My Quest to See a Bear:
The first two years I lived in Hooper Bay next to the Bering Sea there were no bears around there and hardly any other type of animals that were not connected to the sea in one way or another. Hooper Bay was to far south for Polar Bears, but someone claimed they had seen tracks a year or so ago -probably a village legend. .
The third year I was located in Pitka’s Point along the Yukon River and the students would tell me stories about bear encounters. I had to take the trash to the dump one afternoon in the school truck and noticed that there were a bunch of dead fish lying out on a platform. I figured that if there were bears in the area they would smell the fish and eat a tasty meal. I discussed the plan with my principal and was given permission to use the truck that evening. The locals had told me that the bears come out just at sun set, so 10 PM would be a good time to be at the dump. I arrived about 9:30, got into a position to see the fish fairly well and I waited, and waited, and waited some more. It got pitch dark, around 11:30 but still no bears. I decided I had waited long enough. I turned over the ignition on the truck, and nothing. I tried again, and nothing. It would have been an easy mile and half walk back to Pitka’s Point but I thought if I started walking in the middle of night it would be my luck to come upon a bear with only my clothing to protect me and not a truck cab. I tried one more time to start the truck and the engine cranked over to my great relief. I never purposely went looking for a bear again and in fact avoided those places where I thought one might be. I was almost successful. But that is another story.
The first two years I lived in Hooper Bay next to the Bering Sea there were no bears around there and hardly any other type of animals that were not connected to the sea in one way or another. Hooper Bay was to far south for Polar Bears, but someone claimed they had seen tracks a year or so ago -probably a village legend. .
The third year I was located in Pitka’s Point along the Yukon River and the students would tell me stories about bear encounters. I had to take the trash to the dump one afternoon in the school truck and noticed that there were a bunch of dead fish lying out on a platform. I figured that if there were bears in the area they would smell the fish and eat a tasty meal. I discussed the plan with my principal and was given permission to use the truck that evening. The locals had told me that the bears come out just at sun set, so 10 PM would be a good time to be at the dump. I arrived about 9:30, got into a position to see the fish fairly well and I waited, and waited, and waited some more. It got pitch dark, around 11:30 but still no bears. I decided I had waited long enough. I turned over the ignition on the truck, and nothing. I tried again, and nothing. It would have been an easy mile and half walk back to Pitka’s Point but I thought if I started walking in the middle of night it would be my luck to come upon a bear with only my clothing to protect me and not a truck cab. I tried one more time to start the truck and the engine cranked over to my great relief. I never purposely went looking for a bear again and in fact avoided those places where I thought one might be. I was almost successful. But that is another story.
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