Places CitiesAnchorage

Wildlife near Anchorage, AK

Illustrated wildlife of Anchorage

Anchorage is the one big American city where the wild is genuinely large. Moose walk the streets and yards year round, brown and black bears range the greenbelts and salmon streams, and beluga whales surface in the arm just offshore. Bald eagles are common, salmon run through creeks inside the city, and in winter the surrounding mountains bring in Dall sheep and the northern lights over it all.

Everything below is pulled live from recent research-grade observations near Anchorage. Browse by group, explore the map, and identify what you find with Huck.

20,364
recent observations
30
species listed
17
birds
9
plants
3
mammals

Naturalists have logged 20,364 research-grade observations across the 30 most-recorded species near Anchorage. The most frequently seen is the Moose, with 3,499 recorded sightings.

Birds account for the largest share of what gets recorded there (17 of the species listed here), followed by plants (9).

🖨️ Printable wildlife checklist

Most-observed species near Anchorage

Moose
Alces alces
3,499 observations
Black-billed Magpie
Pica hudsonia
1,180 observations
Bald Eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
1,033 observations
fireweed
Chamaenerion angustifolium
833 observations · iNaturalist
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
822 observations
Common Raven
Corvus corax
768 observations
Short-billed Gull
Larus brachyrhynchus
763 observations
common cowparsnip
Heracleum maximum
749 observations
Red-necked Grebe
Podiceps grisegena
696 observations
Sandhill Crane
Antigone canadensis
642 observations
Devil's Club
Oplopanax horridus
620 observations · iNaturalist
Arctic Tern
Sterna paradisaea
608 observations
Canada Goose
Branta canadensis
594 observations
Fly Agaric
Amanita muscaria
592 observations · iNaturalist
Thinhorn Sheep
Ovis dalli
588 observations
woolly cranesbill
Geranium erianthum
546 observations · iNaturalist
red-berried elder
Sambucus racemosa
525 observations
common yarrow
Achillea millefolium
511 observations
American Red Squirrel
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
501 observations
Black-capped Chickadee
Poecile atricapillus
500 observations
tufted vetch
Vicia cracca
454 observations · iNaturalist
common toadflax
Linaria vulgaris
448 observations
squashberry
Viburnum edule
444 observations · iNaturalist
American Robin
Turdus migratorius
433 observations
American Wigeon
Mareca americana
431 observations
Trumpeter Swan
Cygnus buccinator
400 observations
American Dipper
Cinclus mexicanus
304 observations
Tree Swallow
Tachycineta bicolor
294 observations
Greater Yellowlegs
Tringa melanoleuca
293 observations
Green-winged Teal
Anas crecca
293 observations

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