13 June 2014

Grin and Bear It

Bears are in the news today.

Sometimes People Are the Problem

Pat Yack / Alaska Public MediaA sow and two cubs were hanging around the Alaska Public Media building Wednesday, June11, 2014. The bear threesome has been sighted many times in the last week in the areas around  UAA, APU and parkland just south of Tudor.
from the linked story at the Anchorage Daily News


A black bear sow and her two young cubs are causing quite a stir in Anchorage's U-Med district.
The bears have been spotted on the campuses of the University of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University, as well as on property owned by Providence Alaska Medical Center, according to UAA police.

The trio has been in the area for at least a week and seems to pose little threat to people nearby. But a close call on Thursday highlighted the dangerous possibilities.

UAA Police Chief Rick Shell said the bear had treed her cubs near a UAA bike path after getting into garbage cans at several area bus stops and walking through the campus. But it isn't the bears Shell is worried about -- it's the people.

"Our biggest concern is the two-legged critters that stop to get photographs and video," Shell said. People are getting too close to the bears, he added.
Photo gallery of three bears here.  No Goldilocks, though.


Brown Bear Shot After Breaking Kitchen Window
A wildlife trooper shot and killed a brown bear in Sitka Tuesday after the animal ripped off a window screen and reached its paw into a trailer, said the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. 

The break-in occurred around 2:45 p.m. on the 5300 block of Halibut Point Road. A homeowner called police and said she had locked herself in a bedroom. A bear was trying to get into her kitchen, said the Sitka Police Department's call summary.

Police responded with Tim Hall, a wildlife trooper, and Phil Mooney, a local biologist. The incident took place in the same neighborhood where a woman watched in May as a bear devoured her Chihuahua-pug Paco. That incident was widely covered by the media.

On Tuesday, the homeowner told authorities that she had pulled a pizza out of the oven and placed it on the counter when she heard banging. There was a large window in the kitchen area, Mooney said.
"(The bear) reached up and pulled the screen back, folded it back and reached in," he said.

6 comments:

Well Seasoned Fool said...

What, a fresh, homemade pizza? I might rip open a window myself.

Rev. Paul said...

I had the same thought. :)

ProudHillbilly said...

I understand the pizza snatch, yep. Did it get the beer, too?

Rev. Paul said...

Apparently not, PH, but it did try to grab the spray nozzle from the sink. Thirsty bear is thirsty!

Sandy Livesay said...

Rev. Paul,

When we go to a restaurant and order pizza for pickup were expecting pizza. The bear was there for pickup, he couldn't figure out why it took so long. He was upset, lol

Rev. Paul said...

Sandy, the only problem with that is, he was picking up someone else's order. :)