Ahhh, the beautiful island of Kodiak, Alaska. Not a place your average "Lower 48" resident would think was the place to go for adventure. It's not the city-slicker's dream place and definitely not the place for mall-dwellers, but for the outdoorsy, animal-loving, camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, scenic-photography-addict, it's the place to be...during the summer that is.
Don't get me wrong, winters here are breathtaking! The wind isn't much fun making the air bitterly freezing at times, but the snow covered mountains and the sounds of an eagle calling in the empty crisp air make the ice and snow shoveling worth it.
The winter can seem really long and dark making it hard when spring comes to not resent the lower 48 for having some nice weather. But when the good weather finally comes here in Kodiak and the snow melts away, you have a good 2-3 months (July-September) to live it up and get outdoors and do fun things as much as possible.
Bears awaken and start to show their magnificence in June and become heavier in August and September. This is where the story of coexistence comes in. During the day, bears usually stay well hidden, but when the traffic dies down and the tide lowers and the fishermen go home, the bears come in for their feast.
If you know what time and where to go, you're almost certain to see at least one bear every time you go out. I went a whole year here without seeing one bear. It surprised me because before moving here, I researched and found out that there are a predicted 1 bear per 3 people on this island. I thought for sure they'd be strolling by my house every day just as casual as a person walking to check their mail or take the trash out.
This year I saw my first Kodiak grizzly...from a safe distance away, of course. Hubby and I went out looking for bears and finally saw this majestic one at the Buskin River standing in the middle of the low tide searching for fish.
Then I went out with my parents while they were visiting. We stopped at a beach to see the beautiful beach, and there was a bear...11am just walking down the bank smelling something unfamiliar...us. Finally it stood up, sniffed the air, turned around and walked away...no we didn't stink. :)
Then that same night with my parents, we took a drive in search of one, and saw one. My count is up to 3 Since July, and it's only the end of August.
I go out again by myself this time and see 4 in a meadow off the road.
I go out a few nights later with a friend and we see 3 along a bank at a creek.
I go out yet again tonight by myself. As I'm driving, one runs out in front of me and I hit the breaks. Not hard, though. It wasn't like it was a close call, but it did startle me being so close and just running across the road like a lost chipmunk. I continue and stop at a popular creek and I see people there. I get out of my car and look, but I see nothing but the gorgeous pink sky as the sun goes down. I leave and as I do, I see people taking pictures all of a sudden. I turn the car around and go back and can see a mama bear and two cubs. As I drive by to park again, I saw the cubs standing up watching their mama catch a fish. By the time I walk back to the bridge, they're out of sight. So I leave again and begin the short drive home. I see another bear in a wetland type area and I stop to watch for a while but he never did anything but stand there head down to the water. As I left to go home, 100 feet farther and on the other side of the bridge, there was another one, closer to the bridge, but I didn't stop for a closer look.
My count so far is now 16 bears in 2 months.
People tell me...BE CAREFUL. I know this. Bears and humans coexist on this island. As long as people are smart, bears don't have a taste for us...it's the stupid ones the bears like to feast on. And to me, that's just natural selection at its finest. But not for the bear. Stupid people + bears who don't tolerate stupid people = BANG...dead bear. It's a sad but true fact.
I was so proud of this one bear I saw. My third bear sighting. People were watching, talking loudly, taking pictures, trying to get CLOSER. The bear comes toward them and goes out of sight in some bushes. The group decides to get closer to the bushes then they hear rustling close to them and jump back. NOT SMART. They don't hear or see anything for a while and start to leave. Just then, the bear comes out of the bushes and starts crossing the road right behind a girl who turns her back to the bear and yells "He's over here! Crossing the road RIGHT behind me!!!" If I had been that bear, I would have thought to myself, "Wow...prey that turns its back, waves its hands to announce its presence, and doesn't run...DINER." But the bear kept going...probably more scared than anything. It sounded upset, too, chuffing like it was saying, "GO AWAY! ALLUH YA!"
It's very rare here to find out about a bear attack. Bears and humans know each other and try to respect each other. Humans have the day, bears have the night. We cross paths most often at day break and at dusk. Most people stay a respectable distance from the bear, and most bears stay a respectably distance from people. It's a good system.
A great place, even though I complain a lot on rainy days when it should be sunny, or on a sunny but too-windy-to-do-anything-outdoors day. Here's to KODIAK BEARS: May you eat plentiful fish, have many cubs, and stay safely away from the gunpoint.
