13 August 2014

"There's a Nanuq Outside!"

From the Alaska Dispatch News:

"There's a nanuq outside!" Kaktovik woman chases polar bear from tent

Coffee warmed on the smokehouse stove as Marie Rexford, 51, began pulling on her socks to start the day.

... One sock on, one sock off, something made Marie look over her shoulder.
That's when she saw the outline of a paw pressed against the thick canvas tent, said Marie's daughter, Flora Rexford, recounting the scene. A polar bear was trying to shove and nose its way inside.

"There's a nanuq outside!” Marie cried. She reached for the rifle her son had brought to the windy shoreside camp the night before. 
... Marie, who is about 5 feet tall, stalked around the tent. "Where are you, bear?!" she shouted.
Startled, the animal began to walk toward the ocean.

“You better get out of here. If you come back, I’m going to shoot you,” Marie told the bear, according to her daughter. The more Marie talked, the faster the bear moved.

“She has kind of a scary voice,” the younger Rexford said in a phone interview.



And you thought your mornings were stressful. :)

Read the rest at the link. 

12 comments:

PioneerPreppy said...

Man-ape with stick = Bad

All creatures great and small know this as part of their DNA.

Rev. Paul said...

Granted, Preppy, but polar bears usually don't care. They just see a two-legged meal.

Sandy Livesay said...

Rev. Paul,

That must of been one bad ... ... ... woman to scare a bear off with just her voice, lol......

You don't mess with polar bears....nope...

Rev. Paul said...

I agree, Sandy. Those Native women are not someone to mess with!

Max said...

Reinforcing the 'always have a firearm handy' way of life!

Rev. Paul said...

Good point, Max.

Home on the Range said...

I would take a Mama Grizzley over a polar bear any day. That is one brave lady.

Rev. Paul said...

Agreed!

Old NFO said...

Oh dayum... That gives me the shivers just thinking about that!

Rev. Paul said...

NFO - I hear that, and concur. Wow.

On a Wing and a Whim said...

The ones that hang around the Kaktovik dump know and fear a human with a gun (or flash bangs. There's a story there.)

The ones fresh off the polar ice, though, may not know anything besides "I'm the top predator. If it moves, it's food."

I never want to see a nanuq without a good deal of zoo-made reinforced barrier between it and me - and for it to already be well fed.

Rev. Paul said...

Wing, there is much wisdom in your final paragraph. I agree!