Sitka
Wildlife
Sitka abounds with year-round wildlife. An ocean tour provides a means to capture on film one of the world’s most striking assemblies of marine wildlife: humpback whales, sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, seabird rookeries and, occasionally, orcas and porpoises.
Baranof Island, located in the heart of the Tongass National Forest, provides cover for brown bear, mountain goat and Sitka black-tailed deer. Located at the mouth of Sitka Sound, St. Lazaria Island, part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, is home to hundreds of thousands of seabirds in summer. Bald eagles can be seen year-round, but the Alaska Raptor Center offers an up-close encounter with the majestic eagle, as well as other raptor species. The center combines veterinary expertise and volunteer efforts to nurse injured or sick birds of prey back to health.
