Denali National Park & Preserve Alaska

transcript

Denali National Park & PreserveAlaska

Charles Sheldon

hunter, conservationist, park founderEstablished by Congress as a wildlife refuge

February 26, 1917

754 plants

115 birds

39 mammals

1 amphibian

Adolph Murie

renowned biologist

wilderness advocate

Nine attempts failed in previous 10 yearsKarstens-Stuck expedition

June 7, 1913No other would succeed for 20 more years

How well do you know Denali?

Denali: Trivia BeeOnline Multimedia Version, December 2007

Written & Designed by Jay Elhard

National Park Service, U.S. Department of the InteriorDenali National Park & Preserve, Alaska 99755

www.nps.gov/dena

1211 15

Replay IntroductionDenali Trivia Bee

Click any number between 1 and 20

Uh, nope.

Next Contestant? Next Question?

Ya sure, you betcha.

Next Question?

Where does Mount McKinley rank among the tallest

mountains on the planet?

Top 50 Top 500Top 5

Yes: We’ll accept any of the above A1

Mount McKinley is widely accepted to be the highest peak in North America at 20,320 feet. On a global scale, however, rankings can become highly variable and contentious. Depending upon the basis for comparison, Mount McKinley can be considered among the Top 5, or 50, or 500 tallest mountains on the planet.

One list kept by the Park Service, for instance, maintains that it rates Number 38.

Sources: National Geographic Society, Wikipedia, PeakList.org

Next Question?

What’s Skookum?

A scent bait rendered for fur trapping

Partially digested lichen from caribou stomachs

A native word meaning strong and capable

Yes.A2

A word derived from coastal Chinook Indians, skookum is considered to be a highly capable, adaptable and tenacious trait of Alaska’s sourdoughs.

Source: Denali: Symbol of the Alaskan Wild by William E. Brown (Alaska Natural History Association,1993)

Next Question?

Which edible wild berry actually tastes much better as a sweetened

whipped topping?

Soapberry (Sheperdia canadensis)

Nagoonberry (Rubus arctica)

Cloudberry/Salmonberry (Rubus chamaemorus)

Yes.A3

By most accounts, the flavor of the soapberry fully lives up to its name.

It’s a favorite among bears, however, and has found traditional use among natives as a whipped and sweetened dessert topping.

Source: Wildflowers of Denali National Park by Verna E. Pratt & Frank G. Pratt (Alaskakrafts, Inc., 1993)

Next Question?

Just how fast can a grizzly bear run?

30 mph 43 mph13 mph

Yes.A4

A grizzly bear can charge at speeds of more than 30 mph, or 44 feet per second.

By comparison, an Olympic sprinter, a human being capable of running a hundred meter dash in ten seconds flat, travels at only about 33 feet per second.

Source: Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance by Stephen Herrero (The Lyons Press, Revised 2002)

Next Question?

In the history of the park, how many wolves have been killed for predator control?

70 157None

Yes.A5

At least 70 wolves were killed between 1929 and 1952 to promote wildlife prey populations, especially sheep. Even Adolph Murie, the park’s renowned biologist and wilderness advocate, participated in limited control measures.

While Denali’s wolves are now protected in designated wilderness areas, about 2 percent are killed each year in outside subsistence harvests.

Source: Denali: The Complete Guide by Bill Sherwonit (Alaska Northwest Books, 2002).

Next Question?

For how many years could visitors ride a bus anywhere along the park road for free?

12 233

Yes.A6

The park restricted private vehicles and created a bus system for visitors in 1972 just as the George Parks Highway was completed between Fairbanks and Anchorage.

This service was offered free of charge until 1995 as costs became prohibitive. A fee-based Visitor Transportation System (VTS) has operated under contract as a private concession since then. Next Question?

How much of Mount McKinley do most modern climbers attempt

to ascend on their own?

17,200 feet 20,320 feet13,000 feet

Yes.A7

Since the late 1960s, most climbers have flown to a base camp on Kahiltna Glacier at 7,200 feet. From there, it’s another 16 miles or 13,000 vertical feet to the top.

About 85 percent attempt to follow the West Buttress route. Almost half fail to summit. More than 20 people have died on this approach due to falls, altitude sickness or hypothermia.

Next Question?

How many soapberries can one grizzly bear eat in a

single day?

20,000 200,0002,000

Yes.A8

This estimate comes from a scientist working in the Yukon who found some red scat splotches that stretched up to 15 feet along trails. One female grizzly gained an average of 1.4 pounds a day over 16 days while feeding exclusively on soapberries.

Source: Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance by Stephen Herrero (The Lyons Press, Revised 2002)

Next Question?

What are the odds that a wolf will live to age 9 in Denali?

1 in 100 1 in 1,0001 in 10

Yes.A9

Few wild wolves actually survive beyond age 3 in Denali. Most are killed by other wolves.

Next Question?

What’s a Bull Bell?

A disproportionately large wildflower

A hiker’s cowbell that bears can hear more readily

A fold of skin that hangs below a moose jaw

Yes.A10

A bell is a fold of moose skin under the lower jaw covered in long hair. The shape for bulls looks like a “bag and a rope,” while cows may only have a “rope.” It may be trimmed in length by freezing weather and can be quite prominent in older bulls. During the rut it is splashed with urine-soaked mud and used as a scent dispenser.

Nose color also can indicate the sex of moose in North America. Cows usually have reddish brown noses, whereas bulls have black noses.

Source: Moose: Behavior, Ecology, Conservation by Valerius Geist (Voyageur Press, 1999).

Next Question?

Which tree common to Denali is considered the most widely

distributed tree in North America?

White Spruce (Picea glauca)

Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera)

Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides)

Yes.A11

While it is capable of reproduction through seeds, Aspen more commonly creates genetically-identical “clones stands” by sending up new stems and trunks from sprawling root systems.

Clone stands can be distinguished in spring or fall when what may seem to be many separate trees produce or drop leaves simultaneously.

Source: Plants of the Western Boreal Forest & Aspen Parkland by Derek Johnson, Linda Kershaw, Andy MacKinnon and Jim Pojar (Lone Pine Publishing and the Canadian Forest Service, 1995)

Next Question?

Most substances shrink and grow heavier as a solid. What exception

makes life on earth more habitable?

H2O CO2O2

Yes.A12

Ice expands and grows lighter as a solid. If it were heavier and sank through liquid water, most rivers, lakes and much of the ocean would remain frozen year round. Sunlight could not penetrate far enough to thaw the depths. Vast regions of land surface would remain frozen permanently.

Source: Freezing Point: Cold as a Matter of Life and Death by Lucy Kavaler (David & Charles Publishers, 1970).

Next Question?

What are the odds that a grizzly bear cub will survive beyond its second birthday?

1 in 7 1 in 101 in 3

Yes.A13

Since the early 1990s, almost two-thirds of the bear cubs in Denali have died within their first year. Another 40 percent of those have died within the second year.

If they can make it to maturity at about age 4 or 5, grizzly bears in Denali usually live to age 20 or more.

Next Question?

Measured in pounds per square inch, just how

powerful are wolf jaws?

150 psi 1,500 psi15 psi

Yes.A14

At 1,500 psi, wolf jaws are strong enough to crush open moose bones.

The bite of a human being, by comparison, is only about 25 psi.

Source: Wolf Tourist: One Summer in the West by Jay R. Elhard (Utah State University Press, 1996).

Next Question?

Which native plant is considered a terrific source of Vitamin C?

Labrador Tea (Ledum palustre)

Prickly Rose hips (Rosa acicularis)

Willow (Salix sp.)

Yes. (We’ll accept any of the above.) A15

All three of these plants actually contain more Vitamin C than an orange.

Check your labels. Rose hips are the most common listed source of Vitamin C in dietary supplements.

Next Question?

How many pounds of milk can a healthy cow moose produce over a summer?

144 1,440440

Yes.A16

Cow moose can produce about 440 pounds of milk in a five month period. It is exceptionally rich to aid calves with rapid growth. By winter each may weigh 260 to 440 pounds.

Source: Moose: Behavior, Ecology, Conservation by Valerius Geist (Voyageur Press, 1999).

Next Question?

How much trouble can you make for yourself by collecting or disturbing

archeological artifacts on federal land?

None if it’s only for your personal use

Lifetime ban from national parks and forests

Six figure fines and years in federal prison

Yes.A17

The Archeological Resource Protection Act of 1979 established federal criminal penalties for unauthorized excavation, removal, damage, alteration, or defacement of archeological resources, or trafficking archeological resources obtained in violation of federal, state, or local law.

ARPA violations can carry up to a year in jail and $100,000 fine for misdemeanor convictions and up to two years in jail and a $250,000 fine for felony convictions.

Next Question?

How much trouble can you make for yourself by collecting or disturbing

edible wild berries in Denali?

None if it’s only for your personal use

Lifetime ban from national parks and forests

Six figure fines and years in federal prison

Which ptarmigan has the only male known to stay as his mate incubates

her eggs and rears their young?

Willow ptarmigan (Lagopus alascensis)

Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus)

White-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucurus)

Yes.A19

Male willow ptarmigan are known to hide near the female to defend vigorously the eggs and chicks from mew gulls, humans and even grizzly bears. If the female is killed, he alone will take over care of the young.

Families often band together as the season progresses. By fall, there may be 100 or more willow ptarmigan living together as a group.

Next Question?

What fraction of an ounce does one mosquito weigh?

1/ 250 1/ 25,0001/ 2,500

Yes.A20

In other words, it can take as many as 25,000 mosquitoes to weigh a single ounce. Yet a female mosquito can drink several times her own weight in blood in less than 90 seconds. If it takes longer, the saliva she injects into her host can trigger an allergic reaction that causes itching.Source: Mosquitoes by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent (Holiday House Books, 1986)

Next Question?

Denali National Park & Preserve Alaska

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