Anchorage residents love their creeks, their salmon and their bears, until they start to run a little too wild.The bears, in particular, ran wild this summer.Three people were mauled by grizzlies. A handful more were chased. One bear was shot because she and her cubs had become habitual threats to humans, a whole bunch of whom were so frightened they abandoned Far North Bicentennial Park.
The Anchorage Waterways Council on Friday night pulled together some experts on bears, fish and creeks, to discuss what to do.
"Obviously, bears have been a hot topic, a highly contentious topic," said Sean Farley, a bear researcher with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. "We have some social decisions that need to be made."
The problem, as speakers quickly made clear to the standing-room-only crowd, is that those social decisions are tangled up in some sort of Gordian knot.
Almost everyone, and most especially the Waterways Council, wants to see Anchorage creeks filled with salmon. Along with being a sign that the creeks are healthy, the salmon, as Council executive director Holly Kent pointed out, nourish ecosystems with marine nutrients.
All kinds of critters benefit.
All kinds of critters benefit.
Unfortunately, grizzly bears - which can be a threat to humans - are among those critters. Anchorage each summer hosts close to a couple dozen, if not more.
"They're not really a wilderness species like we once thought," Farley said; they are simply a hungry species.
Anchorage is uncharted territory here. There are no other major cities dealing with grizzly bears regularly roaming popular trails so close to so many people.
"Anchorage, as far as I can tell, is a unique city in this regard," Farley said.
I know this may seem a little off topic for this blog, but the Grizzly bear issue last summer essentially pushed every other issue in Anchorage to the back of our minds. It was that bad.
For the first time in ten years I did not go to my favorite hiking trials, and kept the kids close to the house or in the house at all times.
Like many residents of Anchorage I live right on the edge of a wilderness area and there have always been numerous bear sightings all around my house.
I was born in Anchorage, and have always been very aware that we share our city with a virtual menagerie of exotic creatures, but the Grizzly situation has never been as dire as it was last year. Most encounters are peaceful, with a few hikers or bikers receiving a bluff charge by a sow now and then and that being about the most frightening interaction. But last year there were three maulings in and around the Anchorage area.
As much as I love living in such a beautiful untamed area, I also do not relish being a prisoner in my own house. And if the bear situation continues to worsen then that may be exactly how many people in the city will feel.
I also do not relish the idea of more bear hunting close to my city. (We have enough domestic shootings already.) However I agree that something absolutely must be done.
Summer will be here soon and I understand that weather experts predict a very nice one indeed. I am planning to hit the trails and I don't want to have to worry about serving as a chew toy for an 800 pound carnivore. I am sorry if that sounds selfish, but I prefer my ass cheeks "un-chewed".
Coming from Kodiak I guess it is hard to understand the issue from your perspective.
ReplyDeletePerhaps too many A-town residents have forgotten that, even though they live in a city, it is in the middle of a wilderness.
You only have to be a "prisoner" in your house if bears actually scare you. Understand the environment you all live in and adapt your lifestyle to it, rather than the opposite.
When you leave the safety of C street and 5th avenue, do not wonder if there are bears about. Just assume that there are and act accordingly. It's called being Bear Aware.
Many years back, the city of Denver had a very similar problem, only with Mountain Lions. They resolved it without to much hardship.
BTW the only person ever killed in Kodiak by a bear was a visiting hunter from A-town.
Peace
Griff
I agree with you kodiakgriff, for the most part.
ReplyDeleteAnd when I go out on the trails I am "Bear Aware". But the types of attacks that happened last year were unusual in that they happened in places that were usually considered relatively safe from encounters, and that the attacks were particularly vicious. Not the usual warning"roughing up" or exploratory chewing that has happened in the past. These bears (or perhaps just ONE bear) were particularly aggressive.
And when it comes to children who may not have the presence of mind to make safe choices when in close proximity, I have to say that we need to do something to keep the city safer.
I will admit that I am not completely sure which measures, if any, will bring about that outcome.
A true dilemma my friend. In Denver it was the very same areas that were attack sites. Trails that were in town but not urban.
ReplyDeleteThe conclusion was that as true predators become accustomed to the presence of the population they lose their wariness. Hence., we become what we were many centuries ago. Competitors and prey in their ecosystem.
I am glad to see that you are concerned for the children. Far to many folks think that predators don't attack kids because of they apply human characteristics to animals.
Fact is children are seldom attacked because they don't usually go into these areas alone, and they tend to make a lot of noise when they do. In short, they do not interact with bears as much as adults.
Check the stats in the lower 48 and see how many women and children have been killed and even eaten by black bears and pumas.
My advise, for what it is worth. Carry a gun. make lot's of noise, and pay attention to your surroundings. Also try not to venture out alone.
Good luck.
G.
What has changed recently? Have they lost more habitat? Have weather changes forced them to expand their range? Just wondering. I'm in South Carolina so have no clue about grizzly bears.
ReplyDeleteI do have a friend (college roommate) who lives up there and she wrote me about finding a moose peering in her sliding glass door one morning!
boy. if i managed to stray off of the path too much and run into that smart mug, you'd see me (i hope) running the opposite direction with crap running down my pant leg.
ReplyDeleteseriously. this is the hardest part of finding the balance between man and beast. it is impossible to train or change behavior so basic and necessary for their survival. and yet, our behavior is, at times, without regard for their landscape and natural expectation of existance.