Today was my first full day at Brooks Camp, my job was to meet up with a veteran of the bear squad and learn how we keep bears from entering camp. The veteran has been here for ten years. He gave me my bear training. Me, I am a rookie at this stuff. So we started our shift by walking around the camp so I could learn where the bears are most likely to enter camp. What we call camp is actually a bunch of cabins in a central location about a half a mile from the river. We also have a campground,where the tenters stay. The campground is surrounded with electric fence.
Two hours later we got our first bear call. We had a bear walking down the beach heading to camp. Our job was to keep ahead of it and watch to make sure it did not leave the beach and come into the camp. The bear behaved fine and just walked down the beach and out of site. Our last of job of the day is to go around and check all the electrical fences and make sure everything is running properly. Our last stop was the campground. On the way back we had a little excitement.
We were walking back to the ranger station, the veteran was in front and I was close behind. As we were walking I heard a twig snap and turned around thinking a red squirrel was crossing the path. Only it wasn't a squirrel it was a brown bear running full speed right towards us. I reached out for the veteran and called his name to say a bear was coming and I turned around and the veteran was running away. I was in shock I thought we were suppose to stay still and not only was he running but he left me, the rookie, behind. I quickly moved a few feet out of the running bears path just as it ran by me. I could have reached out and pulled hair off of the bear. He literally was inches away from me. If I hadn't move it would have ran right over me. The veteran ran down the path a little ways and then turned up into the woods and stopped. When he stopped the bear stopped just a few feet away from him. The two of them stared at each other, then the veteran stomped a foot and yelled and the bear turned and ran into the woods and kept running.
I quickly ran to catch up with the veteran and said "what the heck". But the veteran kept saying that there was another bear. There had to be another bear chasing it. So he looked one way and I walked down 6 feet to the beach and sure enough another bear was heading our way. The two of us moved down the path and stopped to watch where this bear was going. It came up on the path about 25 yards away and stopped and looked at us. We both yelled at the bear. The bear raised his head up and sniffed. He had caught the scent of the other bear and headed through the woods after it.
When I saw the bear I wasn't scared even as it ran past me. What scared me was that the veteran turned and ran and just left me. I couldn't believe it. I did however feel my heart in my throat when it was all over then I couldn't help laughing. It was just too funny that the veteran ran. Needless to say he is having a hard time living that one down. He keeps telling people he wasn't running just quickly getting out of the way.
About 15 minutes later the bear that had been chased showed up in camp right outside the ranger station. I think she felt that it was saver for her in the camp then out where other bears can chase her. The veteran and I chased her down to the beach and followed her. Every so often she tried to get back into camp. Then when she reached the river she turned around and headed back the way she came. I watched her chew on the visitor sign, chase a magpie,inspect a boat on the beach,and eat some grass. She was in no hurry to leave the camp vicinity. Then finally when she reached the camp boundaries and tried one more time to come up into camp. The veteran stomped his feet and kicked up a little dirt and the bear grabbed one more bite of grass and took off.
The bear who was being chased was a cub from last year who is spending its first summer without mom. The bear chasing her was a four year old subadult. I have not see an older, larger bear, only subadults. I can't believe how big they are and the big bears have not arrived yet. I feel good about today. I actually think everything that happened was great even the close call. It is another thing I never thought I could do and I am surviving.
No comments:
Post a Comment