Bear Facts On Brown Bears
Brought Out By Census Study
Noses counted in a population
census taken on Kodiak Island
aren’t always those belonging to
people. A census is taken more
often, in fact every year, of a
more famous resident—the Kodiak
bear.
Where his favorite haunts are
and how far he travels, is of great
concern to the Fish and Wildlife
Service’s Game Department.
Stndies are constantly being made
to determine His habits, where he
feeds, and the distance he travels
in his search for food.
“Is a ‘bears world’ confined tc
a small area?” “Are there definite
areas which are particularly at
tractive to the bear?” These and
other questions were asked of Will
Troyer of the Game Management
Department of the FWS. The an
swers are illuminating.
There will always be an argue
ment as to the worth of the big
bruins in Kodiak’s economy. Cat
tie ranchers and others, of course,
would like to see them slaughtered
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wholesale, and the more stable
farming and ranching industries
thereby encouraged. Others again,
seek to preserve them, as an at
traction to tourists, sportsmen,
writers and TV programmers.
Hunting the bear has resulted in
it being “big business”—for the
many guides and those who assist
them, for the airlines, their em
ployees, for the suppliers of food,
clothing and hunting essentials, to
mention only a few. We are not
concerned, however, with the
merits of “extinction” or “preser
vation” of the Kodiak Bear in this
article. ,
“When are the most bear shot—
in the Spring or Fall hunts?” was
a question asked Will Troyer. He
promptly replied, “in the Spring
definitely." The past Spring hunt,
completed May 31, was typical, he
said. In round figures, about a
hundred were killed. “Who kills
the most bear, the resident or non
resident hunter?” was the next
question asked. Actual records
kept by Troyer reveals the non
resident, some of whom, travel
thousands of miles to do so, shot
down fifty-seven bears, while
thirty-four of the hundred were
shot by residents.Bears found dead
made up the hundred. The bulk
of the resident hunters, he said,
are servicemen, many of whom
come from the mainland, who
have completed more than the re
quired year’s residence in Alaska.
“Where are the most bears
shot?” was the next question ask
ed. Wilt took me over to a map,
which was dotted with large head
ed pins. Each pin represented a
bear killed. The areas facing the
Shelikof Straits were literally cov
ered, while those on the opposite
side of the island were practically
bare. Troyer said, and the map
bore him out, that bear were kill
ed mainly from Afognak Island,
Terror Bay, Uyak, Olga Bay, as
far south as Alitak Bay and Dead
man’s Bay. Six bear were shot on
the small island of Uganik alone.
This area perhaps, furnished the
most bear.
Troyer stated at present he is
spending most of his time in the
field. He goes into an area as
close as he can by plane, and then
starts hiking. He will get on a
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high knoll, and with the aid of
binoculars, observe the bears * to
learn their habits. He said the
present method of spilling dye on
a bear by means of a trip wire as
means of identification, isn’t work
ing very satisfactorally. The dye
is rubbed off too easily. (We sug
gested printer’s ink, which we
have found to have great penetrat
ing qualities. Even the bear might
have difficulty in removing it, as
we do).
The reason for the concentration
of bear in the Shelikof straits side
of the Island is revealed by a close
look at the map o fthe Island.
Deep bays, all fed by streams that
start far inland, make up the con
tour of the area. These are natur
al feeding grounds for the bear—
what with the rich grass and
streams usually well-stocked with
fish.
Kodiak has many guides who
are available to lead the hunter
in his search for a trophy. The
names of a few of them, familiar
to most of us, are Bill Poland, Alf
Madsen; Hal Waugh, Kris Helgff
son and Leonard Helgason, E'
Metrokin, Walter Panamaroff, Jot
Maxwell, Lloyd Howe, Bill PinnclJ
Oscar Nelson and Morris Tollel
son.
Week Spent Here
Gordon Nelson, of the Territory
al Police Department spent a week
in town. He arrived here Wednes
day, July 18 and left last Wednes
day.
While here, he assisted Chief
Vickery and the local Police De
partment in carrying out a road'
block, to ascertain violations of
Territorial traffic regulations. He
and Chief Vickery stated following
the check, that there were few vie
lators. Only two were unable, to
furnish operators licenses. Other
infractions were of tminor nature
Nelson worked here in Kodiak
in 1941-42. He is now stationed at
Palmer, Alaska.
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