A relatively successful cohabitation is taking place on Kodiak Island off the Alaskan Peninsula. A unique subspecies of brown bear
(Ursus arctos middendorffi) has lived on Kodiak, a submerged spine of the Kenai Mountains, for at least 12,000 years. Humans have lived there for only 7500 years. Today, there are about 3500 brown bears or about 1 for every square mile. Most live within the boundaries of Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge established in 1941 to protect the bears and the other native species: eagle, otter, fox, ermine and all five species of Pacific salmon. The Refuge is a roadless wilderness of almost 2 million square miles or about two-thirds of the island. Its many fjords and inlets are ringed by steep mountains that abruptly rise up to four thousand feet above the sea. The island is covered in lush vegetation from sedges to alders, cottonwoods, birch, spruce, wildflowers and berries--a worthy kingdom for the great bear that roams free except for domination by man. The Kodiak bear is still hunted and each year about 180 are killed, 70% of which are males. The practice is controversial among conservationists, but Alaska sportsmen and their representatives are absolutely convinced the hunt insures a healthy, if not respectful and lucrative, bear population. Local biologists think the bear population, while relatively stable, is reaching the carrying capacity of the ecosystem. One indication may be fewer observed juvenile bears (3-5 years old) than in previous years*. Male bears kill and sometimes consume cubs. Infanticide brings sows back into estrous thus providing competing males another opportunity to mate; otherwise cubs stay with their mother for 3 years.
The Kodiak bear is perhaps the largest brown bear in the world due to its relative isolation and plentiful food sources. A boar or male bear can stand 10 feet tall and weigh 1500lbs while females or sows are 20% smaller and 30% lighter. Bears famously hibernate during the winter when food is scarce, but some males do stay awake in winter. Emerging from their dens in April or May bears begin dinning with a salad of mixed greens: sedge grass, forbes and tubers. In summer the bears consume the abundant berry crop. Then, in late summer and fall they feast on spawning salmon. Kodiak bears seldom expend the energy necessary to chase and kill other mammals for food. They will scavenge carcasses as any Kodiak deer hunter will attest. Bears eat the most nutritious parts of their food for maximum weight gain. Brains, skin and eggs are the favored parts of salmon. The internal organs of elk and deer are also on their varied menu.
Undoubtedly hunting has had an effect on bear behavior.
US Person had the privilege of seeing and photographing upwards of 70 bears during his short trek into the island's pristine interior, but the substantial majority of these were sows. The few males that were spotted were reluctant to reveal themselves in the presence of humans. On Kodiak boars seem to have learned to be extra wary of man. Naturalist Enos Mills spent thirty years tracking the grizzly
(Ursus arctos horribilis) in the Rockies and Alaska unarmed. He found the personable bear to be even-tempered excepted when threatened, starving, or defending cubs. In his classic field study,
Grizzly, he considers the brown bear to be North America's most intelligent wild animal, with an intelligence exceeding that of the dog to which it is distantly related. Kodiak bears gather in groups when fishing for migrating salmon in bays and inlets. Consequently they have developed complex communications and social structure to avoid fatal conflicts. When you possess three inch canines and four inch claws coupled to enormous strength, conflict avoidance is essential behavior. Mills believed the grizzly bear did not deserve the onerous reputation of solitary killer legend had endowed. Normally a brown bear is intensely curious while maintaining a vigilance of the surroundings with its superb nose and excellent ears. But bears are equally capable of ignoring man if they are occupied with a survival task like fishing and man does nothing to interfere. Twice
US Person observed large bears at close range running away when they became fully aware of human presence. The record of human-bear conflict on the island supports this accurate view of the brown bear's behavior. In the last several decades there have been only a handful of mauling incidents and only one fatality. According to a local fisherman, the fatality occurred when a hunter actively objected to a bear taking his deer carcass.
Despite the tolerance, even respect, humans give Kodiak's great bears today, historically humans have waged war on the animal "that stands upright" and is so much more physically powerful than themselves. Kodiak's native Alutiiqs hunted the bear with bow, spear and enormous courage. Bear was an esteemed adversary whose spirit was appeased by leaving his head in the field. Russian settlers were encouraged to bring bear dogs from the homeland to protect livestock. Commercial exploitation of bears occurred throughout the 19th century. In the 1930s bears faced extermination by ranchers wanting to reduce the number of cattle kills. At one point bears were shot from airplanes, and ranchers proposed erecting a 9 foot fence to bisect the island to create a "bear free zone". Fortunately, the improbable proposal was never implemented. Ranchers got the surplus fencing material. Except for the annual hunt, efforts to artificially control the bear population ended in the mid-60s.
Kodiak is a marvelously beautiful island that is still mostly wild. That is not to say there are no problems in Eden. The Alaskan king crab bonanza was centered in Kodiak a few decades ago; now that the resource has been depleted the action has moved further west to Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians. The salmon run at Karluk Lake collapsed from over-fishing a few years ago and attempts to bring it back are achieving mixed results. Kittiwakes, a species of seagull, have not bred in five years on Kodiak*. Often a failed breeding season indicates a lack of food or other environmental stress. Local biologists are concerned about the duration of the lapse in breeding. Nevertheless, the persistence of a large apex predator such as the great Kodiak brown bear is testament to the ability of man to transcend his own limitations and live in relative harmony with nature.
*according to Harry Dodge III, veteran Kodiak guide and bear expert. If you wish to donate to the cause of preserving the bear and its wild domain you may contribute to the Kodiak Brown Bear Trust, c/o Vic Barnes, Trust Administrator, Box 1546 Westcliffe, CO 81252. All photos courtesy US Person.
Undoubtedly hunting has had an effect on bear behavior. US Person had the privilege of seeing and photographing upwards of 70 bears during his short trek into the island's pristine interior, but the substantial majority of these were sows. The few males that were spotted were reluctant to reveal themselves in the presence of humans. On Kodiak boars seem to have learned to be extra wary of man. Naturalist Enos Mills spent thirty years tracking the grizzly (Ursus arctos horribilis) in the Rockies and Alaska unarmed. He found the personable bear to be even-tempered excepted when threatened, starving, or defending cubs. In his classic field study, Grizzly, he considers the brown bear to be North America's most intelligent wild animal, with an intelligence exceeding that of the dog to which it is distantly related. Kodiak bears gather in groups when fishing for migrating salmon in bays and inlets. Consequently they have developed complex communications and social structure to avoid fatal conflicts. When you possess three inch canines and four inch claws coupled to enormous strength, conflict avoidance is essential behavior. Mills believed the grizzly bear did not deserve the onerous reputation of solitary killer legend had endowed. Normally a brown bear is intensely curious while maintaining a vigilance of the surroundings with its superb nose and excellent ears. But bears are equally capable of ignoring man if they are occupied with a survival task like fishing and man does nothing to interfere. Twice US Person observed large bears at close range running away when they became fully aware of human presence. The record of human-bear conflict on the island supports this accurate view of the brown bear's behavior. In the last several decades there have been only a handful of mauling incidents and only one fatality. According to a local fisherman, the fatality occurred when a hunter actively objected to a bear taking his deer carcass.
