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Anchorage Bears Wide Awake On The HillsideToday, skiers reported fresh bear tracks, droppings and traces of blood in the snow on the Bicentennial Park trail systemDespite the cold temperatures and more than a few inches of snow on the ground, some Anchorage bears have yet to settle down for the winter. Last week, Arnie Hinden saw it for himself.
A little after midnight Monday night, Hinden heard a loud noise in his driveway and looked out his bedroom window to see a bear trying, unsuccessfully, to open the bear-proof garbage can he kept in front of his garage.
“I keep it out in the wintertime because I thought the bears would hibernate,” Hinden said. “Well, November 21, obviously, it wasn't."
Hinden snapped several pictures of the prints the bear left in the snow, some of them nearly a foot in length.
After tracing the prints back into the woods behind his South Anchorage home, Hinden said he emailed the photos to the 23 other families in his neighborhood. Several of them had seen the same thing.
"Our neighbor in back who traced the paw prints to here had two sets of paw prints at her house,” Hinden said Sunday, standing in the snow behind his house and gesturing into the woods behind it. “Two different sets."
Skiers at Hillside’s Bicentennial Park have also reported seeing bear tracks in the snow for the past several weeks, but Hinden said he’s unsure why the animals would forgo or delay their traditional hibernation.
"Perhaps it was sick, I don't know,” Hinden said of his Monday-night visitor. “But it was huge. I don't know the weight, I don't know much about bears, but it was a huge animal."
Today, skiers reported fresh bear tracks, droppings and traces of blood in the snow on the park's trail system, and said it serves as a renewed reminder: The bears are still awake.
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Prob said on Monday, Nov 28 at 1:37 AM
It's proably global warming, or climate change, forget what the libs want us to call it to suck tax payer dollars, anyway, we should donate more to Al Gore so he can check this out for us seeing as the reporting was sub par at best.
77555638Louise Midkiff said on Monday, Nov 28 at 10:36 AM
Seriously, where are Fish and Wildlife in all this; out chasing "wolves" as usual?
77574573dave said on Monday, Nov 28 at 10:42 AM
I'd like to know if it was a brown or a black bear. The article didn't say.
77574886Matanuskamadman said on Monday, Nov 28 at 8:09 PM
@ Dave.......With prints over 12" this is a brown bear for sure. @ Louise......In Alaska its the Dept. of Fish and Game. What do you want them to do? Tell the bear its time to go to bed? Good grief......
77598101cooljulie said on Tuesday, Nov 29 at 1:03 AM
@ Matanuskamadman- No, it's Fish and Wildlife. At least that's what the sign on the building and their letterhead says! Think they'd know if bears get insomnia? : )
77605507nancy said on Tuesday, Nov 29 at 9:29 AM
we too had a big brown bear here in iliamna,ak.last week..it was wondering the creeks and lake shore.but our trooper chased it with fire crackers to the base of the mountains..we all were greatful to our trooper and think the bear will be thankful to get to the mountain..he needs to get some ZZZZZZZZZZZ
77624233CrazyAKGirl68 said on Wednesday, Nov 30 at 7:27 PM
Fish and Wildlife is Federal, Fish and Game is State of Alaska. Both have a presence in the area. As is typical of government agencies they often work in competitive cooperation with each other. Sometimes they even sue each other. The State Fish and Game is more focused toward management of Fish and Game as a resource and Fish and Wildlife is more focused on conservation.
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