WORLD> America
|
WORLD> America
|
|
Bear attacks in Alaska have people on edge
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-17 11:49 ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Even in a city whose logo is "Big Wild Life," the summer of 2008 is testing residents' tolerance for large carnivores.
The problem is bears, black bears and bigger grizzlies. So far this summer, three people have been mauled in the city. Some people say humans are to blame for the confrontations and insist that no bears should be killed because of the attacks. On the other side is a growing chorus of people like Devon Rees, who want something done about the big bruins. "It is pretty much unsafe to walk around at night," he said. On one recent evening, Rees heard splashing in the creek near his Eagle River home and assumed it was salmon. Seconds later, however, a bear rushed at him from the woods and knocked him to the ground. "I wasn't going to lay down and take it. The bear came and tried to fight me," said Rees, 18, who works in a meat store. "I started punching it in the head, kicking it and elbowing it ... I was boxing him using one arm to defend, one arm to strike." Residents share the municipality, covering more than 1 million acres and with more than 360,000 people, with more than 300 black bears and 50 to 60 grizzlies. Aggravating the problem is that Alaska's largest city is snug up against the half-million-acre Chugach State Park, the third largest state park in the United States. "Chugach State Park is a bear factory. It pumps out bears every year," said Rick Sinnott, the area biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. When those bears are hungry, they come into the city to feed on salmon in its many creeks and streams, and Sinnott said that is not likely to change. "They are going to be cheek to jowl with us forever," he said. Sinnott said efforts are being made to expand the hunting of bears in Chugach. The state park was off limits to hunting grizzlies for 30 years. Last year, three permits were issued but hunters were unsuccessful. |
