12 July 2013

A Problem With Bears

Excerpt:
Then Tuesday night, near midnight, her dog started barking. She and her husband got out of bed to check on their kids and caught sight of a black bear with a collar around its neck outside. It was disemboweling a trash bag from her can.

Government Hill Neighborhood, 7/8/2013PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIK HALFACRE / ADN READER SUBMISSION

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/07/11/2971958/omalley-its-getting-hard-to-argue.html#emlnl=Morning_Newsletter#storylink=cpy
The next morning, James called the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and talked to Jessy Coltrane, the Anchorage-area biologist, to see what they could do. Coltrane told her the bear was after her trash. Her suggestion: Keep it inside or secure it some other way. Bears are smart, Coltrane said. Once they get a snack at a certain location, they come back for more.
from the linked article at www.adn.com

James has kids. Her neighbors have kids. Having a bear come back for more in her densely populated, very urban neighborhood seemed like a bad idea.

Follow the link for the whole story. It also provides an insight in what passes for "customer service" here, which can be ... problematic.

5 comments:

Stephen said...

I suppose if they were to place a bullet in its brain they'd be charged with a crime.

Rev. Paul said...

Stephen, that would depend: it's legal to shoot a bear in defense of "life or property". Shooting it for digging in the trash probably doesn't count.

Chickenmom said...

Black bears can be very, very bold when they get used to seeing and being around people. If one should ever happen to charge us, we would have no qualms about shooting it and then digging a big, big hole.

Rev. Paul said...

That's true here too, Chickenmom. They quickly lose their fear of humans, and get more & more bold. A LOT of them get shot that way.

Rifle. Shovel. Don't talk about it.

Yep.

Corey said...

Shoot Shovel Shut Up