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The wildlife of Alaska is diverse and abundant.

Dall sheep

Dall sheep lambs on an Alaska cliff.

Dall sheep live, rest, and feed in the mountain regions of Alaska where there is rocky terrain and steep, inclined land, and are occasionally seen below their usual high elevation only when food is scarce. In their rocky environment, they are able to avoid predators and human activities. Alaska contains a good size population of dall sheep, and are commonly sighted in the eastern and western sides of Denali National Park. The most commonly known name for the male Dall sheep is a "ram" and they are distinguishable from the female Dall sheep, the ewe, by their thicker and more massive curling horns. The curling of the horns on a male Dall sheep correlate with age, and reach their full circular potential in seven to eight years.

Fish

Alaska has quite a variety of fish species. Its lakes, rivers, and oceans are home to fish, some including trout, salmon, char, grayling, halibut, lampreys, lingcod, longnose sucker, pacific herring, black rockfish, salmon shark, sculpin, walleye pollock, white sturgeon, and various forms of whitefish.

Salmon

Alaska is home to five species of salmon: The Chum Salmon, which is banded green, yellow, and purple with a white tip on the anal fin, Sockeye Salmon, a deep red salmon with a white mouth, Coho Salmon, a maroon salmon with black spots, the Chinook Salmon, also called the "King Salmon", has a black gum line and black mouth and the Pink Salmon, which can be distinguished by its small size and overall pink hue. Every year, the salmon participate in the great spawning migration up against the river currents. They do this in large numbers and are frequently seen jumping out of the water. This is a physical effort of them trying to go against the current. Bears, particularly brown bears, take advantage of this event by swarming to the rivers, and indulging in the salmon feast. Bear Lake, near Seward on the Kenai Peninsula, has been the site of salmon enhancement activities since 1962.

Rainbow Trout

The most common types of rainbow trout that lives in Alaska are the stream-resident and the Steelhead. The Rainbow Trout lives most of its life in freshwater and migrates into estuaries upon maturation. The largest Rainbow Trout weighs close to 15 pounds and is 19 inches in lengths. Rainbow Trout live in streams and are native to the North Pacific ocean.

Char and Grayling

Arctic Char in Alaska are closely related to both Trout and Salmon, but are heartier and can live in harsher conditions such as colder and deeper northern water. The Arctic Char can weigh up to 20 pounds. The Grayling, commonly referenced to as "the sailfish of the north", inhabit mountain lakes and still rivers. The Grayling has a long dorsal fin that is multicolored, typically consisting of reds and aquas.

Halibut and Lampreys

The Halibut (pacific) is the largest flatfish in the family Pleuronectidae. The Halibut swims sideways due to its lateral flattening, and sees out of one eye during swimming. The scales on the Halibut are embedded into the skin, giving the illusion that the halibut is smooth. The Lamprey is an eel-like jawless vertebrate that is a part of the family Petromyzonidae. Lampreys are freshwater fish often found around coastal waters and burrow their larvae in such waters.

Lingcod and Longnose Sucker

The Lingcod is a bottomfish and are commercially harvested. The Lingcod is a large fish that can grow up to 5 feet and weigh up to 130 pounds by their maturation stage. Their colors range from brown, grey, green, and blue, and have dark and light spotting. The Lingcod thrives in the depths of the ocean floor and are found in coastal regions and in the Bering Strait. The Longnose Sucker is the sucker fish with the greatest statewide distribution. The Longnose Sucker can weigh up to 5 pounds and lives in cold water streams. The sides, head, and top of the Longnose Sucker range from dark green to slate black while the belly is often white or yellow.

Pacific Herring and Black Rockfish

The pacific herring does not have any distinct markings, but are rather sleek and silver with a bluish green tint. Its scales on its underside create a slightly serrated effect. The pacific herring is capable of growing up to 18 inches, but rarely grow past 9 inches. The black rockfish is a blackish grey fish with a large mouth, spinous dorsal fin, and dark stripes for its eyes to its gills. This fish can weigh up to 11 pounds and grow up to 27.6 inches by the time they reach adulthood.

Salmon Shark and Sculpin

The salmon shark is a small shark that can grow up to 8 feet. This shark is light grey with a white tail. The male salmon shark matures between 9-10 years while the female shark matures at around 10-11 years. The sculpin are small, freshwater fish that rarely grow any longer than 7 inches. Their habitats range form headwater streams to slow and rocky streams. The sculpin are flattened and have wide fins to help them secure themselves to the bottom of water bodies in harsh conditions.

Walleye Pollock and White Sturgeon

The Walleye Pollack is a key species to Alaska's fisheries. The Pollack is a cod, and is multicolored, ranging from brown, green, silver, and white. The Walleye Pollack can grow up to 3 and a half feet and weight up to 13.3 pounds. The White Sturgeon is different from other fish because they do not have scales, but rather boney plates extending from its gill to tail called scutes instead. The White Sturgeon is considered a bottom-feeder and rummages the sea floor for food. This fish is toothless and ingests through means of suction, and has tastebuds on the outside of its mouth.

Orca

Orca Whale

The Orca is also known as the killer whale, despite the term receiving controversy over the fact that orcas are part of the dolphin family. The term was granted because of the way in which the orcas hunt in large groups. The hunting style has often been compared to that of wolves. Another reason is their tendencies to eat other whales and large prey animals such as seals and sea lions. Orcas in Alaska are notable for their size, whereas the adult female orca can reach the length of twenty-three feet whilst the adult male orca can reach up to twenty-seven feet. Orcas are scattered among the Continental Shelf from southeast Alaska through the Aleutian Islands. They can also be seen in the waters of Prince William Sound.

Amphibians and Reptiles

Frogs

Alaska has two species of frogs. They are the Columbia Spotted Frog and Wood Frog. Alaska also inhabits 2 introduced frog species: The Pacific Tree Frog (also referenced as the Pacific Chorus Frog), and the Red-Legged Frog. The only species of toad in Alaska is the Western Toad.

Pacific Chorus Frog

The Pacific Chorus Frog's name derives from their auditory performance in their mating call. The two-note male can signal a mating call via the two large and round vocal sacs that inflate beneath the chin repeatedly, sounding like a chorus. The Pacific Chorus Frog itself is visually identified as a frog reaching up to two inches long with a black stripe extending from the nose tip to shoulder, whose color changes with the temperature and humidity.

Red-Legged Tree Frog

The Red-Legged Frog can grow past five inches given their long hind legs and elongated abdomen. The body is translucent red. This species of tree frogs live in wet environments such as wetlands and moist forests and typically breed in well shaded streams and rivers.

Columbia Spotted Frog

The Columbia Spotted Frog is typically dark brown, grey, or green and has spots on its back and sides. The Columbia Spotted Frog is an amphibian that lives in highly aquatic environments such as lakes, rivers, ponds, and marshes. They typically breed in aquatic areas such as still rivers and breed between 200 to 500 eggs at a time.

Wood Frog

The Wood Frog is a light brown frog with dark patches over its eyes and extending down its back. These palm size frogs typically grow up to 3 inches. The Wood Frog is notorious for its verbal spring calling to attract other frogs, which is short and harsh. This frog gets its name from its habitat choice, which consists of heavily forested areas containing rocks, trees, and more. The Wood Frog however, breeds in wetlands and can breed up to 3,000 eggs at a time.

Western Toad

The Western Toad is a large toad that has small circular or oval shaped warts down its back. This toad is often green or brown and have dark parotoid glands above the eyes. The eyes on the Western Toad are horizontal, unlike other toads who have vertical pupils. Western Toads inhabit low elevation aquatic areas like wetlands, lake shores, wet meadows, marshes, and beaver ponds.

Salamanders

Alaska is also home to three species of salamanders; they are the Northwestern Salamander, Long-Toed Salamander, and Rough-Skinned Newt.

Northwestern Salamander

The Ambystoma gracile, or Northwestern Salamander, is a dark brown salamander reaching up to 23 centimeters long with dark protruding eyes and a visible parotoid glands. This salamander can be poisonous to its predators because of the excretion of a white poison through its glands when threatened. The Norhwestern Salamander inhabits both forests and water bodies, but has a proclivity to live in burrows in the forests. The salamander also chooses to live under rocks, debris, and trees in the forest environment.

Long-Toed Salamander

The Ambystoma macrodactylum, also known as the Long-Toed sSalamander, is a salamander that occupies widespread regions, including the coastal regions of the pacific northwest. The Long-Toed salamanders live in a variety of habitats including sagebrush communities, coniferous forests, and in alpine meadows. Eggs and larvae have been spotted in watery areas including lakes, ponds, wetlands, springs, and puddles. An adult salamander can grow between 5 centimeters and 8.1 centimeters and are typically black with multicolored dorsal stripes and white speckling on their sides. This salamander has a long hind toe, which is where the name is derived from.

Rough-Skinned Newt

The Taricha Granulosa, or Rough-Skinned Newt, is a salamander in the caudata order. This newt is multicolored, typically light brown on the back and yellow bellied, but can sometimes be olive green on the back. The Rough-Skinned Newt is capable of growing up to 26.1 centimeters and will typically reach at least 12.7 centimeters. The newt's name comes from the granular and rough texture on their skin. The skin on the newt is toxic and releases a powerful neurotoxin called Tetrodotoxin, which can effect mucous glands and skin.

Turtles

The Alaskan waters are home to two species of turtles. They are the Leatherback Sea Turtle and the Green Sea Turtle.

Leatherback Sea Turtle

The Leatherback Sea Turtles often inhabit open waters but are still sometimes seen on coastal waters because of their title of the most migratory sea turtle species. The Leatherback Sea Turtle is the largest turtle in the world, weighing up to two thousand pounds and reaching up to six and a half feet by their adult years. The shell of the Leatherback Turtle, also called a carapace, can develop to one and a half inches and is the only shell on a sea turtle that is not hard and boney but rather soft and leather like to the touch. The front flippers on the Leatherback Sea Turtle are not equipped with scales and claws unlike other species, and they outgrow the flippers on other species of sea turtles. ☂

Green Sea Turtle

The Green Sea Turtle is named after its distinct green skin color, contrary to the idea that the green comes from their shell, which is typically brown or a dark olive. This turtle is capable of gaining up to 700 pounds and growing up to 5 feet. Most of these turtles live in coastal waters near Europe and North America. The male green sea turtle is larger in size than the female, and they also have longer tails. Both turtles have paddle shaped flippers that they use to burrow in sand and lay their eggs. One Green Sea Turtle can have up to 200 eggs.