Fortress of the bear

The next island over from the one I live on is Admiralty Island. The Russians called it "fear island" and the natives called it Kootznoowoo, or "Fortress of the bear." The island is fairly large, about 1,300 sq. miles or more but has more than one bear per square mile.

PBS released a video last summer about the island and it's bears. This is the island many of us hunt, and some of of us have cabins on rare private land near Funter Bay. The only humans on this island are in the native village of Angoon, about 800 ppl and on a mine called Greens Creek, where some Juneau residents work.

Much of the island is a national monument and it's a fantastic place to hunt and fish, but is guarded heavily by the densest bear population in the world.

The video is 50 minutes, but if you like nature shows check it out.

LINK

Here is a trailer

LINK

There are people who still will not set foot on this island, no matter how big it is. It's an awesome place, but you will run into bear..it's unavoidable. It's one of the few places left on earth still ruled almost entirely by these large critters, and they can grow to over 1,000 lbs. The hunting and fishing is world class, you just have to realize what else is out there. The majority of the island, like most of SE Alaska is virtually untouched by human.