The animals that have inherited the
Brooks Range from the camel and lion are all made for the cold.
For the last 15,000 years, the Range has had a succession of
cold climates. The weather now is comparatively mild. The Range
was much colder 9,000 years ago -- it is likely that the Arctic
Ocean was frozen over then. The bears, wolves, foxes, wolverines,
lynxes, caribou, moose, musk oxen, beaver, porcupines, ground
squirrels, voles, and lemmings that now inhabit the mountains
now live comfortably within the range of temperatures their various
species can handle. The fifty degrees below zero common in their
present winters is considerably warmer than what their ancestors
knew.
--KENNETH BROWER
