pike's hikes

Some Interesting Observations about Brown (and Black) Bears by Sue Pike July 11 2017  The York Weekly/Portsmouth Herald/Foster's Daily Democrat/Exeter Herald One of the most remarkable sights I’ve seen in Alaska (my new backyard for a short time this summer) has been the large coastal brown bears grazing on the meadows of sedges and grasses that ring the tidal inlets.  They move around like cows - grazing!  I didn’t think bears did this.  These brown bears (Ursus arctos) are cousins to our local black bears (Ursus americanus).  Brown  Brown bear eating sedges  Warm Srpings AK     Sue Pike photo   bears are what we usually think of as grizzlies, but this isn’t always true.  A grizzly is a brown bear, but a brown bear isn’t always a grizzly.  According to the National Park Service “brown bears and grizzlies are the same species (Ursus arctos), but grizzly bears are currently considered to be a separate subspeci...

Visiting Alaska and its grassy bogs  By Sue Pike  / yorkweekly@seacoastonline.com/The York Weekly/Portsmouth Herald/ Foster's Daily/Exeter Herald July 4 2017 Muskeg gives rise to rainforest high above Warm Springs I was just up in Alaska (my first time!) visiting the Alaska Whale Foundations’ Center for Coastal Conservation in Warm Springs. Warm Springs is in the heart of the Tongass National Forest. The Tongass is the largest national forest in the United States, a whopping 17 million acres, covering much of southeast Alaska - in particular the part surrounding the famous Inside Passage. Famous for everyone expect me I suppose.  I had never heard of the Inside Passage.  But now I understand why I should have - it is a wonderful place, rich in both human and natural history.  I was excited to learn about all the whale research going on in this remote part of the world, but I was just as excited to hike around avisit the bogs that dotted the mounta...