Frosty the Moose!

Turning cold in Alaska now but the Moose are fine! Note the frost on their backs and how well they must be insulated for that not to melt from body heat.

Our clothing pails in comparison!

Adult cow with her 1 year old calf.

BOOK SIGNING IN LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY!

Hall of Fame Basketball Coach Denny Crum and I at a recent book signing in Louisville, Kentucky. Denny is featured in one of the chapters in my book titled, "Denny Crum-Lord of the Flies".

He is an excellent fly fisherman and great hunter/sportsman. I also write about our Brown Bear hunt I guided him on when we were on the Alaskan Peninsula and the nice bear he took.

The Salmon Nose (knows)!

The Salmon Nose (knows)!

NOW that's a Schnoze!  Proboscus Salmonoid??  No, it's called Oncorhynchus  kisutch, Coho Salmon and the males have these hooked noses.

Unlike Hollywood, Nature constructs for purpose NOT "appearance of purpose". BIG DIFFERENCE!  Not enough is said about the nose of a fish. No one talks about that?  But it is by far, better at smelling particles than anything on the planet- bar or bear none!  

Let me explain...

I'll be as brief as I can, but one thing I learned in Alaska is how prolific everything is with the ever changing seasons (which are HIGHLY visible here) and the fish know it better than we do.

This fish's life began 4-years ago and could have come from any Alaskan river. BUT IT IS the same river he was born in 4-years ago. They leave the rivers and follow them for miles to the ocean water the following spring after they are spawned. Look at the inset map and see where they go-remember the North Pacific Ocean is a BIG POND! They spend 4-years of their life there dodging Killer whales and ALL manner of hungry mouths.

This photo was taken while rafting the Talachalitna River after being flown into Judd Lake. We are many miles from Cook Inlet(Ocean) but large salmon numbers make it back to these pristine rivers and the fishing is Great!

Those Salmon that make it through their 4-year Oceanic cycle, return to the same streams AND SPOT they were spawned in to spawn as their ancestors did- then die!  Many of them travel the ocean shores heading to the spot where the river they were spawned in flows into the Pacific. Then they head up that river to the next one finally arriving at their spawn site. THEY DO ALL THIS by smelling their way home. It can be hundreds of miles! What a Nose!!

We all have a place, purpose and timeframe for our days on Earth. I think the Salmon understand that better than Humans do. WE ALL PALE IN COMPARISON TO THE CREATURES IN NATURE!  

SALMON don't need OnStar...THE SALMON NOSE KNOWS...

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...

A Day in the Life of a Brown Bear

ZOOM in on this Google photo and look around first. Look for details,then come back and read on.

Many see a beautiful picture here and get lost in the scenery. I've done it many times sitting in these wild Alaska places. However, there is a MUCH bigger PICTURE here many don't see.

Let me shed a little light on it for you.

The male in the foreground was wandering back to one of his favorite spots just ahead of him. Over the years many bear have used this spot and you can look at the bank and confirm its wear from the bears using it. If you look closer you will see the river dumps into the ocean bay here and that means it is loaded with salmon as the tide comes in- a perfect spot! Generations of these bears know that.

When you look up ahead as he is doing, you'll notice another bear is in his favorite fishing hole. He no doubt spotted that bear back down the river but came on up anyway to size 'em up. Problem is, it's a female and worse yet, she has a cub. You can see his head just to the left of the male's head and the cub already has his eye on the big male too!(Zoom in) These cubs know that males will kill them in order to bring the female back into estrus during the fall mating season. That makes the male something to be feared year round when you are a young bear.

For the male wandering up the river this throws a whole new twist in the mix for him. Males don't go out of their way to pick trouble with the females when cubs are involved. A woman's wrath pales in comparison, if you can believe that!

Females Grizzlies or Brown Bears are unequaled when it comes to ANYTHING threatening their cubs- bar none! I have worked to get close to many big brown bear over the years BUT NEVER females with cubs. That is certain disaster and I am well aware of that. Whenever I am hunting big game in Alaska, my greatest fear was stumbling upon a sow with cubs. Worse yet, stumble upon them and find yourself between the sow and her cubs. YOU'RE in serious trouble when that happens.

So...what is about to happen in the photo?

The male will continue to approach his favorite "occupied" spot and "test" the waters so to speak. He will not be well received, but will try and snag a fish anyway. Then growling and posturing will unfold and escalate to the point the male will retreat to a different spot. After all, there are thousands of fish to choose from this time of the year and it is not worth the WRATH!

Experiencing Nature, the Sooner the Better!

Connecting your children with nature and wildlife at an early age is important. Master Thomas Gardner is pictured here absorbing the sight of his first Moose! 

Alaskans are fortunate to have an "envelope of nature" surrounding us, fortunate indeed! Throughout my book I speak to this importance and its effect on your life. People must free themselves from their cubicles, mundane lifestyles and indoor routines and enjoy the outdoors more wherever they are. MOST are far to removed from the natural world and it’s causing problems. Not only to their mental health, but the environment too! It's a lose, lose situation.

Most Alaskan’s, of all ages, enjoy the outdoors and spend a great deal of time in it. It's healthy for ya! So, get your camp gear ready, pack the right food and don't forget toilet paper! Don't let that deter you ladies...

Take chances now and again and see where it leads you. I think it is good for your brain to go somewhere and not know where until you get there.

When you plant trees, vegetables or even potatoes too close together, none of them do well. People in the city are planted too close to each other, makes them harder to "grow" too!

That's A Lot of Bull!

This photo was taken yesterday of one of my neighbors.  This 4-year old bull has had a rough winter. The snow has been exceptionally deep and that forced more moose down from the mountains concentrating them in pockets with less snow. This created high numbers foraging in close proximity to each other- pickins’ got slim! So good luck to him, the first signs of spring are finally upon us.

 BUT, the Grizzlies are waking up hungry after a long winters sleep. The moose’s struggle never ends-we have that in common!

That protrusion above his eye was left when his antlers dropped in late January and now they are beginning to start growing again through the summer. They are very proud of that armament all summer and fall, and then in late winter it falls off!  Hey guys aren’t we Lucky!!

As I mentioned earlier the moose have concentrated in areas with less snow or areas that are cleared like highways and railroad tracks. The Alaska Dept. of Fish & Game has created feeding stations for them recently to draw them away from cleared highways and railroad tracks and they issued this report, “We are authorizing this extraordinary step due to public safety concerns. We hope the diversionary feeding stations will lure moose away from roads and will reduce moose-vehicle collisions and other dangerous encounters,” said Tony Kavalok, Assistant Director of the Division of Wildlife Conservation. This diversionary feeding permit allows the permit holder, not the general public, to feed moose. “This program is warranted only under exceptional circumstances such as has been created by this year’s snow conditions,” said Kavalok.”

Moose favor areas with less snow including plowed roads, railways, and driveways. This year’s heavy snowfall has resulted in increased moose related vehicle accidents(TOTALS THE CAR!) and antagonistic encounters. Diversionary feeding, along with packing down trails leading away from roads to feeding stations and areas with natural foods, can reduce conflicts between moose and people.

Speaking about antagonistic encounters- moose and people don’t mix! They are nobody’s pet and can/have seriously injured and killed people here in Alaska. The adult cows weigh about 800 lbs. and the bulls can weigh up to 1600 lbs. That’s A LOT OF BULL!