Last week, I discussed a recent scientific study chronicling Kodiak bear feeding behavior during the summers of 2014 and 2015. I pointed out that while the study fascinated me, I was less enthusiastic about the flood of inaccurate leaps in logic following the publication of the research. Please refer to last week’s post if you haven’t read it, so my post this week will make sense to you.
I invited most of the authors of the study, Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge officials (the research was in part supported by the Refuge), and other biologists and guides on the island to read my post and share their thoughts on the study. I was curious to know what others who work in the field on Kodiak thought about the flood of publicity over the past few months stating as our climate warms, Kodiak bears are changing their feeding behavior and are abstaining from salmon while they eat their fill of elderberries. While I didn’t get many replies here on my website, I did receive several e-mails, and without mentioning any names, I will share some of those with you.
I know I just said I wouldn’t mention any names, but I do want to state that Dr. Deacy, the lead researcher on the project, sent me a very nice e-mail soon after I asked him to look at my post. He was on a deadline for another project but said he would respond in more detail when he had time. He couldn’t have been nicer, and I exhaled a long, slow breath when I read his response because Dr. Deacy has been generous with his time in explaining this as well as other, recent bear research to me. I didn’t want to anger him or anyone with my critique of the study.
One of the other researchers on the study was not as thrilled with me, and he seemed to think I was personally attacking him and the other biologists. I admit I am partially to blame for his anger because I stated scientists sometimes seem as if they are in a bubble. He equated this statement with me saying scientists never come down from their Ivory Towers – a term I did not, nor would not, use. After his message, I was afraid to look at my e-mail for the next few days, but the rest of the replies I received were positive.
Biologists and guides alike felt the conclusions stated in this study opened the door to the wild, speculative media reports following it. Two people mentioned an important point. Some Kodiak bears spend most of their lives in alpine regions on the island and eat neither elderberries nor salmon. As with humans, what bears eat varies from one area to another and from one individual to the next.
I hope most people who read articles with titles like, “Kodiak bears go vegetarian,” will stop for a moment and question such a wild claim. I applaud wildlife research and think this research is necessary, not only to understand the magnificent wild animals who share this planet with us but also because this research points the way to appropriate wildlife management decisions. I don’t, however, believe research should ever be done to prove a case. The point of research should be the search for truth.
Speaking of wildlife management, next week I will write about bear management on Kodiak Island. Thank you for reading my post.
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Robin Barefield is the author of three Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, and The Fisherman’s Daughter. To download a free copy of one of her novels, watch her webinar about how she became an author and why she writes Alaska wilderness mysteries. Also, sign up below to subscribe to her free, monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.
