Cooper Island, Alaska, Aug. 3, 2009 — I was writing up the text for the “krill” last night and then there was a need to deal with a bear that had been sleeping on the north beach after coming in off the ocean. Clearly the cabin is the best (or worst) smelling thing on the island and bears always seem to head for camp after they wake up. I had to turn the bear around and then wait for it to walk off to the east before going to sleep.
I turned the bear around with a “cracker shell” that is fired from a shotgun and essentially has a firecracker like device which goes off near the bear. It did not scare this bear much since within 20 yards it slowed down and started going through driftwood looking for food. It ended up going to a grass patch where a bear had slept earlier in the week. I assumed this one would do the same, but instead it started eating the seed heads of the beach rye grass. After three to four minutes it moved on to another patch of grass where it did the same.