I published a few posts about the maulings that took place in Anchorage, and elsewhere around the State, last summer. There were three maulings (as I recall) inside our city limits, for the first time ever.
The Muni has decided it's time to "do something," always a dangerous tipping point. They had a hearing to discuss it; read about it here.
My family & I like to hike in the many parks and trails in Anchorage - and there are a lot of them. The bear attacks are what prompted me to purchase a pistol again, after several years of not having any firearms. (It wasn't a decision to 'have no guns' - I just never got around to buying any new ones after we moved to Alaska in 2003).
As usual, the citizenry is 'conflicted' about the proper course of action. No one wants the bears to leave, nor to see the streams devoid of salmon. They just want the attacks to go away.
I know! Let's ask the bears politely to hunt elsewhere! Or travel armed with bear mace and a backup in .45 caliber.
"Why do I carry a gun? Because a cop's too heavy."
URGENT CALL TO REPENTANCE: All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord. And all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee. For the Kingdom is the Lord’s and He rules among the nations. (Psalm 22:27-28)
2 comments:
Ya gotta wonder where people get the crazy idea that you can reason with a wild critter such as a bear.
Don't think is was too many Disney shows growing up where they showed bears in Yosemite and Yellowstone begging at the curb, do you? Or maybe The Jungle Book with Baloo? Or Yogi and BooBoo?
Nah, couldn't be that. After all, if people used those animated characters (or damn near tame ones) as models they'd start thinking they could go out into the bush and camp around bears and even sit around the campfire with them and everything would be honky-dorey. And that would be just plain crazy.
We already have people coming up here that have NO concept of what "wild" means. People get within 8 feet of a moose, or walk up to bears ... it's maddening.
Most bears want nothing to do with us, and will generally remain invisible. The ones to be afraid of are the ones who DON'T leave when they hear you coming.
I DO NOT want to meet a bear in the park - we travel in a group, and make lots of noise - but if it happens, I DO want to be ready.
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