A Journey to a New Home
A Bear Story: Part II
[Hi Jim,
Well, I got the update on the bear today, and it was a happy-ending, but not the ending for which I hoped. I'm late finding out all this because I've been gone for 2 weeks.
According to Casey the bear did get rescued by State Trooper two weeks ago today. One of the State Troopers took it home and Casey told him how to take care of it. I called that night and knew the bear had been captured and that Casey was going to go through all the red tape and go up there to bring it home to his place in Montana. It is basically a huge bear compound, where bears that have been mistreated, illegally owned, etc. are taken in and cared for. They have a wonderful home for them on acreage with streams, ponds, waterfalls, etc.
Well, I guess on Monday he started the paperwork, but then it got political. There is a woman who works for Alaska Fish and Game and she is in charge of placing animals such as this little bear. She admitted she'd known about the bear all along and apparently she hoped it would die and she'd not have to do anything about it because she hadn't called anyone to see if they wanted it or anything. So she comes back on Monday and hit the roof because the bear was captured, no one had bothered to call her and had taken it upon themselves to do it. I don't know if she got in trouble for NOT doing anything or what but she raised all sorts of hell, got a bunch of people in trouble for rescuing it, and sent a guy from Fish and Game over to the Troopers house to collect the baby bear so she could euthanize it. The Trooper REFUSED to give it up to be euthanized.
The Fish and Game guy said it was probably stressed from being rescued and in captivity. I wish I had gotten a picture of this but the Trooper brought the Fish and Game man into his living room, where the baby grizzly laid with a stuffed toy and a big fat tummy fast asleep and he said, "He doesn't look stressed to me!" (I could kiss that trooper!!) Anyway, enough people were on the side of the bear so that this woman wasn't allowed to euthanize him but she was so furious at Casey for "interfering" by telling the Trooper how to mix up a formula to feed him that she refused to let him have the bear. Casey was so disappointed and had a few not so nice words to say about her. Definitely a political thing!!
Casey said the last he heard the bear was going to go to one of two places. Either the Alaska Zoo--and I hate to see him have to spend his life in a zoo, but it's better than being dead. OR I guess there is some rehab place up there for bears, where they try to rehabilitate them to return to the wild. I don't know if that's possible with a baby bear that has to be bottle fed by humans unless they place him in a very remote area. Wherever he's ended up-and he's not in Kotzebue anymore and no one up there, that I talked to anyway, knew that Casey did NOT get him---at least he's alive and didn't get torn apart by dogs, wolves or bigger grizzlies or starve to death.
God bless that Alaska Trooper in Kotzebue who took him into his home. He deserves a medal. I'm going to try to find out who he is and send him my gratitude. He may have gotten in trouble but I'll bet he wouldn't give up that experience because it was priceless. Can you even imagine having a baby grizzly to feed a bottle to and sleep on your living room rug with a stuffed toy???
So---just wanted to let you know what happened and that the baby bear was rescued and hopefully will have a good life, though I think he'd have had a better one with Casey. ]
4710 Business Park Blvd., Ste. 18
Anchorage, AK 99503
Tel: (907) 336-8595
Fax: (907) 336-8596
