Bear!

I've seen bears every time I've visited Cordova, but haven't actually seen any since we've been living here. Apparently they're around town this time of year, and there's been signs of one around the house. Yesterday when the boys and I were playing outside Zach found a pile of bear pooh, and may or may not have sampled a berry from it.

Today we got the best look at a bear (in the wild) that we'll probably ever get. Dad and I were in the downstairs living room and Dad saw the bear's ears poking up over the window sill. I took off running upstairs to get my camera while yelling "bear! bear! bear!" like a spaz who's never seen one before.

Here's a little video clip of the bear. It's actually on top of a makeshift table, made of packing crate material, and is eating salmon eggs that Darius had cured and bagged.

The boys were napping, but I had Mom wake them up to see the bear. Had the window been open, we could have reached out and touched it. We probably sat and watched it for a good 10 minutes or more before it took off. It was so fun to watch!

Darius - I'm sorry about your salmon eggs, but the boys really enjoyed watching the bear eat them! Thanks for leaving them out as bear bait.

Bear

For those of you that are animal lovers and sensitive toward mounted hides...please skip this blog. There are a couple of photos that may be upsetting to you. Sorry!




Last October a gentleman in town was having some problems with a mischievous black bear. The bear figured out how to open his deep freezer, which I guess he kept outside, and would steal his steaks and such. Darius came to find out that the gentleman planned to catch the bear in action and shoot it. In Alaska this is legal. If a bear threatens life or personal property it's permissible to kill it.

Darius asked what he intended to do with the bear afterwards, and the man told him he was going to bury it in his backyard. I forget whether Darius asked, or if the man offered, but he ended up with a free bear hide (so long as he skinned it). Darius had never skinned a bear before, but he did a little research and got a few tips from a number of people and skinned his first bear.

My dad has wanted a bear hide for his wall for some time now. It's pricey to have a bear hide prepared and mounted, so Darius donated the hide to Dad since it was out of our reach at the time.

It took 8 months, but the bear finally came home. Joy and I were in Anchorage last month, and were assigned the task of picking it up. The taxidermist met us in some random parking lot, and had it folded up nicely in the trunk of her car. I couldn't stomach picking it up, so I made Joy do it.

The bear hide is now on the wall in the living room. Poor bear. These pictures to some of you may seem cute, but to me they make my stomach lurch just a bit.

I'm the type of woman that scrapes cat carcasses off the road and buries them, so people won't run over them with their cars (Sarah, you know what I'm talking about)! I even feel sorry for the fish that Darius and I caught together. Halibut is delicious, but it's sad to see them flip and flop in the boat.

I'd much rather have the bear hidden away on a wall in my parents' bedroom, or rolled up and hidden away in the farthest corner of the house. Why am I even doing this blog you ask? Because I love my husband, he's proud of the bear, and I said I would. Objectively speaking, he did a really good job skinning it. Especially since he'd never done it before. However, I do secretly wish I could get away with giving the bear a proper burial. Poor bear!