Kroschel Film’s Wildlife Center

Wildlife lovers get a chance to see Alaskan wildlife up close and personal at this private wildlife center that rescues orphaned animals. The center was opened by Steve Kroschel, who grew up with wild animals cared for by his parents in Minnesota. He opened his own 52 acre wildlife center about 28 miles north of Haines, Alaska. While many tour groups are arranged from cruise ships, private travelers can arrange to join a tour by call the center directly. The fee in 2016 was $50/person. Tours are advertised as two hours in length and showing numerous species of Alaskan wildlife.

Isis the wolf

We met for our tour at the gate to the Wildlife Center. We joined another private group of four and a cruise tour group of about 10 people for a group size of about 16. We were met by a staffer named Rihanna, who assisted Steve with the tour. He joined us as we walked to our first animal, a wolf named Isis. Steve, who also does filming, has set up areas to view the animals which allow for a more natural setting than a zoo. While there are enclosures, he has created areas to take pictures through.

A mink

Red fox

We next viewed a mink (known as a sable in Russia), a red fox and a silver fox, a lynx named Lennox, and a wolverine named Banff. Some animals such as the wolverine and the foxes were on harnesses and not inside of an enclosure. We were able to touch some animals, such as the red fox.

Lennox the Lynx

Another view of the lynx

Banff the wolverine

Another view of Banff the wolverine

Next up we visited Aquila the Porcupine. This was the first time I got to pet a porcupine! The best advice I can give you is to be sure to only pet in one direction. The porcupine posed for pictures while munching on branches. We got to view a Least Weasel in an enclosure who was hard to photograph because he rarely sat still and was very fast. Least weasels are a brown color with a black tip on their tail in the summer, but by winter their coats turn white. While they have white coats, weasels are also known as ermine.

Aquila the Porcupine

Next we visited some ungulates: caribou and a moose named Karen. I got to bottle feed a young caribou and feed grain to the grown caribou from my hands. The velvet on the antlers was soft and the antlers were slightly warm to the touch due to the blood flow. Antlers can grow up to an inch a day! My most personal encounter was when I got to “kiss” Karen the moose. Steve has visitors place one end of a carrot in their mouth and then hold still while Karen leans in to eat the carrot. During the carrot transfer, you are kissing the moose. Those of us willing to try this, each got to feed about 4-6 carrots to the moose in order to ensure good photos.

Karen the moose at the Kroschel Film’s Wildlife Center

Author kissing Karen the moose

We got a quick glimpse of a pine marten before visiting Kitty the Grizzly Bear. Kitty is an 800 pound Kodiak Brown Bear. She loves blueberry pie. She remained behind a fence.

Kitty the Grizzly Bear

Throughout the tour, Steve provided information about the animals we were viewing. This is a private facility. He said that the food bill for the animals is $100,000/year. Some of that is covered by the tours. He also provides animals for filming opportunities. Animal show hosts including Jeff Corwin and Casey Anderson have visited and filmed his animals. “Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet” filmed here with the caribou and Karen the moose. Steve also films animals and has work shown on PBS. His main job, which helps to provide the rest of the money for the center is filming avalanches and other snow phenomena. His work can be seen in major feature films, including the recent “Everest” movie. He did share some non wildlife information about grounding, and yes he was barefoot and “grounded” for a good chunk of the tour. He has a big personality and tries to involve all of the visitors. Our tour was well over two hours in length. This was a great tour and we recommend it to anyone in the Haines area.