Northern Apex

I was going to write on intelligence tonight but this story from today's Anchorage Daily news is just too compelling not to share. This gentleman, Mr. Gary Paterna, was walking his dog in Bicentennial Park in Anchorage earlier this week when he came upon a brown bear sow with a cub. The surprised bear acted to protect her cub exactly as a brown bear should according to the experts, and swatted Mr. Paterna a good one, knocking him to the ground and leaving him this amazing bruise. The dog was unharmed in the exchange, and the bear and cub ran away after the perceived threat was neutralized.

While eschoned in our metallic cocoons making the commute to and from work it is easy to forget that nature is lurking so very near in Anchorage - yet there are 52 species of mammals and 230 species of birds found right in the Anchorage Bowl and among these mammals are an estimated 250 black bears, 60 brown bears and 1000 moose. Ironically, one of the most magnificent bull moose I have ever seen was eating willow browse in my parking lot at work last winter, content and protected from hunting in the city limits and sporting an enormous set of antlers.

Along my journey to the apex I need to always take time to notice the wonderful sights and experiences that are right at my front door and never forget that a journey to Alaska is something that many people only dream of and never achieve.

You'll be happy to know that Mr. Paterna, a 60 year old grandfather of five, plans on continuing his daily walks with his faithful dog Tok, albeit with a larger can of pepper spray (he never got a chance to use the small can he had with him). You can read the full story here.

You can read more about Anchorage wildlife issues.