The problem for locals is that even a dumb little grizzly can ripsomeone up good, maybe even kill them. Two people were killed bybears on the Kenai in the 1990s. Nobody died in the 2000s, butthere were several horrific maulings. Some said it was a miracleRussian River fisherman Dan Bigley survived after a bear grabbedhim by the head in 2003. It tore out flesh and bone.
Doctors had torebuild Bigley's face with titanium plates and then graft skin overit. He was rendered blind, but he rebuilt his life . Papa bear, mama bear or even baby grizzlies are not to be takenlightly, locals say. The animals are fine when they remain shy andhide in the woods, but they aren't always so reserved.
"The next door neighbor had a bear trying to get in her house,"said Erin Duthene, a clerk at Wildman's, a convenience and liquorstore near where the Sterling Highway crosses the world-famousKenai River. "There's been more than one. There's a sow over herenow with two cubs. She's been charging people." Female grizzlies are notoriously defensive.
It's not a comfortingthought. "I'm from Florida," Duthene said. "We have skinny black bears downthere, and they're hard to find." After three years on the Kenai, he's discovered grizzlies easier tofind. Find grizzly food, and you will usually find bears.
Later inthe year, food will mean the fat salmon that come storming up theKenai River to fill the Russian River, Quartz Creek and otherspawning tributaries. This time of year, though, the food oftenmeans human garbage, a big temptation for calorie-starved bearscoming out of hibernation. Once bears discover the food riches modern Americans discard, it'shard to keep them from coming back for more, said Lewis, who hasbeen active for the past couple summers trying to train the bearsto stay away from people. Mixing is never good. It usually endswith someone getting injured, or a bear getting killed.
Lewis said the death sentence for the dumb little bear in CooperLanding was written by someone who left garbage in the back of apickup truck instead of hauling it immediately to the localwaste-transfer site. The bear got into the garbage, feasted on it,and quickly made the association that people equal good eats. "I was just on my way up there (from Soldotna) to try to do alittle aversion work with this animal when I got the news," Lewissaid. "I was getting in the truck when the phone rang.
The localwildlife trooper called and said, 'Well, he's been shot.'" Bears can legally be shot by anyone in Alaska in legitimate defenseof life and property, and Lewis said this shooting qualified assuch. "A homeowner shot it trying to get into his chickens," Lewissaid. "This (problem) is ongoing. Most people are reactive." Instead of worrying about the bears, and thinking about how toprevent bear problems as winter turns into spring, they wait forproblems to arise and then try to figure out what to do. By then,Lewis said, it's too late.
"It's funny," he said. "My wife and I were driving into town thismorning. We live in Kasilof" -- a roadside community near Soldotna-- "and we stopped at the waste-transfer site. I remember how theyall used to be a problem. Then the borough got proactive.
They putout highly bear resistant dumpsters. In the last three years, wehave not had any issues with bears at waste transfer sites. "It'sreally telling when you see that kind of action taken, and you gofrom 60 to zero that quickly." Bears still wander past the transfer sites, he said, because bearswander almost everywhere on the Kenai Peninsula. But the animalsdon't linger and become a problem because there is nothing toattract them.
Fish and Game has been trying to spread this concept of preventionto the general public, but the effort has not been going so well.People don't want the inconvenience of making sure their garbage isstored where bears can't get it, or the cost of electric fences toprotect their livestock and domestic animals. "I always hear the same thing," Lewis said. "'I've been here for 40years, I've never had a problem; 'I've been here 20 years, and Inever had a problem.'" He admits these claims might well be true. Kenai grizzlies wereonce thought on the verge of meriting a listing as endangered. Thatdoesn't seem the case anymore, though biologists are still tryingto determine it exactly how many roam the Kenai Peninsula.
Suffice to say, there are now enough to keep people on their toes.There are enough, in fact, it can get nerve-wracking worrying aboutbears every time you go out the door. It's a little like living ina war-zone; some can't take it and leave. People just have to getover it," Knotek said, "or move." After all, as some say, "the bears were here first." Contact Craig Medred at craig(at)alaskadispatch.com. I am an expert from Household Plastic Products, usually analyzes all kind of industries situation, such as hand pulse oximeter , proximity door lock.
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