Google Real Alaskan Adventures in the Wild of Alaska: Worried Awareness- Grizzlies are in the Air!

Worried Awareness- Grizzlies are in the Air!


There's a scent floating around the mountainside woods at my place. A scent neither myself nor the Moose have smelled since late last fall. It's early spring now 40's during the day and high 20's at night, that's the first week of April in Alaska. No daffodils yet! We still have 2 feet of snow here on Bald Mountain.
When the snow begins to melt during the day that water can enter some of the bear dens especially the younger ones who have not figured out about dening on the north side of gulley’s so that don't happen. North slopes don't get the sun in early April. The Sun hits those areas later in the month or early May. In my book I speak about these juvenile bears that have much to learn once they are on their own.

To the Moose, a young Grizzly smells just like an old Grizzly and that smells like trouble. As I said before, the Moose have not smelled this scent since last fall and now, SOME of the boys are back in town!
Her "worried awareness" is quite evident by her expression.

Her ears have her back covered (they are both trained in that direction) and her eyes see a little bit ahead of her and she can see good on both sides.  The nose of a Moose is very good too and they can scent things 100's of yards away BUT the Grizzlies is ten times better or more!
The cows with calves are the ones that are nervous all the time about the Grizzlies. Many Moose calves are taken by these bears each year. In fact, there are areas where Grizzlies are prolific and decimating the Moose populations here. Along the corridors of the Chilikadrotna and Mulchatna rivers in western Alaska is one current example. The Moose generally make it though, as long as the wolves don't proliferate to the point they are in the game too! THEN the Moose ARE GONE!

I feel bad for the Moose this year. They had a rough winter this year and now the Grizzlies are in the air...