Cheri Kutch: When Bears are Locals

“That guy (in the photo) was up and down there for the longest time. I haven’t seen him in the last couple of years. It’s hard to keep track of them all. They all head down to the Chilkoot Lake, to the water there, and they go to the weir and catch a lot of fish.

“The other day, I was up at the weir, and (people are) all fishing along the river. And as they’re fishing, Speedy the sow and her three cubs were playing around up there at the lake and then they were starting to come down along the river. So I drove along there, and I said (to all the people fishing):

“’Hey, Speedy’s on the way. Her and her three cubs!’

“And so, gradually people stopped fishing, and they pulled their lines in, and they come back up the bank to get in their vehicles or just pretty much stand on the little roadside there. They watch her go past them, and then they go back down to fish.”

“She doesn’t bother anybody. She’s been around here for fourteen years, that bear, and she’s had many cubs.”