We are sitting very quietly, but our eyes are darting around frantically. Waiting, watching. “Look”, a girl whispers “there they are”. She must have had strong eyes, because it takes a little while before the rest of us spots them. But yes, there they are, a grizzly mother with three cubs slowly moving along one of the trails leading down to the water. We all know to be quiet around wildlife, but goodness, it was tempting to release just a tiny squeeee.
I had arrived in Alaska some weeks before. The main purpose of my trip was to explore some of Alaska’s amazing hiking opportunities, but like most hikers, I also wanted to see the bears.
Our first destination was Denali National Park, where we stopped by the tourist information. One of the walls was completely covered in detailed illustrations showing what to do if you are attacked by a grizzly and what to do if you are attacked by a black bear. These two causes of actions are pretty much opposites. The guidance then moved on to instruct hikers not to rely on size or colour, when identifying, which type of bear they are facing. These characteristics can vary a lot within a species. No, the one certain identifier is the hump on the back of the grizzly bear. Black bears don’t have a hump. We looked at each other. “Just to clarify”, someone said, “when I am attacked full on by an enraged bear, I have to go: excuse me, could you just hang on, while I check your back for a hump?” Yup, apparently that is the way to do it…
After having spotted a few bears of both varieties, it turned out, it isn’t that difficult to tell them apart. Still, I like the instructions of the national park; what a comforting way to greet visitors.
Whilst hiking, we didn’t get that close to a bear, which on balance is a good thing. Most attacks happen, when you walk quietly and take a bear by surprise or if you inadvertently come between a mother and her cubs. Some hikers carry bear bells to avoid this. But honestly, how can you enjoy Alaska’s magnificent nature, whilst listening to non-stop ringing from bells.
There is one way of getting relatively close to the bears in a safe and unobtrusive fashion. Small sea planes have for years transported keen anglers to remote places, where the odds of catching salmon are high. Obviously, the bears are aware of these places as well and it has become common for travellers to join the anglers, just to watch the bears eating salmon. Because the summer season is so short (there may still be snow in June) the bears are 100% focused on eating and don’t pay much attention to people unless you disturb them.
If you ever get the chance, you should go on such a trip. It was so much fun and I could have stayed all day, watching bears come and go, hanging out, eating salmon. A once in a lifetime experience, for sure!
✧
Book Review: Piglet Meets a Heffalump and other stories by A. A. Milne
I wonder if the fondness many people have of bears relate to the stories of our childhood. When I think of bears in the literature, Goldilocks, Paddington and Winnie The Pooh spring to mind. The latter was a much beloved childhood favourite of mine. I recently discovered that the Pooh stories have been dramatised on audio with a range of star narrators including Stephen Fry and Judy Dench. You can buy a collection of 4-5 stories for the same price as a cup of coffee and I couldn’t resist the temptation.
I did wonder, if I would find them a bit silly, listening as an adult, but surprisingly they were still fun and heartwarming. The story about the Heffalump has always been a favourite of mine. In my family, we’ve often quoted Pooh’s epic statement “you never can tell with Heffalumps”. It is such a brilliant sentence and can be used in a variety of situations [sorry, if you haven’t read Pooh, this probably makes no sense whatsoever].
If you need entertainment for small children or just want to revive a childhood favourite, these dramatised stories are highly recommended. I might download another of the collections, next time I need a good laugh.
Title: Piglet Meets a Heffalump and other stories Author: A. A. Milne Format: Audiobook, narrated by Stephen Fry, Jane Horrocks, Geffrey Palmer, Judi Dench, Finty Williams, Robert Daws, Michael Williams Genre: Children's Fiction
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This is incredible!! I love it! Thanks for sharing.
Aww thanks, I am glad you enjoyed it, it was such an amazing experience! 😀
What a lovely post and a great experience for you. The nearest we got to bears when were in British Columbia was a notice saying a particular trail we’d hoped to go on was closed because of the active presence of bears. That was excitement enough. And Winnie the Pooh? Whose childhood could be complete without him and his friends.
Thanks Margaret, it was a great experience. Hiking in bear country is really a tricky business. On one hand you want to see the bears, on the other hand you are quite keen on seeing them from a suitable distance. Absolutely, many of us have fond memories connected with reading Winnie The Pooh!
Great post, thank you. And lovely photographs. It must have been a wonderful experience.
Thanks so much, Elizabeth! Even if I have loved all the places, I’ve traveled, I think Alaska must be one of my favourite places!
Great post and amazing pictures, it must have been a wonderful experience 😀
Thanks Sarah, it really was! 😀
Those pictures are incredible!
Thanks! 😀 (the light could have been better, but you can’t have it all… 😉).
Hi. Milne’s creations certainly are enduring. His books probably will be read 100 years from now.
Yes, I think so too. So far they have stood the test of time really well! 🙂
Oh, Stargazer, I already love when you make these types of posts, but I LOVE it even more when I’ve been to a location too! I’ve been to Alaska and Denali National Park! Unlike you, I did not hike, and my pictures are nowhere near as close or just plain amazing. Look at all the babies! I wish we had made time for the angling trip. If we go back, which I hope we will more than once, that will definitely be on our list. We did the long bus tour and were able to see all the wildlife minus the wolf. Thanks so much for sharing this! And your Pooh book, too!
Hehe, I thought you might like this post! 😉 Hopefully, you will get the chance to go on a similar trip. I should have mentioned in my post, it didn’t take place in Denali, it was further south in the Big River Lakes area. I mentioned Denali, because I thought these bear instructions were so funny. My time in Denali was a bit mixed. We had so much rain and when camping, it means that everything gets wet and it’s close to impossible to dry it again. We didn’t see Mt Denali either until we left the park, because of the clouds / fog. Still, I enjoyed it.
I would have thought accusing the bear of having a hump would be a sure way to enrage it – bears must have their fair share of vanity too! 😉 What a wonderful experience to see them in the wild like that though – I’m deeply envious. And I will most definitely have to seek out that audiobook – the ultimate in comfort listening, I’d imagine!
You might be right! 😆 To be honest, I am quite happy that I didn’t get to test any of these “don’t get killed by the bear” tactics in real life. It was most definitely a wonderful experience. I know you say, you are not that keen on travel, but think about all the amazing experiences you can get out there!
So let me get this right, there are different actions to take depending on the type of bear? I never knew this? I always heard not to move (even to play dead) and certainly not run away, at least that’s what I learned from tv series. It certainly looks like an amazing experience and those photos are amazing!! Bears just look so cuddly and friendly. I saw the movie Christopher Robin (with Ewan McGregor) last year, I quite liked it :-).
Yeah, when being attacked by a grizzly, you lie down on your stomach and try to cover vital organs as much as you can. That is the “playing dead” strategy. However, with the black bear you take an aggressive stand, make a lot of noise and try to scare it away. If it still attacks, you fight back with all you’ve got. Taking the wrong kind of action with the wrong kind of bear has a decent likelihood for a sub-optimal outcome – that’s why it’s important to identify the bear correctly. Fun, huh? 😉 Oh, I haven’t watched the Christopher Robin movie, but now I really want to!
Try to scare it away? I can hardly believe a bear would be impressed by me 🤣 It’s interesting though how different you need to approach them.. so the black bear is the biggest scaredy cat is what I need to remember 😋 Ah Christopher Robin is such a sweet film, I hope you like it!
I know, that is what I thought! 🤣 Any bear with some sense of humour would surely have a good laugh, if I came towards it with my best war cry whilst flapping my arms like a maniac.😆 I am quite pleased, I didn’t get to test this strategy!
Wow! Interesting post. I’ve never seen a bear for real. Only teddy bears 😀 But always loved the Pooh books.
It was the first time I saw bears as well, which made it even more amazing. I think you can actually see the similarity to teddy bears, when you see the real thing (teddy bears are inspired by the black bear). They are kind of cuddly. On the other hand, it doesn’t take too much imagination to see what they’ll be like if you annoy them.
I have heard about people camping in places where there are bears… definitely would not want to do that!
Actually, we did camp, but you just have to make sure to keep food, toothpaste and anything with a smell outside the tent, ideally in airtight plastic bags. Then you should be safe. Apparently. 😉
Ha ha, I still wouldn’t want to risk it.
Haha, no being woken up by a bear taking apart your tent might not be the ideal start of the morning! 😉
These are fantastic💜💜💜 Thank you for sharing them!
Thanks Jonetta! 😊 One of the reasons I enjoy doing these travel posts is, it gives me an opportunity to look at my photos again!
Wonderful post! Winnie The Pooh is so lovely! I have to admit I am rather frightened of real bears – unfortunately I did read some in depth and horrific accounts involving them, including the case of Timothy Treadwell. The Edge (1997) film with Alec Baldwin and Anthony Hopkins provided me with another “Alaskan wilderness experience with bears” I’d rather forget lol
Thanks! 😀 Yes, bear attacks do happen and sometimes you can be unlucky and it’s a pure accident (or a bear not quite right in the head). But I believe quite often it’s due to humans not respecting the wildlife or following the guidelines. I think that might have been the case for Tim Treadwell. When I went to the Rocky Mountains, where you see bears walking along the roads, I saw some people behaving so badly towards bears and if a bear even threatened a tourist (without harming them) they risked being put down by the park rangers, because bad bear behaviour is bad for tourism. Things like that makes me so angry! Anyway, sorry for the rant, seeing the bears in Alaska, where it was very clearly on the terms of the bears, was absolutely amazing!
OMG I’m SOOOO ENVIOUS OF YOU and YOUR TRAVELS! Can we swap places right now!!? 😀 While I’m afraid of bears, the fact that you saw them real-life is so darn cool! AS much as it would’ve frightened me, I’d be jumping up and down in excitement too which would make them coming for me for sure LOL And yes, how can one not love POOH!! 😀 I love this post! THank you for sharing and those pictures…I LOVVVVE!! 😀
Haha, I can ensure you there is nothing to be envious of. We are in a rather strict lockdown and I spend most of my life at the moment stuck at home. Anyway, I believe we will get to travel again – hopefully in the not too distant future.😊 The bears were GREAT! But perhaps I wouldn’t advice jumping up and down when seeing them, that might actually catch their attention. 😲😆 I am so glad you loved the post, I had so much fun writing it!
Yeah I’m aware of it that’s why I mentioned they’d end up coming from me hahaahha 😄 thank you for writing this post. What a joy to read!
You are welcome – and watch out for the bears out there! 😉😆
I was convinced that those pictures were going to be picked out from the internet or movie sequences but wow!!! For you to have actually witnessed them in the nature is amazing and awesome!!! I also want to give those Winnie the Pooooh stories a shot someday. Pretty convinced that they’re mandatory reading at this point in life! 😀
Ah no, these posts are an opportunity to highlight some of my photos from holidays in the past. While waiting for the opportunity to get out there again, I find it’s quite nice to travel via photos and memories. Alaska offered so many great experiences, but I think that day with the bears might have been the best. The Pooh stories are so much fun for children or adults who still keep their inner child alive. 😀
Alaska! Definitely on my bucket list – or would be if I had one! I’m loving those bears, the real and the imaginary. Lovely post, Stargazer 😊 🐻 (Hmmm, doesn’t look much like a bear, does it!)
Generally, I love all the places I visit, but I think Alaska must be in my top 3. There is so much space and magnificent landscapes and so few people. Depending on where you go, you may be more likely to run into a bear than another human being. 😊 🐻 (yes, this one will do nicely for a bear…)
What an experience! I’ve been in quite a few of the US national parks where they have those warnings about bears but have never seen one. Part of me is disappointed and part of me is relieved.
It really was an great experience. Yes, I was exactly the same. I wanted to see the bears, but not too close up. Luckily, that is exactly what happened. They are amazing animals!