Sitka

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Sitka is our final Alaskan port. This town retains much of it's Russian character. It was the capital of Russian Alaska until the US bought the territory for 7,200,000 or about 2 cents an acre. It was considered a foolish purchase by the people at the time. Sitka remained the capital of Alaska Terreratory until it was moved to Juneau.



We opted for a three prong sightseeing excursion. The first was cruising the Sitka Sound, searching for otter rafts. Our first sighting was a bachelor raft, all males together feeding on urchins, crab, sea stars of whatever else is available. These critters use rocks as tools to open their catch. Soon we came upon the Ladies raft where the moms floated on their backs with the little ones on their tummy. The pups feed on milk and when it's appropriate the moms teach them how to dive, groom and open foods. These guys are so cute, their fur very dense and silky and they were hunted almost to extinction. In the1960's, there were none in Sitka Sound. Four hundred pairs were resettled from the Alaska archipelago and the population now numbers about 4,000.



As happen on our past tours, whales distracted us from the birds and otters and caused us to be late for the second adventure. We boarded a bus for a short drive to the Raptor Rescue Center where we met the mascot, a four year old eagle that had damage to it's wing and lost one eye. She would not survive in the wild so she will remain fat and happy at the facility. The other inhabitants are being rehabilitated with the goal of setting them free. There were owls and hawk and lots of Eagles. They might have encountered high tension wires, gunshot or poisoning or collision with cars. There is an enclosure where they are observed and their progress evaluated. One eagle was literally bald aver an encounter with a high tension line. He also lost an eye so the final decision of whether to release him is still pending.



Too soon we boarded the bus for our final destination Frontier of the Bears. This is another rescue operation where bears who would otherwise be euthanized because of an encounter with humans are given the best care available. We were up close and personal with three black bears and five huge brown bears also know as grizzles. Unless you can see them up close you can't imagine how huge they are and how long and dangerous their claws are.



The refuges are funded by individuals and grant with no Federal, State or Local support. Everyone wishes that they were unnecessary bur given the proximity of human to animals there are a wonderful last hope for injured or animals deemed to dangerous to let roam.

And that completes the Alaska portion of our cruise.

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