Ursus arctos sitkensis

Tom on Vashon, this one's for you:

Is it a brown bear or a grizzly?  The answer is that all grizzlies are brown bears, but not all brown bears are grizzlies. The correct scientific name for a grizzly is "brown bear," but only coastal bears in Alaska and Canada are generally referred to as such. Apparently there is yet another subspecies of the brown bear which only resides on the ABC islands of SE Alaska (Admiralty, Baranof and Chichigof Islands). It has a unique genetic structure relating them to brown bears and polar bears.

Sitka is on the "B" island; Baranof Island.

Due to my over-active imagination when it comes to bears, I brushed up on my bear aware knowledge while sleuthing the internet for Sitka area bear encounters before heading north. There had been a few recent events, in fact, more than normal. The events however took place in remote locations. Hopefully no Ursus arctos sitkensis were roaming Sitka town.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0JQJNsMKig

An unusual 'one-two' punch in nature found the local bear population more hungry than sleepy in November this year.  The berry season arrived early, (or perhaps Lava picked all the berries before the bears had a chance!) and there was a failed pink salmon run. On top of that, there appear to be more cubs than normal. Sows and cubs are a deadly combination particularly when food is scarce. Woe to those who cross a mother who is protecting her sustenance and offspring.

As Sitka seems to be Facebook Capital of the World, naturally there is a Facebook page created for communicating in-town bear sightings and activity. That page is a 'favorite' of mine and was monitored regularly. Indeed, there was and is bear activity around town. Four bears making themselves known. They've become regular midnight marauders of neighborhood garbage cans.

Authorities had hoped they'd soon get sleepy and cold, head for higher ground and hibernate.  No such luck.

A sow and two cubs ultimately scored a full, oversized garbage can. With too much to eat in one or two sittings, the garbage was cached. At that point, the bears would now become very aggressive to protect their prize. Their ultimate score was their ultimate demise. Wildlife troopers came in and 'dispatched' all three animals.



On the other side of town, closer to my home, a very large bear continues to be a nightly neighborhood nuisance. Apparently this one is still wary of people so authorities are not searching him out. However, he is a garbage bear. A fed bear. And a fed bear is a dead bear. It makes me wonder what the authorities are now are waiting for.

Perhaps this choice of living in Sitka is in some way directly correlated to overcoming the Big Bad Bear dreams which occasionally visit my slumbering subconscious. Hmph! And I always thought the Big Bad Bear dreams were an interpretation of some other aspect in my life! Well, I'm certainly in an environment where I can learn how to avoid encounters and practice safe habits. I'll be a happy camper if I never stumble upon a bear in the wild.