Wildlife Viewing
From sea to shore: discover the diverse wildlife of the Kenai Fjords
Kenai Fjords National Park is a rich marine ecosystem, and its coastal waters are home to a diverse array of marine mammals.
Visitors may see orca whales as well as several species of baleen whales, including humpback, gray, fin, and minke whales. Resurrection Bay and the Kenai Fjords are also home to Dall’s porpoise, Steller sea lions, sea otters, and harbor seals.
Birds
The northern Gulf Coast of Alaska is one of the richest bird habitats in North America, with Kenai Fjords National Park and Prince William Sound offering ideal nesting and feeding grounds. The combination of open ocean, fjords, estuaries, and coastal forest attracts both seabirds and migratory species.
Common sightings include bald eagles, black oystercatchers, marbled murrelets, common murres, peregrine falcons, horned and tufted puffins, black-legged kittiwakes, cormorants, and glaucous-winged and herring gulls. Many species migrate here by the thousands making their nests in the craggy cliff outcroppings.
Land Mammals
Resurrection Bay and Kenai Fjords National Park are also home to a variety of land mammals, including black and brown bears, mountain goats, moose, river otters, Sitka black-tailed deer, and the occasional Dall sheep.
While these animals do live along the coastline, it can take patience, a sharp eye and a long lens to capture them in their native environment.