Day 5 Diamond Princess Alaska Cruise - Animal Farm and Wildlife Museum

Alaska Cruise (Skagway) . 2012 . Sep 19 

After our lunch at the Caribou Crossing, we decided to walk around the area.

Dog Cart Ride and Animal Farm

Located just next to our lunch area, the Dog Cart Ride at the adjacent farm is heavily advertised.  Tickets are available at the gift shop at $30 per pax for a 15-min ride (or $60 for a 30 min ride).

The living quarters of the huskies reared to pull the cart (or a sled during winter).  Each dog is given its own little blue kennel labelled with its name, and those who are not ‘working’ are tied to their kennel.

The sled dogs barking for attention.  According to their trainer, every dog is bursting with energy and keen to have a go at pulling the sled (though it doesn’t make much sense to me, it should be: every dog is keen to be untied and free to run around freely).

About 10 huskies are tied in a formation to pull the cart with the lone leader in front to guide the pack.   If you are an animal lover like myself, or have a dog for a pet, you will not like to witness this sight

Kept away from the sled dogs are another group of dogs who are allowed to roam around.  If you could spare a few pennies, buy some dog treats for each of them and give them a pet. 

Other than dogs, there are a variety of other animals in the farm, but just like the sled dogs, their living quarters could very much be better.

The animals here are very much in need of companionship.  This horse was grazing a distance off in the field, but he saw me and responded to my hand gestures to come nearer.  A very gentle creature, he enjoyed being hand-fed.  He is clearly in need of some tender loving care and concern from a human being.

Goats kept in a pen.  We hope that they are well-fed, for they looked very keen to knock over the coin operated grain dispenser.  I wonder who will keep them alive after the tourists leave at the end of the season.

We really have no idea what this man is dressing up as, but it seems that he demands to be paid for a photo opportunity with him and his donkey.  Whatever it is, his pet donkey sure looked miserable.

Wildlife Museum

This Wildlife Museum came with strong recommendations by our tour guide, and according to him, it is a sight not to be missed.  We decided to check this out...

The wildlife museum is a display of the wild animals found in the Yukon region.  

The specimens on displayed were made by a process called taxidermy, a procedure whereby the skin of a dead animal is prepared, stuffed, and mounted for display.  The museum states that the skins used for the specimens here were derived from animals which were already dead or were the by-products of meat harvests (in other words, the leftover skins from hunting activities).

Though we feel truly sorry for these animals, we cannot deny that the museum has a profound educational value.  Many of these animals are hard to spot up close when alive, and textbook materials simply do them no justice as it is difficult to envisage their exact size and demeanour. 

We highlight some of the more fascinating finds in the museum.

Rough Legged Hawk

These furry Albino Red Squirrels look so much like plush toys!

The graceful Trumpeter Swan

Mountain Goats

A Reindeer

Dall Sheep Rams

Grizzlies, also known as Brown Bears

Black Bears

Polar Bear

Wood Bison

Peary Caribou

The Moose, one of the icons of Canada.

Wooly Mammoth

The largest display in the museum, the Wooly Mammoth exhibit towers over all other exhibits and is the highlight of the museum. A giant representative of the Ice Age era, this mammal went extinct about 10,000 years ago, and it is a great pleasure to be able to see it in its glory now .

Steppe Bison (extinct now) attacked by Beringia Lions

 Muscox

Harbor Seal

Alhough we enjoyed looking at the animal displays and interacting with the animals in the farm, we could not help but leave with a heavy heart and an intense sense of helplessness for these farm animals, trapped here and made to work because of the tourist trade that we inevitably contributed to.

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