Popeye

Most of all the bears I have come in contact with have been subadults. These teenage acting bears are at the age where exploration into new worlds is common and at this age they try to interact with the human world more than adults or cubs. Their curosity gets the better of them. I have been wondering if I would be able to keep a full adult out of camp if the need would arise. As they are bigger and stronger than subadults. I found that out today.

We got a report that a bear was trying to enter camp by the visitor center. My partner and I walked down to see who was trying to invade camp. Both of us were thinking that Tundra was making another appearance but this bear was not Tundra. This bear was a very big boy. He had dark brown fur and a very determined look about him. I was told that this was Popeye. I didn't have to be told why he was given that name. You all know the story of Popeye, the sailor who when ate a can of spinach had arms that swelled in size, full of muscle to take out the bad guys. The bear Popeye had the features of Popeye's swollen arms in all four of his legs. His legs looked to be the size of tree trunks.

This huge bear was off the beach and in the woods but not into camp yet. We shadowed him on the boundry of the camp with me hoping he stayed where he was because I was not sure he would listen to me. Unfortunately, he was determined to cut through camp to get to the marsh on the other side. As he made his way towards the camp both my partner and I kicked dirt towards the bear and yelled no at him. Sounds kind of dumb I know but this time the movement kept Popeye from entering camp. But I have to tell you I had to look up to this big guy and I am 5'2" tall. He was on all fours. We stopped shadowing him when he had reached the end of our boundry and we watched him stalk into the marsh. He gave us one last look then moved along his way. All I can say is that he was a very big bear!