Walking around the streets of our world we often encounter people who are frantically running around trying to catch rides or grab the nearest fast food restaurant. Add to this the sporting goods stores where you can easily spend an hour just picking up another outfit and then you can understand why people are actually scared of getting caught out on a trail and what ailed may be lurking around.
People are now considering joining a group called the Kodiak National Park Grizzly Bears spread aregnate across half the United States. If you visit the majestic Kodiak National Park you will see on display the stout, brown bears that roam the park. Many people have no idea that there are half the population of Kodiak bears living in peaceful Grizzly Bear country.
If you visit the park you will see Grizzly Bears lumbering in long meadows, standing with their head lower than their shoulders as they move slowly with their paws. These bears are extremely wary of humans, but rarely attack. We have driven around some of the park and heard the same comments over and over again. Parks staff showed us video clips of two different encounters that had gone bad.
The first clip was from a ranger’s car, where a mother Grizzly threatened to attack if her cub was not taken. The second was from a mother Grizzly about a week later. Both calm the crowd and bring the message that mother Grizzly Bears are not dangerous. Then again one must be balanced with the other. We let both of them go and watched the scenes intently.
As we approached the park’s border we stopped a vehicle. A man got out of the car and walked down to the park’s edge. He brought his young son to the edge next to the barrier, and put his son down face down into the sand. He then picked up his young son and put him into the back of his SUV. He drove the rest of the way to the park’s edge while we approached slowly.
We went around the park’s edge to the beach. We stood facing the bear express way. Mostly we could hear the howling of the people around us. The worst thing could happen at this point. But who could have foreseen that? Stopping at the edge of the beach. Reading, listening to the gulls circle overhead or the salmon splashing the shoreline draws us closer to the shore.
We then began the long descent into the river, following along the top of the cliff. On the other side of the river, the black bears were Also heading down into the river. As we approached the river stage right, we heard the sharp bite of a fish. It was big, swimming up out of the water. My adrenaline pumped long after I made the identification, but the joy of the catch was unmistakable.
This mother bear weighed almost 2000 pounds, stood at 7 feet tall, and had an 80-pound rattle. We kept calling her to come out of the water but she would not budge. Finally after about 20 minutes she turned and headed into the river, with her cubs following. stage right.
This was my first experience with mother bear encounters, I was very excited and it went well. I called my wife to come along, as I always do. When we approached her, she was sitting in the water, facing the shore with her back towards us. We all approached her slowly. I kept saying, “Mama, Mama, where is mummy”? She did not respond. Suddenly she was swimming toward us with her arms outstretched, submerging in the water. We all panicked. I closed my eyes, and I could not see anything. But I knew. I knew that baby was in the water. I could not shout because I did not want to bring trouble to my wife. After all, we were in Indian Territory and animals do not yell. Or perhaps, she did not want to see my friend’sigger. The mother bear was swimming toward the shore with her cubs. They were all white with black markings. The mother was wearing a fleece and sun cap. The kids were swimming around her.
I barked at both of them and they swam further toward me. Then I saw them, up close. They were actually swimming toward me. This was unbelievable! I was inches from a mother and her cubs! This was such a close call, yet they managed to maintain their balance and headed toward the shore. The mother was laying down on her back and both her and the cubs were covered with splashes of colour.
I clicked my last picture. Each one of them looking tiny. It was a blink. But this was the last memory I would ever have.
After a while, I could no longer see them. All I could see was their eyes. They were so cute;
