Alaska Man Monday: Bears, Bad Guys, and Baby Birds

We’ve had a long, long rainy spell up here, and every afternoon I look at my lawn with increasing trepidation. It’s getting long, but if I try to mow while it’s raining, not only do I get wet, but the wet grass gunks up the mower blades. They’re saying the rain will keep up for at least another week. Not unusual in mid-summer in Alaska, but… Hoo boy.

Here’s an interesting tidbit involving one of the Great Land’s iconic critters: A brown bear at the Alaska Zoo has been moved to new lodgings after being injured in a fight with another bear.

The female brown bear at the Alaska Zoo who got hurt after a fight with a male brown bear will be moved to a new location near Portage, according to the Alaska Department of Fish & Game.
The fight took place on June 13 and was captured on social media. A TikTok video shows a male bear appearing to bite and latch onto another bear.
The zoo said the female bear suffered “moderate” injuries but has now fully recovered.
The male bear — named Izzy — has lived with other bears for years without prior issues, the zoo said at the time, but has been separated from them for now.
The female bear — originally named Kitty, but now renamed “Taiga” — was transferred to the Alaska Zoo following a confiscation conducted by Fish and Game and the Alaska Wildlife Troopers in June 2025 from the Kroschel Films Wildlife Center in Haines. The center, owned by Steve Kroschel, was the center of an investigation by Alaska Wildlife Troopers that looked into animal safety and neglect concerns.

It’s good that Kitty is OK, but the fight itself isn’t all that surprising. Bears can be unpredictable critters, and the big boars, most of all, as more than a few humans have learned to their regret. But in this case, both bears are OK, and that’s good news. Also, that location near Portage is probably the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, which is a really neat place to visit if you're ever in the area.

Alaska Man score: 5 healthy, happy bears.

In other news, something a bit more serious: A cold murder case up in Fairbanks has been finally closed, and that’s a good thing. Justice isn’t always fast, but this time, it did come around in the end.

A man in Michigan has been arrested and charged with a murder in Fairbanks that took place nearly 33 years ago, according to the Alaska State Troopers.
Troopers report 54-year-old Christopher Popps of Michigan was indicted on two counts of second-degree murder on June 25 in the death of Patrick Dearth of Fairbanks, who was reported missing in November 1993. Dearth was 34 at the time of his disappearance.
On Jan. 22, 2025, Troopers received an anonymous tip from someone they later determined to be Popps, who said he murdered someone in the Fairbanks area in 1993. On May 8, Troopers and investigators traveled to the area where Popps said the body was left.
Troopers found human remains inside a barrel down an embankment near mile 47 of the Steese Highway. The remains were identified by the State Medical Examiner’s Office as Dearth’s.
Dearth was last seen on Nov. 22, 1993. A Fairbanks grand jury indicted Popps for Dearth’s murder in June 2026.
Popps was arrested Thursday by Michigan State Police. He was remanded to Kalamazoo County Jail pending extradition to Alaska. Dearth’s next of kin have been notified.

So, in effect, Christopher Popps turned himself in. Did he have a sudden flash of conscience after all these years? He had to know there’s no statute of limitations on murder. Did he think he would get a break by turning himself in? Who knows? We can’t understand the mind of a murderer, and we should be glad of that.

Whatever the reason, he’s in the pokey now. Good enough.

Alaska Man score: No score for this one. We’ll show some respect for Patrick Dearth’s next of kin.

Now, let’s talk about this year’s crop of feathered critters.

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