Alaska has three kinds of bears: black bears , brown bears, also known as grizzly bears (see note below), and polar bears.
Brown bears tend to be divided into the larger coastal 'brown' bears that feed on salmon and whale with the smaller 'grizzly' brown bears found in the interior.
Katmai National Park is one of the best places to see bears feeding on salmon.
Moose are plentiful in Alaska, as are caribou (reindeer). The easiest way to tell the difference is from their size - moose are considerably larger - they are the biggest deer in the world although caribou has larger antlers, relative to body size. The form of antlers is different in the two deer species.
Many whales can be seen including blue, bowhead, beluga, humpback, fin, mike and grey.
The protected coves and shallow waters of Alaska’s coastal parks provide ideal habitat for both sea otters and river otters. Sea otters were driven nearly to extinction by the commercial fur trade in the early 1900s. Once commercial hunting was banned, their numbers rebounded; however, both otter species remain vulnerable to oil spills, pollution, disease, and entanglement in fish nets.
Seals, sea lions, and walruses can also be seen.