Living among bears — real and multicoloured
ALASKA: Life-size statutes raise funds, awareness about animals
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska’s largest city is home to more than 300 grizzly and black bears — and now more than a dozen multicoloured ones.
Life-size statues painted by city artists for a public art installation called Bears on Parade are popping up as part of an effort to raise awareness that if you live in Anchorage, you live near bears.
“The whole point of this was to engage in conversation about bears and their habitat — the food that they eat, where they live,” said Brenda Carlson, a tourism official who helped organize the program.
The city spans 1,958 square miles (5071 sq. km), but people occupy only about 204 square miles (528 sq. km), according to the state Department of Fish and Game. The rest of Anchorage includes national forest, a state wildlife refuge, 55 to 65 grizzlies and 250 to 350 black bears.
Bears can be deadly if they are surprised. To minimize maulings, the department’s Anchorage Bear Committee, which is dedicated to local bear conservation, tries to educate people about how to live alongside the animals.
Carlson reached out to America’s Fiberglass Animals of Seward, Nebraska.
Fifteen bears arrived by flatbed truck looking like polar bears — completely white. Sponsors paid either $1,750 or $3,000 for bears. So far, 13 have been painted, sealed and erected.