The reason I went to Katmai Bay with my partners was to place cameras on the top of a hill overlooking a sedge meadow that is in the area. Sedge meadows are one of brown bears favorite food next to salmon. Katmai Bay is our control area. Here no one but us biologist come. It does not get tourist to bear watch or people to hunt or fish. The bay is a long distance from anywhere. It took us an hour to fly there. So we take pictures of the bear behavior without human interaction and compare that to pictures taken at other areas of the park where there is high people interaction, like at Brooks Camp or the bays of the northern coast. The camera take pictures every 30 minutes and every three weeks once we put the cameras up one of us biologist will fly in and change the SD card. During the winter we will go through and study all the photos taken and do comparisons.
On the 2nd Day there after our bear encounter we packed up all the gear and headed to the camera site. The camera site was about a mile from our camp site. We could have taken two ways to get there. We could have walked the ridge that was heavy in Alder tree growth or walk down to the bottom of the hill and cross the sedge meadow then climb up. If bears have bedrooms they would be in the heavy Alder trees. Not a safe way to go. So we packed up all the gear and headed down into the sedge meadow.
A little ways away from us was a female bear having breakfast. We began to say our "hay bears" and just like they said in training the female moved away from us. Good thing too as none of us were ready for another close encounter. When we got to the area where the camera was to go I looked up and said you have got to be kidding. The area that the cameras were suppose to go was no longer on a hill but a cliff. A very tall cliff with what looked like no way up. The other biologist had been here the previous year and said there was a little path that would take us up there.
The little path up the cliff was quite narrow and was made of dirt and lose rocks. The intern started up. All of us were wearing heavy packs and had items in both hands and I was carrying the shotgun over my shoulder. As the intern climbed rocks and dirt rolled down on to us. I let him get about half way up then I began to climb. I moved the solar panels that I was carrying up then pulled my body up. Once the intern made it to the top he dropped his gear and came back down for the solar panels and the gun. I was almost to the top and was crawling under a tree branch when my pack got stuck. The intern had to come down again and help me get unstuck. It was not a pleasant hike and it was raining the whole time. Once I was up the intern went down to grab things from the other biologist and I helped her up as she took her last few steps. Then the three of us dropped to the ground and rested with the rain falling down but none of us cared.
It took about 2 hours to get everything set up and the cameras in the right position to take pitures. Electric fencing went around the cameras and then we camalflouge the cameras to make them seem part of the surroundings. Personally I don't think it worked but it wasn't my study or my plan. Then it was time to go back down. Down is always easier and this time even more so as we hardly carried any wieght. But now the path was even more slippery because of all the more rain that had fallen. My choice of decent was on my butt that way I had more of me on the ground to keep from falling. Though you had to look at the bottom and how dangerous it would be if you fell. The intern fell the last couple feet on his way down but us too females made it a slow and muddy slide down both on our backsides. The intern was all right but just as muddy as the two of us.By the time we got back to camp we were exhausted and decided to take a nap before we did anymore work.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Close Encounters of the Bear Kind
Before I tell my story tonight there are a few facts you should know.
1. A bear that is 0 - 2 years old is called a cub and stays with his mother. A bear that is 3 - 5 is called a subadult, basically they are teenagers who are trying to find their way in the world after leaving mom. Over the age of five they are adults, maybe not full grown but adults.
2. When a bear is aggressive he will first yawn, then froth at the mouth and make popping sounds. If it feels threatened it will fake charge you. these are signs that you might be in trouble.
Now that you understand those facts the story will make more sense to you. We had arrived at Katmai Bay the day before the bear encounter takes place. We made camp on a plateau of a hillside looking out across the bay. We are surrounded by about 6 ft hill on three sides which we thought would protect our tents from the wind which was blowing at 20 mph. There were three of us in the group and each of us had our own tents. The tents were placed near the back of the plateau, our gear tent was placed in the middle of this area and we had bear barrels full of food stored at the opposite end of the area. Around all of this we strung an electrical fence and hooked the charger to solar powered batteries.
Day 2 at Katmai Bay. We wake up to rain. We cook breakfast and were just finishing eating when we notice a bear across the bay. Katmai Bay is very shallow and when the tide is low there are long sandbars that appear in the water. The bear we see is on one of these sandbars but a distance from us. As we are watching he starts to make his way through the water coming to the shore directly at the bottom of the hill from our camp sight. As he reaches the shore he looks directly up at us. So the three of us did what we were trained to do. We stood close together and waved our arms and yelled yah bear. We talked to it saying things like not up here and go away, follow the beach.
The bear however decided we needed to be checked out. He started to climb the hill. Needless to say we yelled a little louder and waved our arms a little more frantically. Still the bear came. He walked up the hillside on the left side of our camp and stopped. He was 10 feet away from us on the bear barrel side of the enclosure. We noticed that the bear was frothing at the mouth. Not a good thing. We continued to yell. We grabbed pots and pans and banged them together. We used anything that would make noice. All the things told to us in bear training would discourage a bear.
Not this bear. He walked straight ahead but farther down our enclosure then turned and headed towards us. He was heading directly towards my tent. We moved over to the other side of the enclosure and yelled some more. Now remember that the winds are 20 mph and it is raining.
The bear is now 4 feet from us. One of my partners had their bear spray ready but because of the wind we didn't want to use it. The reason being two fold. One, because of the wind we might get sprayed instead of the bear- not good. Two- after about 30 minutes bear spray becomes an attractant to bears because it begins to smell like food so we would have had to move our camp.
I had a safety flare on me so I ignited it. Red flames shot out of the end of the flare. I held it out for the bear to see. It moved a couple of steps closer. I took a step forward and was waving my arms in wide arcs yelling at the top of my lungs. The bear stopped. I kept waving my arms, my partners were stomping their feet and yelling with me. The bear kept staring at us. The only thing between us and the bear besides the three feet of space was our electric fence. The electric fence run by solar power. It was raining. I hope you understand.
Finally, the bear turned back up the hill. He walked around the top of the hill around our enclosure then disappeared down the back side. We kept up our yelling for about five minutes, then one of my partners climbed up the hill to see where the bear went. He was a distance from us heading away.
The other biologist in the group looked at me and said I didn't like that bear. Our intern was pretty shaken up. He was from Detroit and it was his first bear encounter of any kind. Me, I burned my hand from the drippings of the flare and didn't even realize it. My bear spray and my knife were always in arms reach the rest of the trip.
The two of us biologist knew the bear was a subadult. The intern from Detroit said he couldn't believe it was just a subadult it was the biggest bear he had ever seen. My partner and I just told him it was a teenager trying to show us he was something to reckon with. I am not sure that comforted the intern. The other biologist went over to the solar panels and gave it a kick and and said "piece of shit." Then we laughed.
1. A bear that is 0 - 2 years old is called a cub and stays with his mother. A bear that is 3 - 5 is called a subadult, basically they are teenagers who are trying to find their way in the world after leaving mom. Over the age of five they are adults, maybe not full grown but adults.
2. When a bear is aggressive he will first yawn, then froth at the mouth and make popping sounds. If it feels threatened it will fake charge you. these are signs that you might be in trouble.
Now that you understand those facts the story will make more sense to you. We had arrived at Katmai Bay the day before the bear encounter takes place. We made camp on a plateau of a hillside looking out across the bay. We are surrounded by about 6 ft hill on three sides which we thought would protect our tents from the wind which was blowing at 20 mph. There were three of us in the group and each of us had our own tents. The tents were placed near the back of the plateau, our gear tent was placed in the middle of this area and we had bear barrels full of food stored at the opposite end of the area. Around all of this we strung an electrical fence and hooked the charger to solar powered batteries.
Day 2 at Katmai Bay. We wake up to rain. We cook breakfast and were just finishing eating when we notice a bear across the bay. Katmai Bay is very shallow and when the tide is low there are long sandbars that appear in the water. The bear we see is on one of these sandbars but a distance from us. As we are watching he starts to make his way through the water coming to the shore directly at the bottom of the hill from our camp sight. As he reaches the shore he looks directly up at us. So the three of us did what we were trained to do. We stood close together and waved our arms and yelled yah bear. We talked to it saying things like not up here and go away, follow the beach.
The bear however decided we needed to be checked out. He started to climb the hill. Needless to say we yelled a little louder and waved our arms a little more frantically. Still the bear came. He walked up the hillside on the left side of our camp and stopped. He was 10 feet away from us on the bear barrel side of the enclosure. We noticed that the bear was frothing at the mouth. Not a good thing. We continued to yell. We grabbed pots and pans and banged them together. We used anything that would make noice. All the things told to us in bear training would discourage a bear.
Not this bear. He walked straight ahead but farther down our enclosure then turned and headed towards us. He was heading directly towards my tent. We moved over to the other side of the enclosure and yelled some more. Now remember that the winds are 20 mph and it is raining.
The bear is now 4 feet from us. One of my partners had their bear spray ready but because of the wind we didn't want to use it. The reason being two fold. One, because of the wind we might get sprayed instead of the bear- not good. Two- after about 30 minutes bear spray becomes an attractant to bears because it begins to smell like food so we would have had to move our camp.
I had a safety flare on me so I ignited it. Red flames shot out of the end of the flare. I held it out for the bear to see. It moved a couple of steps closer. I took a step forward and was waving my arms in wide arcs yelling at the top of my lungs. The bear stopped. I kept waving my arms, my partners were stomping their feet and yelling with me. The bear kept staring at us. The only thing between us and the bear besides the three feet of space was our electric fence. The electric fence run by solar power. It was raining. I hope you understand.
Finally, the bear turned back up the hill. He walked around the top of the hill around our enclosure then disappeared down the back side. We kept up our yelling for about five minutes, then one of my partners climbed up the hill to see where the bear went. He was a distance from us heading away.
The other biologist in the group looked at me and said I didn't like that bear. Our intern was pretty shaken up. He was from Detroit and it was his first bear encounter of any kind. Me, I burned my hand from the drippings of the flare and didn't even realize it. My bear spray and my knife were always in arms reach the rest of the trip.
The two of us biologist knew the bear was a subadult. The intern from Detroit said he couldn't believe it was just a subadult it was the biggest bear he had ever seen. My partner and I just told him it was a teenager trying to show us he was something to reckon with. I am not sure that comforted the intern. The other biologist went over to the solar panels and gave it a kick and and said "piece of shit." Then we laughed.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
In An Instant It Was Green
Today I got up and went for a walk with my dog. Another rainy day and another day of waiting to get to Katmai Bay. Things looked pretty much the same. The trees were budding out and bits of grass were turning green. Then the Sun came out. It was an amazing transformation from this morning. The trees had suddenly leafed out and the grass was a lot more green. The walk home from work was like I had walked it the first time. The Eskimo River was lined in green voliage. I love the way nature looks after a thunderstorm. The lightening always greens things up but they don't get thunderstorms here. Just the rain and the sun. It made people in the neighborhood start planting their gardens. I think when I get back I will plant a small garden also. I hear that onions and potatoes grow great here along with lettuce.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
It All Depends on the Weather
Today I was to fly to Katmai Bay for a four day trip. Katmai Bay is on the east coast of Katmai National Park. We would have taken the Beaver in, landed in the water and pulled the boat to the beach, unloaded all our gear and begin our work. I was all excited as I was hoping to see Marine Life, for instance, maybe a seal, or gray whale. You know something cool.
I put on my pack of gear and headed out the door. It was gray and about 50% cloud cover but no rain. by the 8:05 flight briefing gale force winds were attacking the coast and it had started to rain in King Salmon. The weather report said it was to get worse as the day went on. All flights for the day were cancelled. The outlook for the rest of the week looks grim. That is working life in Alaska. At the 2:30 flight briefing we were given a 2.5% chance for a go tomorrow. The pilot didn't want to dash all our hopes. But who knows.
On Friday of last week the only thing I had on my agenda for Saturday was to meet with the team for Katmai Bay and get gear around and groceries bought. Friday at lunch I was told that there was an Eagle meeting at 8:00 am. I flew home from brooks camp at 4:30 that afternoon. The meeting was still at 8:00 am. When the flight landed 25 minutes later I was told the group flying in from Lake Clark NP were not going to be able to get here till 10:30. Saturday morning I was called and told that their plane was having some difficulties and the meeting was postponed until 12:30. At 11:30 I was called and told that the meeting was going to start at Noon because they would be arriving sooner than expected. By the time I got that call I was Naknek doing the grocery shopping for the trip and I just told them that I would not be there at noon as I was still doing the shopping for Katmai Bay. By the time I got to the office the meeting was over.
Yesterday two groups went out in the bush. They are suppose to be picked up on Thursday. If the winds don't die down they will be left there until it is safe to fly. Those teams packed for an extra three days, which is how many days extra we bought food for. I guess it is not uncommon to spend a few extra days because of weather delays. You can not be uptight in Alaska you have to go with the flow and adapt to the up to the minute changes. It does make life interesting.
I put on my pack of gear and headed out the door. It was gray and about 50% cloud cover but no rain. by the 8:05 flight briefing gale force winds were attacking the coast and it had started to rain in King Salmon. The weather report said it was to get worse as the day went on. All flights for the day were cancelled. The outlook for the rest of the week looks grim. That is working life in Alaska. At the 2:30 flight briefing we were given a 2.5% chance for a go tomorrow. The pilot didn't want to dash all our hopes. But who knows.
On Friday of last week the only thing I had on my agenda for Saturday was to meet with the team for Katmai Bay and get gear around and groceries bought. Friday at lunch I was told that there was an Eagle meeting at 8:00 am. I flew home from brooks camp at 4:30 that afternoon. The meeting was still at 8:00 am. When the flight landed 25 minutes later I was told the group flying in from Lake Clark NP were not going to be able to get here till 10:30. Saturday morning I was called and told that their plane was having some difficulties and the meeting was postponed until 12:30. At 11:30 I was called and told that the meeting was going to start at Noon because they would be arriving sooner than expected. By the time I got that call I was Naknek doing the grocery shopping for the trip and I just told them that I would not be there at noon as I was still doing the shopping for Katmai Bay. By the time I got to the office the meeting was over.
Yesterday two groups went out in the bush. They are suppose to be picked up on Thursday. If the winds don't die down they will be left there until it is safe to fly. Those teams packed for an extra three days, which is how many days extra we bought food for. I guess it is not uncommon to spend a few extra days because of weather delays. You can not be uptight in Alaska you have to go with the flow and adapt to the up to the minute changes. It does make life interesting.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Life in the town of King Salmon
So today I thought I would talk about what life has been like in King Salmon the month that I have been here. No one here actually calls King Salmon a town. If you are going to town it means that your heading to Anchorage. It took me a while to realize that. But yes if you say your going to town, you mean, your hopping on a plane flying a hour and a half to go to Anchorage. There are two main reasons to go to Anchorage. One to see a doctor as there are no Doctors here. Or two to buy food. The biggest place everyone wants to go is Cosco. You might head over there if your going to buy a new car, 4 wheeler, or boat but it is not a big reason for anyone to go to town.
Food buying is as big of conversation topic as the weather. Whenever anyone finds a new place to shop online they let everyone know. Places that have big bargins on everyday items puts big smiles on peoples faces. And you would think gold was discovered when Amazon.com let Alaskans have free shipping. You can now spend $25 on food through them and it is shipped free. I think pools have all ready begun to see how long that will last.
I have all ready told you that we have to take our garbage to the local dumpster. Being a city girl from the lower 48 garbage was always picked up by a big garbage truck. Thats what I thought happened here only they just emptied the dumpsters to save on gas. Nope. Here two guys in a pick-up truck drive around to the dumpsters picking up bags of trash and then they haul it to the dump. Usually, I'm told, they pick up the garbage around 10 am. but if it is basketball season you had better have your trash out early.
Everyone in here knows everyone. I had been gone for over a week to go to Brooks Camp and the lady at the grocery and the postmaster asked me where I had been. Since I have only been a resident for a month that is pretty inpressive.
I have learned not to take anything for granted. For example, there are days when basic necessities aren't available. The grocery store has been out of milk twice now. Eggs are hard to come by but I am good as I bought 18 dozen a couple of weeks ago. I have learned that flour is more valuable than gold. A five pound bage of flour is $14. 25 pounds will run almost $50. And to think I use to buy it at Sams club for $8 for 25 pounds.
Life is built here around the salmon and in a few days they should start to arrive and with the fish come the wildlife. We have yet to see anything bigger than the red fox in town but yesterday we saw fresh tracks of a wolf. Supposedly the bears will be wandering the neighborhood soon. Life is quiet and time is told by the arrival of the Penn airflights and the Cargo plane that arrives once a day. It is totally different from life in the 48. I think I like that.
Food buying is as big of conversation topic as the weather. Whenever anyone finds a new place to shop online they let everyone know. Places that have big bargins on everyday items puts big smiles on peoples faces. And you would think gold was discovered when Amazon.com let Alaskans have free shipping. You can now spend $25 on food through them and it is shipped free. I think pools have all ready begun to see how long that will last.
I have all ready told you that we have to take our garbage to the local dumpster. Being a city girl from the lower 48 garbage was always picked up by a big garbage truck. Thats what I thought happened here only they just emptied the dumpsters to save on gas. Nope. Here two guys in a pick-up truck drive around to the dumpsters picking up bags of trash and then they haul it to the dump. Usually, I'm told, they pick up the garbage around 10 am. but if it is basketball season you had better have your trash out early.
Everyone in here knows everyone. I had been gone for over a week to go to Brooks Camp and the lady at the grocery and the postmaster asked me where I had been. Since I have only been a resident for a month that is pretty inpressive.
I have learned not to take anything for granted. For example, there are days when basic necessities aren't available. The grocery store has been out of milk twice now. Eggs are hard to come by but I am good as I bought 18 dozen a couple of weeks ago. I have learned that flour is more valuable than gold. A five pound bage of flour is $14. 25 pounds will run almost $50. And to think I use to buy it at Sams club for $8 for 25 pounds.
Life is built here around the salmon and in a few days they should start to arrive and with the fish come the wildlife. We have yet to see anything bigger than the red fox in town but yesterday we saw fresh tracks of a wolf. Supposedly the bears will be wandering the neighborhood soon. Life is quiet and time is told by the arrival of the Penn airflights and the Cargo plane that arrives once a day. It is totally different from life in the 48. I think I like that.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
The Thing About Moose
Today in the office I was going over past moose reports. I came across a paper that explained how to record moose seen from the air while on a flight survey. I will be doing these types of surveys in November and early December. By this time there will be snow on the ground which makes it easier to see the moose especially if the vegetation has snow on it. The snow may start to fall here as early as August. Which is a couple of months earlier than I am use to but thats all right because I love the snow.
The surveys have to be done by early December as the males will be shedding their racks by mid December and from the air it will be hard to tell males and females apart. According to this paper, males come in three sizes, small, medium and large. To tell them apart you examine them from directly above and look at the rack. A yearly doesn't have any tines yet. Tines are the points on the paddle part of the rack. 2-3 year olds may have one tine and the larger the bull the larger and more tines he has. Then it said you fly around again ( which is the third time you've circled the moose because you had to fly by it once to spot it.) This time you try to look at it from the side. According to this guide a small bulls body looks like a square, a medium size moose has a body that looks like a rectangle and the large bulls have a trapoziod body shape. To go with the description they had little pictures with the shapes drawn over the bodies.
The paper also talked about the mother moose and her calf. It said that if a moose bends its head down to touch another moose that moose is female. Male moose to not do that behavior. A calf will be a lot smaller than the mother. I think that would be common sense but maybe long ago there was an intern who could not tell the difference and now it has to be explained. The paper went on to describe how a moose will react to your low flying plane. If you witness a female she will try to get to thicker cover. Usually she runs off and hopes that the calf will follow. You will not see a mother chase a calf to safety. Then the paper went on to say that groups of male moose will get worked up and fighting among them would be common. And eventually one or more of the moose will think the plane is part of the game and chase after your plane. Now that would be a sight to see.
The part I liked best was there was a note from the author which said after the second day of flying he was no longer airsick and the surveys went much better. Also good to know.
The surveys have to be done by early December as the males will be shedding their racks by mid December and from the air it will be hard to tell males and females apart. According to this paper, males come in three sizes, small, medium and large. To tell them apart you examine them from directly above and look at the rack. A yearly doesn't have any tines yet. Tines are the points on the paddle part of the rack. 2-3 year olds may have one tine and the larger the bull the larger and more tines he has. Then it said you fly around again ( which is the third time you've circled the moose because you had to fly by it once to spot it.) This time you try to look at it from the side. According to this guide a small bulls body looks like a square, a medium size moose has a body that looks like a rectangle and the large bulls have a trapoziod body shape. To go with the description they had little pictures with the shapes drawn over the bodies.
The paper also talked about the mother moose and her calf. It said that if a moose bends its head down to touch another moose that moose is female. Male moose to not do that behavior. A calf will be a lot smaller than the mother. I think that would be common sense but maybe long ago there was an intern who could not tell the difference and now it has to be explained. The paper went on to describe how a moose will react to your low flying plane. If you witness a female she will try to get to thicker cover. Usually she runs off and hopes that the calf will follow. You will not see a mother chase a calf to safety. Then the paper went on to say that groups of male moose will get worked up and fighting among them would be common. And eventually one or more of the moose will think the plane is part of the game and chase after your plane. Now that would be a sight to see.
The part I liked best was there was a note from the author which said after the second day of flying he was no longer airsick and the surveys went much better. Also good to know.
Facts on Drowning
We spent one day talking about drowning so I thought I would pass some facts on to you.
1. Aquatic deaths are the second leading cause of accidental fatalities under the age of 44.
2. One seventh of all drownings are boat related.
3. Men drown four times as frequently as women.
4. Blacks are twice as likely to die from drowning as whites.
5. Over 50% of drowning victims had been drinking.
6. 50% of drowning victims occur outside the months of June, July, and August.
7. You are twice as likely to die of drowning in Canada than the U.S.
8. You are ten times more likely to drown in Alaska than the lower 48.
9. 2/3 of drowning victims are non-swimmers-or poor swimmers.
10. Most drowning victims are fully clothed and did not intend to go into the water.
11. 85% of boating accident victims could have lived if wearing a PFD (Personal Flotation Device).
12. The primary drowning victim is 18- 24 year old white male that is intoxicated with his zipper down.
13. Most drownings are within 10 feet of safety/50 feet from shore.
14. 60% of all drownings are witnessed.
15. The longest submersion with complete recovery was 66 minutes.
16. Most drownings tend to involve fully clothed, panicked non-or poor swimmers or good swimmers who have compromised their swimming skills through injury, or alcohol/drug use-overuse.
17. Sudden immersion triggers an uncontrollable physiological progression, which-unless interrupted by a rescuer , will end in death.
a. They are driven by two basic forces: fear, and the need for air.
b. They can not hear, see, or think, or respond.
c. They will attempt to elevate themselves through uncontrolled climbing upon anything or anyone.
d. They demonstrate four classic indications of drowning.
1. Their head is back
2. Their mouth is open but not verbalizing!
3. They move both arms simultaneously in an above the water breast stroke.
4, Their head bobs up and down above/below the surface.
18. A small child can drown in 20 seconds.
19. An adult can drown in 60 seconds.
20. An intoxicated person can drown in water no deeper than their hips.
21. An intoxicant, even if found immediately after drowning, may be difficult or impossible to resuscitate.
22. When attempting to rescue someone remember this priority: YOU, Your Partner, the victim. DON'T become another victim.
23. Cold water victims are not dead until they are warmed and dead. Start CPR immediately and continue until help arrives. The victim is still alive until warmed and dead. (This rule was repeated over and over as Alaskan waters are cold.)
24. Use these rules for rescue attempts
a. Talk first to the person as they may not realize that they are in shallow water
b. Reach for the person if it is safe
c. Throw a object for them to reach for, do not tie that item to yourself.
d. Row - go out to the victim
e. Never get into the water if at all possible and don't go in if you are not a qualified rescuer as the victim could take you under. Do not become a victim.
1. Aquatic deaths are the second leading cause of accidental fatalities under the age of 44.
2. One seventh of all drownings are boat related.
3. Men drown four times as frequently as women.
4. Blacks are twice as likely to die from drowning as whites.
5. Over 50% of drowning victims had been drinking.
6. 50% of drowning victims occur outside the months of June, July, and August.
7. You are twice as likely to die of drowning in Canada than the U.S.
8. You are ten times more likely to drown in Alaska than the lower 48.
9. 2/3 of drowning victims are non-swimmers-or poor swimmers.
10. Most drowning victims are fully clothed and did not intend to go into the water.
11. 85% of boating accident victims could have lived if wearing a PFD (Personal Flotation Device).
12. The primary drowning victim is 18- 24 year old white male that is intoxicated with his zipper down.
13. Most drownings are within 10 feet of safety/50 feet from shore.
14. 60% of all drownings are witnessed.
15. The longest submersion with complete recovery was 66 minutes.
16. Most drownings tend to involve fully clothed, panicked non-or poor swimmers or good swimmers who have compromised their swimming skills through injury, or alcohol/drug use-overuse.
17. Sudden immersion triggers an uncontrollable physiological progression, which-unless interrupted by a rescuer , will end in death.
a. They are driven by two basic forces: fear, and the need for air.
b. They can not hear, see, or think, or respond.
c. They will attempt to elevate themselves through uncontrolled climbing upon anything or anyone.
d. They demonstrate four classic indications of drowning.
1. Their head is back
2. Their mouth is open but not verbalizing!
3. They move both arms simultaneously in an above the water breast stroke.
4, Their head bobs up and down above/below the surface.
18. A small child can drown in 20 seconds.
19. An adult can drown in 60 seconds.
20. An intoxicated person can drown in water no deeper than their hips.
21. An intoxicant, even if found immediately after drowning, may be difficult or impossible to resuscitate.
22. When attempting to rescue someone remember this priority: YOU, Your Partner, the victim. DON'T become another victim.
23. Cold water victims are not dead until they are warmed and dead. Start CPR immediately and continue until help arrives. The victim is still alive until warmed and dead. (This rule was repeated over and over as Alaskan waters are cold.)
24. Use these rules for rescue attempts
a. Talk first to the person as they may not realize that they are in shallow water
b. Reach for the person if it is safe
c. Throw a object for them to reach for, do not tie that item to yourself.
d. Row - go out to the victim
e. Never get into the water if at all possible and don't go in if you are not a qualified rescuer as the victim could take you under. Do not become a victim.
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