- 30,000 Grizzly Bears
- 100,000 Black Bears
- 200,000 Moose
- 900,000 Caribou
- 10,000 Gray Wolves
The article I was reading continued with some of the amazing natural facts of the land that we will spend much of our summer in. For example, "There are more than 100 mammals species in Alaska, and about 450 types of birds (30,000 bald eagles alone)."
Did you know that moose top out at seven feet tall and weigh 1,400 pounds? Yes, but can they outrun yellow-bellied cyclists? And did you know that the Alaskan coastal bears (bigger than grizzlies due to the fact that they pig out on salmon along the southern Alaskan coasts) reach 1,400 pounds and when they stand at attention reach ten feet upright? Or that, while grizzlies can't climb trees, the ubiquitous black bears can and will climb trees--if hungry enough and need cyclo-protein? "Bears remind us ourselves . . . they're intelligent, adaptable, and versatile. And they care deeply for their young." Maybe too deeply.
But beyond the big, the bold, and the feared, God has placed many little things in the northern regions for our enjoyment, like the tiny black-capped chickadee, year round residents. They awake with rumpled feathers just like most of us do when we get out of bed. Or consider the sandhill cranes that make Alaska their summer breeding ground each year near Fairbanks. Or the playful sea otters that swim and gambol among the floating ice in Prince William Sound.
So next time you sing, "All Creatures of Our God and King," remember Alaska. Behold the mighty grizzlies and the delicate chickadees--all creatures that give us pleasure and delight. And somewhere between verse one and three, try to grasp the thought that such an amazing Love responsible for such natural beauty, looks on you with the same interest and love.
And that gives us significance.
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