KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Kodiak has put out another warning for residents of the city’s north end neighborhoods to keep an eye out for foraging bears. Kodiak wildlife biologist Larry Van Daele says about seven bears have been roaming the neighborhoods on the north end of town quite a bit lately. One sow with a two-year-old cub, and a separate pair of sub adults, have been seen the most frequently, often in the twilight hours between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
A pair of adolescents, quite possibly the two Van Daele mentioned, recently tried to get into Mary McCarthy’s shed at her Beaver Lake home at about 12 o’clock the other night.
— (Bears 1 34 sec “… that’s the end of that.”)
But, the pesky bears wound up returning right after she went back inside:
— (Bears 1b “… driver’s side door window trying to get at it.”)
Van Daele says the bears are constantly on the move, so it’s important that when people have bear encounters they let him know so he can track them better:
— (Bears 2 39 sec “… give them advice on how to do that.”)
He recommends firecrackers, pots-and-pans and air horns, or even shouting at the bears to startle them and make them go away. Since Kodiak Island is world-famous for its brown bears, Van Daele says there are better places to see a bruin than in the city’s residential neighborhoods:
— (Bears 3 17 sec “… bear’s not comfortable around people.”)
He says that residents do have the right to kill a bear in defense of life or valuable property, but they have the responsibility to make sure they shoot to kill, do not damage anyone else’s life or property in the process, and must report the shooting to fish and game right away.
In Kodiak, I’m Jay Barrett.
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