Alaska Man Monday: Leftovers and Fat Bears

The Alaska State Fair has closed up. Our local farmers’ market has likewise closed up. Alaska’s people, like Alaska’s bears, are planning to hunker down and hibernate through another Alaska winter. Oh, we people don’t really hibernate, but with a few exceptions, like our musher pals, we pull in our horns a little when the big white blanket comes down.

So, what happens to all the vegetables left over from the Alaska State Fair? Seems that a uniquely Alaskan solution is the answer: Feed them to bears.

It’s a problem we all face: what to do with all those leftover vegetables so they don’t go to waste? The Alaska State Fair, in conjunction with the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, has devised a solution to the age-old problem: feeding them to the bears.
“This year, they’re getting a lot of cabbage. That was pretty cool to see. We’ve got some carrots mixed in. Everybody loves carrots and then we also have some zucchinis,” said Sarah Howard, Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center Executive Director.
With so many vegetables to choose from, the animals get a smorgasbord of options, which provide them with enrichment as well as a healthy meal, but some are more skeptical than others.
“A lot of our hoof stock animals will kind of, they’ll look at us throw it in and they’ll look at the cabbage or whatever it is and then they’ll kind of look at us like, ‘What do I do with that?’” Howard said.
“Then with the bears, because we’ve been doing it so long and we zhuzh them up and we kind of have some fun with it, the bears, I think, know when the tractor comes in, ‘Something good is about to come my way,’” she continued.

These aren’t wild bears, mind you. They’re more or less tame bears, living in the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center down in Portage. Wild bears, well, you don’t want them to start associating people with food. But these bears already do. This makes it a good idea, and the bears, we might note, are in that time of year where they are packing on every ounce they can in preparation for sleeping through the winter.

”I’m just so thankful because it’s such a fun day for all the animals. They get really into it, they don’t get this kind of big enrichment that often and so especially driving in with a tractor and letting the bears just kind of rip through the bucket, that’s not something we allow the bears to do all the time,” Howard explained.
The bears know the sign of a good time and will sometimes put on a show for the crowd that has gathered to watch.

Alaska Man score: 5 happy bears.

And, get ready, because Fat Bear Week is almost here.

The bears are expected to be larger and fatter this year due to the significant salmon run in Bristol Bay. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game predicted nearly 49.8 million fish would run in the Bay area this year. Bruce says about 20 percent of that comes through Brooks River.
“We’ve never seen so many fish in this river. There was almost not enough water for all of the fish. It was like you could walk across the river and never touch the water because you’re walking across fish backs. So really, really strong run this year.”

I remember my uncle, a Marine in the Pacific during World War II, making a similar comparison: that in late 1945, you could walk from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo by stepping from deck to deck of all the U.S. Navy ships. Personally, I'd rather walk across salmon.

Alaska Man score: We’ll reserve judgment until we see all the bears.

Now, a few words about Charlie Kirk. This has to be said. Please note that this was recorded on the day Charlie was killed, so there is no mention of developments since. This was my first raw impression.

We'll get back to Alaska next week.