User not logged in - login - register
Home Calendar Books School Tool Photo Gallery Message Boards Users Statistics Advertise Site Info
go to bottom | |
 Message Boards » » people outraged over bears in alaska Page [1]  
BadPokerPlyr
All American
2081 Posts
user info
edit post

This pisses me off. Don't want to be around bears? How about not moving to Alaska.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_anchorage_bears

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Spring is here and bears are emerging from their dens for the short stroll to Alaska's largest city. Some residents are putting out the NO VACANCY sign.

Anchorage has a reputation for being bear tolerant but after three maulings last summer — including a 15-year-old girl who nearly bled to death when attacked by a grizzly in a city park — a chorus of outrage is building.

Wanda Phillips is among them. She recently moved from Washington state — where she saw no bears — to the Anchorage suburb of Eagle River, where there are lots of bears.

Last summer, Phillips saw at least 10 bears near her home. A grizzly camped out in her back yard defending a moose kill. Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials told her to keep the family inside until the bear was finished with the carcass.

"It (that advice) didn't seem very helpful to me," she said. "We have a real safety problem. The fact they are ignoring it is a time bomb."

Anchorage is unique among mid-sized American cities. The municipality's 285,000 residents share space with at least 65 brown bears and about 250 black bears. The sprawling municipality is surrounded by wild country. Anchorage is next to Chugach State Park, a half-million acre park that wildlife officials have described as a "bear factory."

Deaths from bear maulings are uncommon in the municipality. In July 1995, a mother and son were killed by a bear defending a moose carcass along McHugh Creek Trail. However, the mauling of Petra Davis, followed by another attack on the same park trail later last summer and the mauling of a young man in Eagle River, have some residents demanding a crackdown on the bears.

Trash day is a real spectacle, Phillips said.

"You can sit on the deck and look from our windows and watch them cruise the neighborhood looking for people that don't use bear cans. They literally go from driveway to driveway to driveway," Phillips said.

Her children are not allowed to walk alone this time of year. They always are armed with pepper spray, she said.

Last summer, some children walking home from school encountered a large grizzly. They huddled up in a driveway, made lots of noise to scare off the bear and called for help on their cell phones.

Phillips, who was at her job 20 minutes away, got a call.

"My kids are screaming 'There is a grizzly bear. We can't get home,'" she said.

One of the mothers rescued the children.

"I think a kid is going to end up being killed," Phillips said.

Already this summer, there is a feeling of deja vu. Last Friday, a sign went up on one of the city's most popular trails warning people of a black bear sow defending her cubs. Last month, a black bear chased some skiers and treed a man in the same park where two maulings occurred last summer.

"People think, 'Holy cow, we are under assault'," said Rick Sinnott, an area biologist with the Department of Fish and Game overseeing the bear problem.

In a move to target bolder bears before they reach Anchorage, Sinnott said hunting opportunities for brown bear have been increased in the Chugach State Park. Ten permits will be issued. Sinnott hopes no more than three are killed.

"We don't really want to reduce the population that much," he said.

Anchorage is not being overrun by bears, Sinnott said.

"I think it was kind of an unusual situation last year in part because I think we had a couple of brown bear sows with cubs in places where we probably can't tolerate them," he said.

He points to a 1997 survey that showed most people in Anchorage liked having bears around. But, he said, Anchorage's tolerance could be waning. Another survey is planned for this fall.

In the meantime, Anchorage's bear management policy will remain much the same as in the past, Sinnott said. If a particular bear is dangerous and has hurt someone and is likely to hurt someone again, it will be shot, Sinnott said.

Even if it appears more dangerous than the average bear but hasn't hurt anyone, it will be destroyed, he said. But, he said, there will be no mass extermination of bears.

"The people that want us to shoot all the bears in town, that is unreasonable," Sinnott said. "We don't kill bears in retribution. We try to examine each case."

Thomas Wood, a longtime Eagle River resident, said Anchorage's approach to bear management is "nonsense."

"They should shoot all the bears in town," he said. "Now they are coddling the bears so people are getting hurt. It is so stupid. The inmates are running the asylum."

Sinnott is not going to abandon old themes.

"I am still going to hammer on people about garbage this year," he said.

Last year, the city replaced more than 20 municipal trash containers in municipal parks with bear-resistant cans. This summer, the city plans to replace industrial trash bins with bear-resistant cans in areas where there are restaurants and apartment complexes.

For the first time, people who improperly dispose of their trash will be fined instead of being issued warnings. Fines for a first offense range from $50 to $300, up to $600 for a second offense.

Phillips said that's not enough. People who live in neighborhoods frequented by bears need to be required to use bear-resistant trash containers.

Paul Jenkins of Eagle River keeps a shotgun loaded with bird shot within easy reach to prevent a 300-pound black bear that hangs around his house from killing his dog. The bear has never been aggressive to Jenkins, but has bluff-charged some of the neighbors walking their dogs.

"I am not going to let him eat my Schnauzer," he said.

5/11/2009 1:27:48 PM

dweedle
All American
77387 Posts
user info
edit post

(words) warning motherfucker, do you use it

5/11/2009 1:28:15 PM

marko
Tom Joad
72924 Posts
user info
edit post

i thought this was about gay marriage

5/11/2009 1:33:34 PM

sd2nc
All American
9963 Posts
user info
edit post

more like BadThrdMkr amirite?

5/11/2009 1:34:57 PM

Willy Nilly
Suspended
3562 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"Don't want to be around bears? How about not moving to Alaska."

Quote :
"Don't want to be around wildfires? How about not moving to old forests."

Quote :
"Don't want to be around floods? How about not moving to floodplains."

Quote :
"Don't want to be around tsunamis? How about not moving to the beach."

etc.

I hate people who think their new house is more important than the indigenous wildlife or acts of nature.

5/11/2009 1:35:15 PM

ALkatraz
All American
11299 Posts
user info
edit post

people outraged over beers in alaska

5/11/2009 1:35:40 PM

Fareako
Shitter Pilot
10238 Posts
user info
edit post

tl; dr

5/11/2009 1:36:06 PM

grimx
#maketwwgreatagain
32337 Posts
user info
edit post

shoulda put the outrageous parts in bold. i just skipped it all looking for them.

5/11/2009 1:38:53 PM

GREEN JAY
All American
14182 Posts
user info
edit post

5/11/2009 1:43:12 PM

SaabTurbo
All American
25459 Posts
user info
edit post

HEY BEAR!!!!!!!!

5/11/2009 1:44:17 PM

Wraith
All American
27339 Posts
user info
edit post



Simpsons did it.

5/11/2009 1:47:09 PM

Mulva
All American
3942 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Spring is here and bears are emerging from their dens for the short stroll to Alaska's largest city. Some residents are putting out the NO VACANCY sign.
"


BEARS CAN'T FUCKING READ

5/11/2009 1:58:33 PM

SaabTurbo
All American
25459 Posts
user info
edit post

HEY BEAR!!!!!


[BOOM]

5/11/2009 1:59:25 PM

ddf583
All American
2950 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"This pisses me off. Don't want to be around bears? How about not moving to Alaska.
"


That's completely logical, but when has it ever been mankind's solution to this problem?

5/11/2009 2:10:21 PM

jetskipro
All American
1635 Posts
user info
edit post

In a couple days, I will move to Atlantic Beach. If, in a couple months, the house I'm in gets demolished by a hurricane, I will not be pissed at the local and state governments. It's not their job to post warnings about every possible hazard about living in a certain area.

People are whiny bitching morons. If there's a bear in your driveway eating your trash and you don't like it, get a bear box. If there's a bear in your backyard eating a moose, get an electric fence. If you have devolved so much that you are incapable of adapting to new surroundings, don't breed- you're ruining the gene pool.

5/11/2009 2:17:05 PM

HockeyRoman
All American
11811 Posts
user info
edit post

What a bunch of idiots.

5/11/2009 2:34:52 PM

quagmire02
All American
44225 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"I hate people who think their new house is more important than the indigenous wildlife or acts of nature."


Quote :
"PEOPLE

OUTRAGED

OVER

FISH

IN

SEA"


[Edited on May 11, 2009 at 3:20 PM. Reason : hah]

5/11/2009 3:12:26 PM

HockeyRoman
All American
11811 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"I hate people who think their new house is more important than the indigenous wildlife or acts of nature."

QFT

5/11/2009 3:21:52 PM

fredbot3000
All American
5835 Posts
user info
edit post

5/11/2009 3:24:36 PM

ddf583
All American
2950 Posts
user info
edit post

^^except every single one of us is guilty of this to a certain degree, so there is no need to climb up on that high horse.

[Edited on May 11, 2009 at 3:25 PM. Reason : .]

5/11/2009 3:25:33 PM

Skack
All American
31140 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"In a couple days, I will move to Atlantic Beach. If, in a couple months, the house I'm in gets demolished by a hurricane, I will not be pissed at the local and state governments. It's not their job to post warnings about every possible hazard about living in a certain area."


That's a great analogy since the local government can very easily kill all the nuisance hurricanes for very little taxpayer cost.

5/11/2009 3:27:01 PM

HockeyRoman
All American
11811 Posts
user info
edit post

^^ You may have a point insofar as just the exercise of building a home violates somethings habitat to some degree. It is up to us, however, to do whatever we can to make that infringement as minimal as possible.

5/11/2009 3:30:46 PM

JeffreyBSG
All American
10168 Posts
user info
edit post

I think the predominant view is

my house > nature > everybody else's house

5/11/2009 3:36:02 PM

Skack
All American
31140 Posts
user info
edit post

^ Very wise.

5/11/2009 3:59:57 PM

Mr. Joshua
Swimfanfan
43948 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"Wanda Phillips is among them. She recently moved from Washington state — where she saw no bears — to the Anchorage suburb of Eagle River, where there are lots of bears.

Last summer, Phillips saw at least 10 bears near her home. A grizzly camped out in her back yard defending a moose kill. Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials told her to keep the family inside until the bear was finished with the carcass.

"It (that advice) didn't seem very helpful to me," she said. "We have a real safety problem. The fact they are ignoring it is a time bomb.""


Curse nature for making me stay inside on occasion!

5/11/2009 4:11:52 PM

amac884
All American
25609 Posts
user info
edit post

ITT

5/11/2009 4:50:41 PM

wawebste
All American
19599 Posts
user info
edit post

ITT?

5/11/2009 4:51:56 PM

BigHitSunday
Dick Danger
51059 Posts
user info
edit post

The bears have become self-aware...

5/11/2009 4:55:33 PM

Supplanter
supple anteater
21831 Posts
user info
edit post

5/11/2009 5:02:08 PM

wawebste
All American
19599 Posts
user info
edit post

5/11/2009 5:06:41 PM

bethaleigh
All American
18902 Posts
user info
edit post

This is stupid.

Seriously, she lived in Washington state and never saw bears... I didn't know that was even possible. Even still, did she not read about the wildlife in Alaska? Alaksa has to be the US' wildest state of all, and that is why people move there and why people love it! Someone move that dumbass to Iowa. All she'll have to be scared of there is chickens and deer.

There are rarely EVER unprovoked bear attacks, although grizzlys and kodiaks are known best for it. Just follow the warnings, carry a gun, and don't intrude or hike during breeding season. That will take away about 85% of the risk of being fatally attacked.

[Edited on May 11, 2009 at 5:22 PM. Reason : ]

5/11/2009 5:19:53 PM

bcsawyer
All American
4562 Posts
user info
edit post

We've had bears in our yard before. It's no big deal. Just leave them alone.

5/11/2009 6:09:30 PM

ambrosia1231
eeeeeeeeeevil
76471 Posts
user info
edit post

These people deserve to be mauled by a bear - hopefully killed.

5/11/2009 6:12:12 PM

LaserSoup
All American
5503 Posts
user info
edit post

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkTrzavGmIw&feature=PlayList&p=F8573A5F408A3DFF&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=44

Quote :
"These people deserve to be mauled by a bear - hopefully killed."

Or at a minimum have their picinic baskets stolen

5/11/2009 6:19:41 PM

HockeyRoman
All American
11811 Posts
user info
edit post

I would settle for picnic baskets being stolen because if a bear so much as comes near these people they will scream and cry until some redneck gets his wish and can hunt down and murder anything resembling a bear.

5/11/2009 6:37:43 PM

Mr. Joshua
Swimfanfan
43948 Posts
user info
edit post

5/11/2009 6:57:58 PM

elduderino
All American
4343 Posts
user info
edit post

^IT'S A BEAR-MITZVAH

5/11/2009 9:07:13 PM

wawebste
All American
19599 Posts
user info
edit post

iswydt!

5/11/2009 9:08:38 PM

tromboner950
All American
9667 Posts
user info
edit post

THOSE BEARS ATE THAT JEWISH FAMILY.

Oh well.

5/11/2009 9:08:43 PM

 Message Boards » Chit Chat » people outraged over bears in alaska Page [1]  
go to top | |
Admin Options : move topic | lock topic

© 2025 by The Wolf Web - All Rights Reserved.
The material located at this site is not endorsed, sponsored or provided by or on behalf of North Carolina State University.
Powered by CrazyWeb v2.39 - our disclaimer.