Caribou have been on the landscape for more than 400,000 years. For roughly the past 12,000 years, they have been hunted by humans — first the paleo-Indians, now the First Nations’ cultures along with many other Alaskans. Resilience to hunting, to weather, and to predators has enabled the caribou to remain an integral part of both the natural landscape and the human culture. The greatest test of their resilience, though, stands to be climate change.
This week’s quiz deals with wilderness in the national parks. Answers are at the end. If we catch you peeking, we’ll make you memorize the entire list of designated wildernesses.
On August 28, a young grizzly mauled a woman hiker in the remote Okokmilaga River drainage of Alaska’s Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve. Thanks to the quick action of the woman’s companions, the bear was driven away and the victim received only non life-threatening injuries. Bear attacks are rare in the park, but this incident shows that bear country travel always entails risk.
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