Letter to the Editor
Roaming polar bear
Published Monday, April 7, 2008
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To the editor:
So! If I see a T-Rex in my yard, am I supposed to shoot it?
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Yes! Please!!!
WHAT? They really think the Polar Bears are going to stay out at sea like the helpless waifs the environmentalist make them out to be? When they can swim to shore (magnificent swimmers they are too!) and move south to find better pickin's....... Whoops there go the cariboo herds.
Back in the '50s, we used to be able to kill the caribou by the hundreds right down on the Bonnefield Trail, now off the end of Cushman street, there they were, thousands of them. Now they are all gone. The wolves killed 'em off.
Back in the late 1800's they shot all the bison on the Great Plains. That saved them from being eaten by the wolves.
johnpauls:
It wasn't the wolves; it was global warming. Get with the program!
Looks like some BOG members are posting.
tom58- lol
jonpauls- I didnt move here until the early seventies, could the fact that our town growing changed there migratory path for the winter or did the herd actually get wiped out?
jonpauls; Maybe the fact that "we used to be able to kill the caribou by the hundreds" killed of the caribou... not the wolves.
mmmmm...T-Rex steaks.
mmmmm...Polar Bear soup!
Yes, shoot the T-Rex. The methane from T-Rex farts led to the global warming that killed the dinosaurs.
And, uh, what should I do if a politician wanders into my yard? I do enjoy a pork roast now and then.
Once the hot air has been removed from a politician there ain't enough left to justify the cost of powder and bullet.
Tim Prusak (and like minded people) - Shoot it? No.
Instead, run out and hug it and pet it, just like you would a polar bear, so it will feel safe and secure and have good self esteem.
<heavy sigh>
Boys at the cost of tags, transportation, and everything else I think it is the only way I will ever get a polar bear hide on my wall. Let them come. I feel safe I just hope the bears can make it through Ft Yukon so we can get into the action. Don't want them to have all of the enjoyment.
On Kodiak I lived just a half mile from the local dump. My family and I enjoyed having brown bears roam through our yard. Kept my boat and trailer in the middle of the backyard so the kids would have a place to climb to if they couldn't make it into the house.
Living in Sitka, my wife and kids were having a picnic on Harbor Mt and just missed a brown bear attack on another picnicker.
Bears and people don't mix well, I get that. but, last National Geographic special I saw said polar bears were just an off shoot of brown bears adapted for the cold and water. If other communities can live with black and brown bears in the area.......... why do the villages up north start a full fledged witch hunt when ever a bear is discovered a few miles from town? If people in Kodiak and Sitka treated bears like the villages north of Fairbanks do - well, there would be no city of Kodiak or Sitka. Everyone would be out hunting bears.
pbrown - Fish & Game confiscated the hide, meat, claws, teeth, skull, and everything else, just like they do with all "defense of life & property" kills.
Check the laws -- you can't hunt polar bears in Alaska regardless of what you might be willing to pay for tags, transportation, etc. You might be able to hunt them in Canada or Siberia, depending on their laws.
You can't even buy the unprocessed hide at the Fish & Game auction -- polar bears are classified as marine mammals so, by federal law, only Alaska Natives are allowed to hunt them and possess unprocessed animal parts. You might be able to buy an already tanned and mounted hide from an Alaska Native -- I'm sure the villager(s) would appreciate the income.
For that matter, try buying a few polar bear hairs just to tie a fishing fly ... if you're willing to risk a federal wildlife conviction. (i.e., conspiracy to commit, etc.)
If you see a T-Rex in you yard, I'd first wonder what are you on. Second, you wouldn't have to ask if you had children around. I'm sure you care about children and your neighbors.
My nephew is four and when he see's a bear like he did last summer, he ran into the house. Fort Yukon is in the woods, and the bears come through town. The children are out and about, cared for by the townpeople. Yes, we do shoot first and ask second when it comes to life...our priority is that the children are our future.
Big difference seeing a white bear, and a T-Rex...living in a city, and living in the wild. The "cute bear" that we were supposed to take a picture of, instead of kill is an opinion from an ignorant person. I'm sure the man that killed the bear knew it would return after it got hungry again. I'm sure he wasn't after the hide. Ask the villagers from the north. They respect the bear enough to hire people just to watch out for them.
So Griff i have a very small piece of actual polar bear fur you think i could get in trouble owning it being non native?
I think you all are missing the point... A T-Rex is feri-nongrata, non native wildlife and not subject to fish & game regulations. Its a free for all. And yes, it could eat our children... Hasn't anyone seen Jurassic Park?
Tony08.. I believe if the polar bear hair has been made into a craft by a Native (it has googlie eyes and was sold as an "ice worm") it is ok. I have seen many such "crafty concoctions" sold for such purposes.
Tony08 - AKFshrmn is right -- notice I said, "unprocessed animal parts." Anyone can own items made from marine mammal parts such as Eskimo Yo-Yo's, hair barettes, piluuguq's, gloves, etc. Hides that are simply tanned is not enough, they must have gone through additional processes.
Alaska Natives can get in just as much trouble selling (or giving) unprocessed items as you can possessing them. That's why many Alaska Natives will ask to see your CIB before they'll sell or trade raw items.
Many consider the "ice worm" craft items to be skirting the edge of the law and I'm not sure how the courts would rule on a hide prepared as a wall mount or rug.
Will you get in trouble for your small piece of fur? I doubt it unless the issue comes up incidental to other law enforcement activity. On the other hand, trying to buy something like a whole hide or a walrus tusk will probably get someone's attention.
BTW - a friend, after years of trying to buy a some polar bear hair to tie a few flies, finally bought an Eskimo Yo-Yo and selectively removed a few hairs. (Don't tell his daughter, she thought he bought it as a present for her.) According to him, polar bear hairs are hollow, providing bouyancy not found in any other animal hair.
Griff
Yes I know that owning raw polar bear is illegal just as owning seal parts or other things found on the sea shores are too but this whole blog is a bit far out anyway, T-Rex the alpha of feral critters. But not to get to excited over the whole thing.
By the by there are many animals like elk and deer that have hollow hair. Makes flies float, its the color that makes the hair important. You must not fish too much.
I believe caribou hide is hollow, too.
What if there's a redneck in my yard? Can I shoot it?
To be on the legal and safe side I guess you should wait till the critter is in your house to shoot it!
Babylon: Got any neighbors you don't like? Just tell the redneck they have a fridge full of Miller Lite and he'll disappear faster than Don Young at a press conference.
AKFshrmn
I'm not sure about your opinion, just debating the issue and looking for some input...
The T-Rex is non native, isn't even around. So is the polar bear, for where it was found. If the kids saw the polar bear in Fort Yukon running down the road at them they probably wouldn't believe it's real. They may have only seen it on t.v., and it may just grab one of the kids. Only then would it be real to them, what would the outcome of the man they may charge be if this happened first? Far as I'm concerned, he was protecting his kids, and this is a precedent. "The law states concerning protecting life"... Every village in Alaska is going to go through changes, the laws needs to be adapted to the changes. Let's not make our laws according to Jurassic Park though, it's only Hollyweird. This very well respected man's reputation, and life is on the line for his actions. He grew up in the woods with the animals, doesn't kill for trophies, or fun. He knew it would return.
When one bear comes, another is surely on the way.
u_2_bare - As far as my opinion goes I do not lament the loss of the bear. It is unfortunate that the bear turned out to be a polar bear, but that is not necessarily germane to the case. The question is whether the bear was indeed shot in "Defense of Life and Property." I am not quite so bold as to state what another persons motives are. I am willing to take it on faith that Mr. Cadzow and Mr. Herbert chose to track down the bear to defend the residents of Ft. Yukon. I would say it is likely that the bear would return, but not altogether certain. The two men did have to track the bear 3 miles out of town after all (not far as far as the bear is concerned I admit). What really gets me is why, if they knew they were hunting a bear, did they bring an AR-15? It is for all intents and purposes not a "bear rifle," it is even barely adequate for humans. The totality of the circumstances is a bit odd, or at least make me question (not judge) their motives. Obviously I am not the jury, and as such I am not qualified to judge whether prosecution is warranted or not.
responding to AKFsrmn, I take it you're a hunter as well? I am, and would prefer a 300 remington mag. Of course since I know this person, and his upbringing I would trust his judgement. They knew the bear would return to the easy food supply, and that it was young and dumb. He has a choice of what rifle to bring, not trying to speak for him. Considering the situation, you won't even know if you'd have to be driving away from the bear as it's trying to grab you off the machine. This may have been on his mind, sure would be on mine since the bear is almost like a cat in it's style of hunting...sneaky. I'd imagine if we had a vote from every village, they'd say he's not due a judgement from anyone. Prosecute him, and a storm may happen. Surely the law should be adjusted for unique circumstances.
Heck NO! Don't shoot it. Not only can you sell tickets for folks to see it you can invite the politicians to go TRex hunting. Remember Jurassic Park, TRex's love lawyers and politicians, they say they taste like chicken.
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