grizzly bears (Anchorage, Kenai, Kodiak: live in, dangerous, food)

[ryyans]

has anyone ever enountered a bear in alaska. A lady once told me she saw a grizzly bear off at a distance and it had to be the size of a trash bin yet dispite it's massive size it was running incredibly fast (she was watching with binnoculars from her cruise ship)

i understand that alaska has the largest bears in the world!

[Alaskan_Adventurer]

Hello. I have seen a few from a distance, but never have I been face to face with one. A buddy of mine has had multiple up-close encounters while hunting, but never got attacked. One of those encounters was literally a few feet away. The bear kinda huffed at him, turned around and took off. Generally they won't attack as long as you didn't completely surprise them. The exceptions would be a mother and her cub or a cornered or injured bear.

The two types of "brown" bears are grizzlies and browns. The grizzlies are usually found at higher elevations and mostly feed on berries and smaller animals, so they don't grow as large as the brown. The browns feed on larger game and salmon. The largest browns in the world are on the island of Kodiak and can get 1500+ pounds quite easily. The polars are the largest bears though and can get bigger than the kodiaks, and are found far north. Not by a whole lot though. I hope this helps!

[Rance]

I was charged by a grizzly sow with cubs about 10 miles from my house. Fortunately she stopped about 20 foot short and let me live. Then I was working over in Beluga, across the inlet from Anchorage and was charged from behind by a black bear. Fortunately a co-worker was nearby and saw it coming. I was able to climb up onto the roof of a 966 loader. The bear got up on top of the tire before it turned and chased my co-worker.
When your out hiking you have got to make some noise. Hunters tend to be more quiet and run the risk of surprise attacks. There are still 3-4 folks that get mauled here on the Kenai Peninsula every year. I've had to chase polar bears off location up here at work (slope)...with a piece of heavy equipment. They will hide under stairways to try and ambush humans that exit doors. Polar bears are absolutely something you do not mess around with. Anything and everything is a food source for them.

[ryyans]

those stories are incredible to me because it's so far removed what i've ever experienced (i live in ft.lauderdale,fl)
I would love to see alaska one day but i'll wait for my children to get alittle older so that they will be able to appreciate it too. in the meantime i read alot of true accounts of people trying to make it in alaska from the book 'into the wild' to crazy things like 'grizzlyman' about timothy treadwell.
the alaska wild seems beautiful yet very dangerous if you don't know what your doing. like being charged by a bear! i would have froze in fear and that would have been it for me!

[Rance]

Believe me I froze with fear. Probably what saved my life. If you run you become fair game to a bear. I could have run from the blackbear, but I don't think I would have made it far. So I chose to climb the loader. Was a little shocked when the bear started climbing after me.

The grizzlyman basically got what he deserved. The tragedy is he had that girl out there with him. He obviously had mental issues. It's to bad she had to die because of his foolishness. Don't for a minute think you can become one with a wild adult bear. They will tolerate you up to a point, then your invading their space and asking for trouble. Bears like humans all have different personalities. Some are more tolerant than others.

[mal_flisk]

There are a few in Anchorage every year, but I've never actually seen one first person, in town. Pictures are in the paper every spring and summer. I wind up sharing a bank with them when I'm fishing at Bird Creek about 25 minutes out of town, and have seen them raiding dumpsters in Fort Greely.

Nothing beyond that other than other peoples photos.

[c.adam]

you CAN become one with an Adult Griz.... usually happens during the digestion period or when their paw rips you in half.

[Rance]

You can become one alright. "One" big steaming pile of dung left in the middle of a trail! :-)

Here's a picture of a Polar Bear taken out on the Arctic Ocean ice last winter:


And a Brown Bear sow and cub taken above Russian and Kenai Rivers down on the Kenai Peninsula:

[Unhappycamper]

Here in Maine ive had a run in with a black bear. It was in my yard just chilling out. I shouted at it and it took off.

Me: 1
Bear: 0

[mal_flisk]

Becoming one with the bears is another way of saying "death by Alaska!