Although temperatures have remained below freezing and snow is still on the ground in Kodiak, some of the local bears are awake and on the move. Experts say that while it is normal for bears to be awake this time of year, the amount of sightings near town this early is unusual.
A pair of hikers and their dogs encountered a pair of Kodiak brown bears along Pillar Mountain road on March 12 according to a video they posted on Facebook that day. On March 9, drivers on Monashka Bay Road posted on Facebook that they were stopped by a pair of brown bears walking in the middle of the road.
These were not the first bear sightings so far this year, as locals have spotted juvenile bears around the Boy Scout Lake area over the past few weeks.
Nathan Svoboda, an area biologist at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Kodiak, said it is normal for up to 30 percent of male brown bears to stay awake throughout the winter and not hibernate. According to Svoboda, the bears people have been seeing are likely all the same pair of three-year-old siblings.
“People can sometimes think, ‘Oh, we saw these bears over at Boy Scout Lake or near Abercrombie,’ and then they might see those bears over by Monashka or the landfill," Svoboda said. "And it might seem like a distance, but really for a bear, that's nothing, that's an afternoon walk.”
This pair of bears were kicked out by their mother last year, he said, and are still figuring out the basics of being adults–like how to make a den, where to find food, and how to behave around people–which is all normal for bears their age.
However, Svoboda said it’s unusual for bears to be on the road system around town this early in the year. Although the reason isn’t entirely clear, he speculates that it could be a result of the recent issues with keeping bears out of the landfill. The electric fence surrounding the landfill has been in disrepair over the past two years, which has encouraged bears to frequent the area in search of food.
Although Fish and Game has tried various methods to deter bears from the landfill while the Kodiak Island Borough repairs the fence, including relocation and nonlethal hazing with rubber bullets, many of the local bears have become accustomed to using it as a food source. This may have encouraged them to stay awake this winter, Svoboda said, as bears typically go into hibernation when natural food becomes scarce.
“ It's pretty likely that these two individuals were two bears that we've observed in the landfill over the last year or two," he said. "And having that easily accessible food source is likely one of the reasons why they've chosen not to den.”
Even the bears that stay awake for the winter have slower metabolisms and slower reaction times than they would in the summer, according to Svoboda.
He said Kodiak residents are generally well-versed around bear safety and know how to handle themselves around these animals. But with bears being out and around town sooner than expected, he said it’s important to stay cautious even in the winter months.
“Although a lot of these bears seem really lethargic and not too interested in people, it’s important to just keep in mind that they're still fast, they're still active, and residents of Kodiak still need to be bear aware around all these individuals that they run into,” Svoboda said.
Kodiak residents should remember to bring bear spray with them when recreating and travel in groups. If you encounter a bear, stay calm, talk to the bear, and do not run. If you need to use bear spray, point and spray it about 30 feet in front of you.
Older male bears and female bears will likely not emerge from hibernation for another few months, according to Fish and Game. And females with cubs likely won’t emerge until May or June.
