Free Land in Anderson, Alaska (Anchorage, Kodiak: hotel, tax, fence)

[aurorawatcher]

Cougars? there are no cougars in Alaska.

[HighlandLady]

Good gawd...by all means, bring a leash.

Comparing wild bruin with Gentle Ben??? I will not touch that one.

[Candle]

Originally Posted by frankenstein

But back to the bears, I use to watch "Gentle Ben" as a kid, c'mon, they don't like being walked on a leash too? Can you scratch their bellys and will they atleast play fetch?
Crap, they don't sound like they're very good pets I gather.... ?
Probably would poop in the cabin too, that would be a big mess. Perhaps I should get a cat, like a cougar instead?

play tag with a grizzly. Guess who's "it"?

And yes there are cougars in some areas of Alaska, just not as much there as there are further south.

[aurorawatcher]

Mountain Lions in Alaska

[frankenstein]

Good glad to hear there are some cougars there...I want to do this whole Alaska thing right you know. Now with that said, are there any local pet shops where I can buy a cub (if that's what you call a baby cougar?)...Or am I forced to catch my own from a den perhaps? Would I need gloves to do this?

Damn, I really wanted a pet bear too!

[Nephler]

Originally Posted by frankenstein

Good glad to hear there are some cougars there...I want to do this whole Alaska thing right you know. Now with that said, are there any local pet shops where I can buy a cub (if that's what you call a baby cougar?)...Or am I forced to catch my own from a den perhaps? Would I need gloves to do this?

Damn, I really wanted a pet bear too!

you are joking, right?

[aurorawatcher]

Originally Posted by Nephler

you are joking, right?

Remind you of somebody?

[Nephler]

hmm, sure does!

Brings penguins to mind

[aurorawatcher]

You got it.

[mal_flisk]

An old thread resurrected like Lazarus.

I REALLY don't want to get into this right now.

Bears might be cute, but they ain't "cuddly". Snarky would be a definition on a real good day, as long as you're not between them and food, a sow and cubs, or Smokey didn't get out of the wrong side of the den this morning.

Exotic pets are extraordinarily controlled up here, as we don't want to introduce an invasive species and knock the current ecosystem for a loop. Northern Pike are bad enough - ask any fisherman.

Land is owned - by the state, the federal government, and the native corporations. Some is owned by the incorporated township or city which surrounds it. Homesteading is a thing of the past.

Troll or not, this sort of thing is what causes us to have to answer these questions seriously in order that the naive and the gullible don't get taken in. The Discovery Channel just had a little special on bears last night, which is probably what inspired this budding comedian to write. Gentle Ben and Smokey the bear aside, bears are unpredictable. Gentle Ben attacked his trainer twice on the set. When we are young, we want pets like a hawk or a wolf - maybe a bear cub. Learning the inadequacies of a human dealing with a non-domesticated animal, generally puts such child dreams into the realm of fantasy unfulfilled. Even bruins raised in captivity from new born have turned in their owners. Siegfried and Roy worked with the same large cuddly cats for years, yet they know that a decade's familiarity can be erased in a wild moment.

My advice: You want a pet? Get a nice Lab.