I recently watched a nature program showing how grizzly bears snag spawning salmon out of an Alaskan stream, take a big bite, and throw the carcasses on the rocks.
My first thought was that the grizzlies must be doing well and there must be plenty of salmon. Global warming must be very good for the wildlife in Alaska.
Then I wondered what people like Barbara Boxer and Barack Obama would think if they ever paused from pontificating to pay attention to the world around them.
Boxer: “Oh my, those grizzlies are so greedy and wasteful! It’s not fair! We must stop them from killing those poor little fishes!”
Obama: “Ma'am, we must tax and regulate them! We will ration the fish by muzzling the bears and putting cages around the fish. We know better and this must be stopped!”
Boxer: “Oh, Barack. What would the world do without us?”
Conservatives and libertarians accept the ugly as well as the majestic side of nature. Live and let live. We view free enterprise the same way. Too bad the powers in Washington think they have all the answers, yet don’t have a clue about unintended consequences.
Turns out, the fish carcasses on the rocks support an entire ecosystem of smaller animals, insects and plants.
You got it!!
ReplyDeleteI've been living in Alaska since 1981; working with FAA the entire time. I'm currently living in Anchorage (1997-present), working at the Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) as a NAS Specialist.
Prior to 1997 I lived remotely, "in the bush" as it's said. Anything other than Anchorage is considered remote or in the bush. I have lived in:
Bettles (Arctic Interior), Nome (Western Alaska), Cold Bay (Alaska Peninsula/Aleutians), Fairbanks (Interior), and spent much time in Yakutat, Cordova, Juneau, Sitka (Southeast)
Besides the abovementioned places just named, I had the fortune to work in outlying villages; wherever there was a runway and FAA equipment.
At one time I assisted field technicians with maintenance and certification of systems/services; other times installing navigational aids (NAVAIDS), instrument landing systems (ILS). and communications equipment.
When I lived in Cold Bay I would go down to Russell Creek and fish for salmon, even while the bears were there. The bears were sometimes 75-100 feet away, not really concerned with people; just the salmon coming upriver and the delicious feast of salmon eggs.
Most of the time the seagulls would flock around the caught fish, whether caught by bear or human, waiting a brief moment to snatch
the eggs or to just annoy the bears.
After I'd catch a few fish, I would go home, clean then cook my catch, and put the rest in the freezer. I'd go back down to the creek maybe a week later, and just as you said, "the fish carcasses on the rocks support an entire ecosystem of smaller animals, insects and plants", because all that was left along the creek were fishbones.
Throughout the various communities and villages in Alaska, the Native peoples utilize everything from their hunting and fishing.
Moose, caribou, bear, sheep, etc are used to feed family (and dogs/dogteams should there be some), clothing (mukluks, slippers, mitts, head covering, coats for the winter freeze, etc)
When I lived in Bettles, pickup/dropoff point, at the foothills of the Brooks Range for those folks who have flown to Alaska for "the big hunt". These folks just want a "head mount" of whatever it was they hunted; most times not concerned with the rest of the animal.
Most often the pilot, who flew the charter, would take what was left of the animal, bring it home and use the meat for family and/or dogs.
Most people who live "outside", not in Alaska, have no clue what it's like up here. There is Anchorage, and then there is Alaska. I'm of the opinion that not everyone can live in Alaska, the remoteness, and isolation would be too much for most, but everyone should come t Alaska at least once in their lifetime.
Gotta go. I only really got onto facebook this morning and you are my first posting.