| Early May on Kodiak Island. Fog drowns the | | | | before chasing them off. |
| lush forest in mystery. Spattered across a | | | | |
| black earthen floor, slushy snow melts in | | | | No skill is more important to a Kodiak than |
| shadowy rings. From a wooded den, a shaggy | | | | eating, and this activity takes up most of |
| brown head appears. Unbelievable in size, the | | | | its waking hours. Although classified as a |
| creature emerges slowly. Ursus arctos | | | | carnivore, bears are actually omnivorous, and |
| middendorffi, Alaska's Kodiak Bear, awakes | | | | eat everything from grasses and berries to |
| from her long winter's nap. She's not alone. | | | | fish and carrion. Eating patterns maximize |
| Snuggled close to her massive front paws sit | | | | nutritional content. Emerging from their dens |
| two cubs, the size of stuffed Teddy bears. | | | | as early as March, bears will eat grass and |
| Together they weigh only twenty pounds, and | | | | sedges in the spring when they grow most |
| are hardly noticeable in comparison to their | | | | abundantly. They feast on fish when the |
| 500 pound mother. Though large, the sow is | | | | salmon run begins in the summer. These months |
| lean, for she has lost 30% of her body weight | | | | are crucial as bears must gain three to six |
| over the winter. Giving birth, nursing, and | | | | pounds of fat per day to survive hibernation. |
| caring for her young has taken its toll, and | | | | This is the time to catch a glimpse of the |
| now is the season for eating. One at a time, | | | | bear in the wild, as they will compete over |
| she carries her cubs in her jaw out of the | | | | the best fishing spots along a stream. As the |
| den and sets them rolling on the forest | | | | salmon supply dwindles, bears turn their |
| floor. | | | | attention to berries, which are at their peak |
| | | | as autumn approaches. If the food supply has |
| Kodiak Island is sometimes called "Alaska's | | | | not been adequate, a bear may not hibernate. |
| Emerald Isle." With knobby mountains, | | | | |
| countless waterfalls, finger lakes, and deep | | | | At about five or six years old, female |
| narrow inlets, it could well be called | | | | Kodiaks begin breeding. Bears are serially |
| Neverland, for it is the place of fantasy. | | | | monogamous, and boars will sometimes fight |
| After Hawaii, it is the second largest island | | | | over a mate, sometimes causing serious |
| in the United States, 3,800 square miles | | | | injuries. Mating season peaks in June, |
| largely devoted to the vast National Wildlife | | | | although embryo implantation will not occur |
| Refuge. With 117 salmon streams, 14 major | | | | until the impregnated sow is denned in |
| watersheds, and less than 100 miles of road, | | | | November. Only if she has gained the |
| it is the perfect place for the Kodiak Bear. | | | | necessary weight for hibernation will the |
| | | | embryo implant and the eight week gestation |
| Kodiak Bears have existed on this island for | | | | begin. |
| 12,000 years. With their stream-lined noses | | | | |
| and larger bone structure-they are the | | | | In response to the winter food shortage, |
| world's largest bear-Kodiaks are the only | | | | bears hibernate through the winter months. |
| scientifically recognized sub-species of the | | | | During this time they will not eat, urinate, |
| Brown Bear. Separated as they are from the | | | | or defecate. Astonishingly, they lose very |
| continent, Kodiaks have a smaller gene pool. | | | | little bone mass or muscle tone. But |
| But this is not the only difference. Other | | | | hibernating bears are not unconscious. |
| bears, grizzlies and browns, require one or | | | | Although their body temperatures drop close |
| two hundred miles for survival, taking their | | | | to the surrounding temperature, bears' |
| food requirement into account. Here on Kodiak | | | | metabolic rates remain high. They curl up to |
| Island, where food is abundant, the | | | | conserve heat, and may change their positions |
| population of bears is denser than anywhere | | | | in their dens. Aroused, bears may even |
| else on earth. There are 0.7 bears per square | | | | attack, although this is very rare. Only one |
| mile, a total population of close to 3,000 | | | | person has been killed by a Kodiak Bear in |
| bears on Kodiak and the surrounding | | | | the last 75 years. Bear-caused injuries occur |
| archipelagos. Due to their close proximity, | | | | about one every other year on the island. |
| these bruins have developed a more diverse | | | | |
| social structure, with large boars and sows | | | | Although they are the largest predator on the |
| with cubs vying for dominance. Single | | | | earth, bears are normally shy and not |
| subadults, aged 3 to 5 years take up the | | | | aggressive toward humans unless provoked or |
| bottom rungs of the hierarchy. | | | | afraid. With their slot secure at the top of |
| | | | the food chain, the Kodiak's only natural |
| For good reason bears capture the interest | | | | enemy is man. Hunting on Kodiak Island is |
| and hearts of many. Bear watchers, who keep a | | | | only allowed under the tightest of |
| proper distance, sometimes term these | | | | regulations. About 5,000 resident hunters |
| creatures "gentle giants." Adult boars stand | | | | apply per year for one of the 319 bear |
| up to ten feet tall and weigh between 750 and | | | | permits. Non-residents are required to hire a |
| 1,500 pounds. (Females are considerably | | | | professional guide, an expense between |
| smaller at 350-750 pounds.) They live | | | | $10K-$15K per hunt. 160 Kodiak bears are |
| fascinating lives, and are as unique and | | | | killed each season, with 70% of them males. |
| unpredictable as humans. Weighing less than | | | | Otherwise, Kodiak Bears enjoy relatively long |
| one pound, hairless, blind, and toothless, | | | | lives between 20 and 30 years. |
| cubs enter life almost as helpless as human | | | | |
| babies. One to three cubs is born in each | | | | It is not uncommon to hear a bear watcher |
| litter, although sows have been spotted with | | | | speak of their quarry as if they are family. |
| up to five cubs. Litter size largely depends | | | | These outdoorsmen may track a sow and her |
| on the health of the mother and food | | | | cubs for years, and may even give them names. |
| availability. By the end of their first year | | | | Some consider bears our cousins, and |
| of life cubs weigh up to 80 pounds. For two | | | | certainly there is a kinship. Perhaps it |
| to four years cubs remain with their mothers, | | | | started when we squeezed our first Teddy |
| who teach them the skills needed for survival | | | | Bear. |