You might think I would get tired of watching the bears. But I don't. They are just so interesting to me. The first couple of visits to the AWCC I was just in awe of them. On subsequent visits I got to learn a little bit more about their histories. And it is neat to be able to start seeing their personalities come through in the repeat visits.
Hugo is not alone in her enclosure at AWCC. She shares it with a pair of younger, but much larger bears. Joe Boxer and Patrone. These are coastal brown bears, while Hugo is an inland brown bear, or Grizzly. They have evolved differently....hard to imagine the grizzly is smaller than something, but it's smaller than the coastal brown, and those in turn are smaller than the Kodiak bear.
Joe Boxer and Patrone got their names from the corporations who sponsored their care at a charity event. The brother and sister pair are now 11 years old.
Their story is a sad one, they were orphaned when young. Their mom was looking for protein for her babies, and tracked and killed a moose. That hunt took her into someone's yard, cubs in tow, and their shot her. When the human loses a bear-human conflict, it is legendary and national news. More commonly, quietly, legally, it is usually the other way around. Here is the story of Joe Boxer and Patrone.
In the town of Willow, a brown bear sow killed a moose calf in a resident’s backyard. The man was afraid that the bear might try to attack his dog, so he killed the sow not knowing that she had cubs (now known as Joe Boxer and Patron). In Alaska, killing a bear in defense of life or property is legal. Once he saw the two cubs at the top of a very tall and skinny birch tree, he called the area wildlife biologist to notify him of the situation.
Daring Rescue Saves Cubs’ Lives!! The biologist, who happens to be a former gymnast, daringly climbed to the top of the skinny tree and grabbed the smaller male cub by a rear leg, holding on to the tree with the other hand. He climbed down and lowered the cub into a fish net. The second cub was more of a challenge. She was a large female cub and acted aggressively. The biologist climbed to the top of the tree, injected her with a sedative then grabbed her by the scruff. As he began to climb down, the skinny birch tree began to bend and crack. The tree bent all the way over, delivering the biologist and the cub safely to the ground!
So now they hang out at the Alaska Conservation Center. This guy is a foodie, and he comes to the viewing deck about half an hour before feeding time every day in anticipation of his 20 pound salmon.
He sits and waits patiently on his big furry butt, feet stretched out showing his little...er big...padded bear feet.
I can't quite be sure which is Joe Boxer and which is Patrone yet. Joe Boxer is the male and slightly larger, Patrone is the female. Joe Boxer and Hugo don't always get on quite so well...I have seen him chasing her...but she is faster! But at naptime, she sneaks over closer to them to sleep, so they must do ok after all.
The siblings pictured above.
What a beautiful big bear!! This is probably Joe Boxer.
All three have the dark around the eyes, .
And here we have someone anxiously waiting for their salmon dinner.
The old adage for bears in the wild is that a fed bear is a dead bear. Once bears learn that humans or urban areas are easy food sources, they will return, and inevitably someone will be afraid for the safety of person, child, or pet, and shoot that bear. At the Conservation Center, it's one of the only places where you can say a fed bear is a happy bear.
With a bit of resignation, he realizes he is not going to get fed twice, you can almost see the transition from hopeful to disappointed on his face.
Have a good nap little bear!
And that's it! The May photos are now caught up!
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