A man dressed in a bear costume was reported to state troopers this week for harassing a sow and bear cubs on the Chilkoot River.
Mark Sogge with Alaska Fish & Game in Haines says their Chilkoot Lake weir technician witnessed and wrote a report about the incident.
Technician Lou Cenicola reported that around 7:30 p.m. on Monday, a man in a ‘realistic-looking’ bear costume ran through a group of people standing on the side of the road bear-watching. The man ran ‘waving and jumping’ up to the weir gate, trying to get the attention of a sow with cubs. Cenicola says the man in the costume got within 5-10 feet of the cubs.
Cenicola reported that he ran toward the man to stop him, telling him he could be cited for wildlife harassment. The man then left without identifying himself. Sogge says Cenicola did get the man’s license plate number, and Fish & Game reported the incident to state troopers.
Troopers Spokesperson Megan Peters says they know about the incident and are investigating. No charges have been filed.
Sogge says getting that close to bear cubs when their mother is present could have ended tragically. He says wearing a bear costume will not deter a mother bear from attacking a person if she thinks her cubs are threatened.
FYI: “Bear Man” does not deserve a break. Neither do any of the other humans out at Chilkoot deserve breaks, tour operators, fisher people or whatever humans are harassing any wildlife do. Investment by some entity who can build proper viewing platforms and better restrict access and traffic flow are desperately needed. Unfortunately when I first heard the report of the so called “bear man” (I just call him an idiot) I was afraid the news would go viral making this jerk famous for all the wrong reasons. It has. The report showed up on Alaska Dispatch and nationwide on Fox News. I suppose one could call it a KHNS News success story. I also suppose it may generate more foolish and stupid behavior around bears at Chilkoot.
So there was a group of people watching the bears who do nothing but take pictures and videos of said bears and yet, there is no pictures or videos of the man in the bear suit near the bears, or waving and jumping by the weir gate. Gee, that seems interesting to me. Is it possible the man who works at the weir is extremely frustrated by being left on an island out there with no back up from the state in the form of a paid bear/people monitor and venting his frustration by accusing the bear guy of things that didn’t happen? Why is there no paid monitor? There used to be a paid monitor and now there isn’t. Is it possible the media sensationalizes events to attract readers? Something doesn’t add up about this story.
On a daily basis there are tourists who are basically harrassing bears on the Chilkoot River. They are constantly approaching the sow with two cubs and any other bear they see. Why are they not reported and cited. Give bear man a break, he’s only done it once. And the tour operators are right there with them.