Brown Bear Crawling All Over,and We Can't Harvest Them

[aksheephuntress]

...I KNOW THIS WILL PROBABLY GET MOVED..(I DON'T MIND:))- BUT- JUST THOUGHT IT WAS A REAL UNIQUE STORY;

- The permit hunt for brown bear on the Kenai that was started 2 years ago virtually doesn't end up happening anyway...-due to the DLP quota reached before opener..

-In my opinion...it isn't the "problem " bears that are the problem...it is the unusually high population of huge, mature boars , that "patrol" the historic bear trails and territory...too many, for the size of the habitat to sustain- and they are pushing the younger males, and sows with cubs, toward the areas know for the "easy meals"..(town, camps, corrals, etc-)

-Our neighbor lost his llamas to a bear 3 weeks ago-

-the 8-10 people who draw permits to hunt brown bear in unit 7 here, for instance...-either don't get off their hind to go into the back country to hunt...or, they say they didn't have time..-or, (sadly to say...this really gets me:-)...they are a "greenie" who applied and won a permit, to just sit on it, to "save a bear":rolleyes:

-wish I would had drawn this year, when I ran into that beautiful 9' boar , last month...

-I'll wait and let LEO tell you all, and post the pictures and video, of their bear encounter the other day, when they(he and his wife Mary) left for a stroll the other day, from our B&B cabin...

- I let him borrow my new .30-06 ...-I'll at least say...-no, he didn't have to use it...(don't worry..lol)

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/wildlife/bears/story/464901.html

[stevebeilgard]

it's the greenie problem more than anything, kathleen. and it will only get worse. in churchill, manitoba, the "endangered" polar bears are eating the kids out trick or treating on oct. 31. no kidding, the kids have to have an armed guard...

the "nature" folks are killing america....

[Dubie]

I would definatly love a chance to get one of the "Endangered" polar bears from Churchill. I would put in for that draw every year, and take the train ride up every time I drew the tag.

On a side note, can someone please explain how polar bears are endangered when thier population is about 3 or 4 times higher then they've ever been observed to be?

[Leo]

There are people in this state who still believe with every fiber of their being that alligators are endangered. A problem alligator was just removed from my neighborhood last week. I can't touch these things by law and it parked itself on my neighbors front porch. She's a single mother with two kids 2 and 5yrs old. Alligators are NOT endangered where I live. We got enough to cause problems. Tell that to someone who is "Greenie" minded and they automatically assume you are an idiot. I've got as little use for these fools as Kathleen. These folks only know a lot about that that is not so. Check my post about neighborhood excitement in General.

Mary and I, walked up to the Salmon Weir from Kathleen's Cabin. It's a short walk. Less than a quarter mile. It's the time of year there are piles upon piles of red salmon coursing up this creek. Understand when I say piles, I literally mean THOUSANDS!

Kathleen suggested I carry her rifle. The very same 30-06 she is auctioning for Buckee. I was reluctant, I didn't feel like carrying it on a short walk. Kathleen sensed the time was right for us to encounter bears and frankly I thought so too but I wasn't really concerned. My wife wanted me to carry the gun. She would feel better if I had it. So I pushed three bear loads into the magazine and we left without me ever chambering a round.

We got to the salmon weir. Mary spotted the Sow first. "There's a bear", she exclaimed. She turned to leave. I knew we were outside "her zone". I said, "Come on, let's take some pictures". I still had not chambered a round and I knew it. I recognized immediately the sow knew we were there and didn't care. I felt confident, we were OK.

So we watched the bear, took some pictures and noticed she had a cub. They had their fill of salmon and were playing. The whole time we were out of "her zone". This sow could care less. If these bears had been less used to people I would have had to fire a shot, possibly kill one or both but they were behaving and so were we. Some locals showed up to take pictures. They hung close to me because I had the rifle and was staying at a safe distance.

The problems started when other tourists showed up. Mary and I were tourists but the locals were hanging with us. What happened next really ticked me off. Because there was a man with a rifle (ie. ME!) witnessing the whole scene. Some of these folks started getting REALLY STUPID!

It became blatantly apparent, they absolutely expected me to save their bacon if things went bad for them. They didn't ask. They just automatically saw me there with a rifle and started getting within 40 and 30yds of the bears. I wasn't nearly that close.

This is a sow and a cub brown bear you morons! Expecting me to do something when you are within the three second attack range ain't happening. I can't save you! This is classically dangerous. Every school kid knows don't mess with a sow and cub. How stupid can you be!

The sow was quite used to people but she began to get annoyed. She was jerking her head, stopping and staring down folks in the crowd. That's not cute! That's "Oh Crap" time for me! She was getting real irritated.

I decided it was best I just leave. I don't have a problem shooting a bear to protect me and my wife but it was seriously beginning to look like I was going to have to shoot to save someone who was being a moron!

I turned to leave and these folks "pseudo-bravery" evaporated. They backed out and quick. I didn't try to explain. I just left. It saved some lives, I'm pretty sure.

I was close enough to get these pictures. We were no closer than 60 yards. On bears not used to people I wouldn't have got within three times that distance.

The big male bear issue Kathleen is bringing up is real. Hunters need to take out some of the big males so these bears will avoid humans. These bears will if they can. The problem right now is they CAN'T. Too many brownies are searching the easy meal places and getting too close to humans. It's not cute. It's a disaster about to happen

[stevebeilgard]

leo did a real good job of explanation, but it took a whole paragraph....

animals are on the endangered specie list to keep hunters from hunting them. the prairie dog was going to be listed 15 years ago, even though there are over 15 million of them in wyoming along. that list is an anti hunting tool....

[Leo]

that list is an anti hunting tool....

I agree wholeheartedly. There are some animals that legitimately benefit from listing. But what animals are they?

That's the problem. Wolves are on that list and that's a joke.

Polar bears too. Another abuse of the lists intention.

Ignorant folks use the terms "Endangered" and "Protected" interchangeably. It seems like a petty point but this is where most of the trouble starts.

Ask someone who doesn't know about alligators and they will immediately tell you they are "endangered".

No! They are "Protected" not "Endangered".

Whenever possible anti's substitute "Protected" for "Endangered". These terms ARE NOT interchangeable. They do not mean the same things. "Endangered" animals are threatened with species extinction, "Protected" animals have the potential for over utilization but are not currently threatened with extinction. That means they can and should be hunted in a controlled fashion. "Endangered" animals can not be hunted that is why Antis try so very hard to blur the line between the two classifications.

Get mad and vocal about it every time you hear some one make this error. It's a personal pet peeve of mine.

[silvertip_co]

Cool pix Leo.