek pack. Earlier this spring, the only other primary breeding female of the pack was found dead of natural causes within park boundaries. In November of 2012 the Fairbanks News-Miner reported that researchers found that the Grant Creek Pack didn't produce pups in 2012, their den abandoned and the pack split up. For the entire park, the number of wolves counted was the lowest in 25 years, down from 143 in 2007 to 57 this year. (John L. Dengler)

I first photographed the Grant Creek wolf pack of Denali National Park and Preserve in the summer of 2004. This first sighting was truly a special moment; I caught a glimpse of the alpha male tending the pups while his mate was foraging for ground squirrels to feed the pups. Over the years, I and countless other park visitors would see the Grant Creek pack as the pack’s home range included the park road that bisects much of the vast six million acre park. Often visible from the road, the pack has been described as one of the most visible and photographed group of wild wolves in the history of Denali National Park, and possibly the world.

So it was a sad day when I read a Los Angeles Times story by Kim Murphy that the main breeding female wolf was killed within a mile outside of the park boundaries. According to the story a trapper shot an aging horse near its death and used it as bait to lure and fatally snare the female radio-collared wolf and another male wolf. It is unknown if the male wolf was part of the Grant Creek wolf pack. The wolf kills were within a former no-wolf-killing zone that had been established by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game because it was surrounded by park land on three sides. In 2010, the regulation expired and the board of the department declined to retain the special area designation.

What makes the loss of this female troubling is that the female wolf was believed to be the only remaining primary breeding female wolf in the Grant Creek pack. Earlier this spring, the only other primary breeding female of the pack was found dead of natural causes within park boundaries. According to the Los Angeles Times story, biologists who study the Grant Creek wolf pack in Denali National Park and Preserve now fear that without these breeding females producing new pups, the pack will collapse. 2105 UPDATE: The Grant Creek wolf pack has dispersed and no longer exists.

The number of wolves within the park is declining. According to the Denali National Park and Preserve website, “For the last 20 years, park-wide wolf numbers (north of the Alaska Range) have averaged about 100 wolves. However, in April 2009, there were approximately 65 wolves in the packs being regularly monitored by park biologists – the lowest number of wolves recorded in Denali since biologists began monitoring wolves with methods that give reliable counts.”

The alpha male wolf of the Grant Creek gray wolf pack keeps watch on his six pups near Stony Creek in Denali National Park and Preserve. This photo was taken on July 31, 2004. (John L. Dengler)

As the reader comments to the Los Angles Times article on the incident published on the Anchorage Daily News website reveal, the issue of establishing a no-wolf-killing zone is controversial among Alaskans. Many feel that had this buffer zone been in place (as it once was), the wolves would not have been killed by trapping. Conversely, many in the hunting and trapping community feel they have the right to hunt wolves on state land adjacent to the park’s boundaries. In a Los Angeles Times follow up story by Kim Murphy the trapper involved scoffed at the idea of a buffer zone.

Regardless of future decisions concerning the issue, visitors to Denali National Park may see less and less of the famous Grant Creek wolf pack and if the predicted breakup occurs, sightings of the the pack will be nothing more than a memory and tale told by park tour bus drivers as they pass through the pack’s former home range.

An adult member of the Grant Creek wolf pack looks at other adult members of the pack as the pack was traveling near Stony Creek in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. (John L. Dengler)

TOP and BOTTOM: An adult member of the Grant Creek wolf pack looks at other adult members of the pack as the pack was traveling near Stony Creek in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.

MIDDLE: The alpha male wolf of the Grant Creek gray wolf pack keeps watch on his six pups near Stony Creek in Denali National Park and Preserve. This photo was taken on July 31, 2004.

More information on wolves in Denali National Park and Preserve can be found on the National Park Service website.

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The presence of grizzly bears is always a good omen

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A grizzly bear track in snow near the Chilkat River in the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska is compared with a human hand. SPECIAL NOTE: iPhone photo (John L. Dengler)

Like baseball players, I’m a bit superstitious. In my case, when I see grizzly bear tracks, I know that the photography for the rest of the day will be great. Today I saw lots of fresh grizzly bear tracks in the new snow (iPhone photo above). It was a great day of shooting on the Chilkat River in Alaska. Weather was pretty nice too — sunny and cold with little wind.

ABOVE: A grizzly bear track in snow near the Chilkat River in the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska is compared with a human hand. Like bald eagles, grizzly bears are attracted to the salmon runs on the Chilkat and Chilkoot Rivers.

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