Readers’ wildlife photos

It takes a lot of reader contributions to keep this post going every day or so, so please send in your GOOD wildlife photos. And remember, landscapes count, too!

Today we feature the Alaska photos of reader Debra Coplan. Her captions are indented:

I thought I would send a few pictures I took on my Alaska trip this summer, in case you are running low of wildlife photos.

The first is of the Hubbard Glacier. It’s the largest tidewater glacier in North America. It’s about 76 miles long and more than 6 miles wide where it meets the ocean, and about 1200 feet deep. Luckily this glacier is not disappearing like most glaciers. You can see that beautiful blue glacial ice, different from ice on a mountain, and the rocks and dirt picked up by the moving glacier.

These are Sitka Blacktail Deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis)  swimming about 10-15 miles from shore. Unfortunately, it’s not a clear picture but I’m stilling sending because I’ve never seen swimming deer. I was told they are good swimmers and would be okay. They probably went in to escape a predator.

This is an American black bear (Ursus americanus) on the path. Luckily we had a guide who calmly knew what to do and the bear took off up the hill. (I say “luckily we had a guide” because I was in Colorado walking one time and a bear came over a ridge fairly close by. I was by myself and caught off guard. I ran away screaming …”A BEAR!!!” like in a cartoon. I had the exact wrong impulse, but the bear kept on his way.)

This is an eagle’s nest. I was told they can be as large as a queen-sized mattress.

This is probably not the greatest picture of a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), but I did like his proud stance.