South-eastern Alaska and another bear family

Chilkoot Lake  is a  well-known  bearspotting area, so before boarding the ferry to Skagway, we decided to drive there.
The lake surrounded by  lush green trees with tall pines, joyfully jumping salmons in the nearby rivers as well as bald eagles cricling above it  looked absolutely stunning. The image was not even spoilt by  fishermen trying to catch their prey. On the contrary, it made the whole scene  more vivid.
Considering the abundance of salmon, we were not even  surprised when after half an hour of driving and taking short walks, we did see a beautiful  grizzly family.

Once again, just like on Dempster Highway, it was a mother with her cubs. During one of the hikes we were told  that the cubs stay with their mum until they're at least two. And only then can she get pregnant again. Considering the fact that bears rarely live longer than 25 years and can't  get pregnant until they are 7-8, it is not surprising  that they do not have a lot of offspring and one should definitely  understand  their protective behaviour when anyone endangers the cubs.  Here, just as a tiny digression,  I have to write about a 'Vicious Moose Mama', a story as told by our guide on Auriol Trail.

Apparently, a dead grizzly bear was found few months ago near Kathleen lake. Autopsy ( yes, autopsy! All dead animals are swiftly removed if they are found in the vicinity  of the trails so as not to attract more bears and moose and create a potential danger for the humans) revealed that the bear received a fatal blow to its head. On further inquiry, it became clear that it had a baby moose in its stomach. Bittersweet must have been the revenge  of the grief-stricken  moose mother!

The bears we saw were gorgeous. One had a half-consumed salmon between its teeth and two others were playing with each other, paying no attention whatsoever to amazed humans. ( this is dangerous, as the bears should not feel too comfortable in human presence, because that's  when they start  to compete with humans for their food and become a real threat. When this happens, sometimes bears must be shot to avoid potentially lethal danger ( that's  what had to be done in 2008, horrible.)
Now we are on the ferry to Skagway ( or shall I say, we will be on out way once the ferry leaves the harbour. We've been waiting for 4 hours  now. The ferry, however runs only three times per week, so I guess  no point in complaining!)

Jezioro Chilkoot jest znane jako swietne  miejsce do obserwacji misiow, zatem przed wejsciem na prom plynacy do Skagway postanowilismy sie tam udac.
Jezioro otoczone bujnym, zielonym lasem z wesolo skaczacymi lososiami w pobliskich rzekach oraz orlami majestatycznie krazacymi nad nami stanowilo cudowny widok. Nawet rybacy nie odejmowali uroku temu slicznemu miejscu. Biorac pod uwage bogactwo lososia w okolicy, nie bylismy nawet zdziwieni, gdy po pol godziny jazdy i krotkich spacerach, ujrzelismy kolejna rodzinke  misiow.

Tak samo jak na Dempster Highway, byla to mama z dwojka dzieci. Podczas jednego z hike'ow powiedziano nam, ze misie zostaja z mama do drugiego roku zycia i dopiero wtedy misiowa mama moze znowu zajsc w ciaze. Nikogo zatem nie dziwi chyba to, jak zaciekle misie bronia swojego potomstwa ( tym bardziej, iz nie zyja one zazwyczaj dluzej niz 25 lat, nie moga zajsc w ciaze zanim nie skoncza 7-8 lat wiec nie moga miec za duzo dzieci)
W tym miejscu nalezy przytoczyc historie o 'Wscieklej Losiowej Mamie', tak jak zostala nam opowiedziana w trakcie hike'u na Auriol trail.
Otoz kilka miesiecy temu znaleziono martwego niedzwiedzia przy jeziorze Kathleen. Autopsja ( tak, autopsja! Kazde martwe zwierze znalezione w poblizu szlakow jest usuwane, by nie przyciagac innych drapieznikow i nie stanowic zagrozenia dla ludzi) wykazala, ze niedzwiedz zginal od uderzenia w glowe, a dalsze dochodzenie ujawnilo, iz w zoladku znajdowal sie maly los. Jakze gorzko-slodko musiala smakowac losiowa zemsta!

Misie, ktore zobaczylismy byly przepiekne. Jeden niosl w pysku lososia, a dwa pozostale wesolo sie bawily, nie zwracajac uwagi na ludzi.( jest to bardzo niebezpieczne, gdyz gdy niedzwiedzie przyzwyczaja sie do ludzkiej obecnosci, zaczynaja konkurowac z nami o jedzenie  i staja sie prawdziwym zagrozeniem. W 2008 roku doprowadzilo to do koniecznosci zastrzelenia 2 misiow. Koszmar.)
Teraz jestesmy na promie do Skagway ( a raczej bedziemy, jesli w koncu ruszymy. Stoimy tu juz od 4 godzin. Jednalze biorac pod uwage fakt, ze prom kursuje tylko trzy razy w tygodniu nie ma co narzekac!)