Rodents

Ground squirrels and marmots are true hibernators: Unlike other mammals such as brown, grizzly, and polar bears, they sleep for six months straight in a deep coma. This separation between life and death is one of the thinnest lines in the animal world.

A ground squirrel’s heart slows to about six beats a minute, and its body temperature lowers to just above freezing, around 38°F. (In fact, a zoologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks has found that the core temperature of the Arctic ground squirrel, the northernmost hibernator, can drop to as low as 26°F—six degrees below freezing! Of course, the squirrels don’t freeze; they “supercool.”)

The hibernating squirrel takes a breath every couple of minutes. It uses up half its body weight, since it isn’t eating. If you stuck a needle in a hibernating ground squirrel’s paw, it would take the animal about 10 minutes to begin to feel it.

Ground squirrels provide a large part of the grizzly and wolf diet, and that of scavenger birds’ as well, since they’re a common type of roadkill.

Marmots, similar to woodchucks, are sometimes mistaken for wolverines. They live in large rock outcroppings for protection and have a piercing whistle, which warns of approaching predators or other possible danger. Look for marmots around Polychrome Pass at Denali Park [1]; ask the driver where exactly to see them.

Alaska [2] has a number of other members of the rodent family: shrews, mice, voles, lemmings, and porcupines. Long-tailed and least weasels occupy a wide habitat in the taiga and tundra. Martens are another member of the weasel family, similar to, though much more aggressive than, mink; the pine marten is one of Alaska’s most valuable fur-bearers.

Wolverines are in attendance, though you’d be very lucky to see one. Red foxes are common in the Interior [3] and Southcentral Alaska, and you’re likely to see one at Denali Park [4]; the white Arctic fox is a gorgeous animal, though you’ll only see one in pictures.