Out and about on the Outer Banks: Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge

Last visited: 11/2022

We stayed at Barrier Island Station

https://www.rci.com/pre-rci/us/en/resort-directory/resortdetails?resortCode=1008

All right...so...what makes this so blessed cool??? Well, first, it has the highest population of black bears in the world, with as many as 22,000 estimated to be living in about 152,000 acres. Many locals will gather at sunrise or sunset to count the number of bears. One of local said he had seen 35 in one night! Hikers, kayakers and bikers will often pass by black bears in the trenches beside the roads without even knowing it. We always tend to visit in the winter months, so we have not knowingly seen any bear during our visits. On top of that, this is one of the only places where the endangered red wolf can be seen. Alligators, quail, eagles...are just a few of the awesome varieties of animal life that you can find here.

Find more information here:

https://www.fws.gov/refuge/alligator-river/visit-us/locations/alligator-river-national-wildlife-refuge-visitor-center-and-headquarters

This area is a special type of wetland, called a pocosin

One of the only guys we saw during this visit

Some of the tundra swans and geese in the refuge

The clumps at the top of the trees is mistletoe

The visitors center is on the small island of Manteo, just down the road from the aquarium. It is a well kept museum that shows the history of the surrounding area.

The visitors center is just up the road from the aquarium at Manteo

Doing our share to fight forest fires