The Bear Story Part Two

Last summer, I was wearing several hats, as Greg had taken a full-time job outside of the resort. Each day, he left at 7:30 a.m. and he took Paul with him. That meant that anything that took place on my watch had to be taken care of by me, knowledge or experience notwithstanding. It was a crazy learning event for me, as I saw how much I'd taken for granted when I always had the guys around to take care of the outside stuff. Fortunately, they were home on weekends, so if possible, I would save certain jobs for those two days.

It is not unusual for us to get a call from someone who is having problems with a nuisance bear. That is because if they get permission from the DNR to dispatch the bear, we are willing to salvage the meat from the animal. We all try hard to use this as a last resort. We much prefer to see the bears do what they are intended to do---hang out in the woods, find their sustenance, have new little bears. Looking at the studies of Lily the Bear in Ely this year, it's easy to see that many people enjoy bears. I've heard that she has an incredible following on her Facebook page, to the tune of over 98,000 followers. Her webcam was a huge hit this winter. Pretty impressive stuff. We like bears. But if the bears become too habituated to people, they can be dangerous. If this happens, sometimes they need to go.

We got one of those calls on a Saturday morning in mid-June 2009. Our neighbor had a rogue bear that had become so comfortable around their place, he totally ignored all people, and made some pretty bold moves in broad daylight. They had called it in, and were granted permission. When we heard about it, I prayed all weekend that the bear would die before Sunday night. No such luck.

Early on Monday, just after everyone had left for work, I got the call that "Yogi" had just eaten his last breakfast. Could I please come down and pick him up? Now mind you, I have assisted many a time on the care and butchering of a dead animal...but I had never done it all by myself. I tried hard not to start hyperventilating (though I felt like it) and I said that I would be down shortly. Before panic set in, I attempted to reach Greg, in order to have a quick phone tutorial on what to do. I jotted down some instructions, loaded some water jugs in to the truck, and headed out.

With help, the bear got loaded into the back of the truck. He was just a little guy, and we felt bad that he had learned his habits so young. We knew that he would not have stopped looking for easy meals, at the local resorts, cabins, campgrounds, wherever people are. At some point, he could have become a real danger. Instead, he met his fate....and so did I. I got him back home, and found a couple of really sharp knives. Since I have a degree in biology from a lot of years ago, I had experience in dissecting animals. It has never made me squeamish, and that is good. So for me, at this point, it felt somewhat clinical, but nonetheless a bit intimidating. Since the day was hot, I knew that I couldn't put it off, so I just dug right in.

Greg had told me that in the summer, it is best not to gut the bear, as it makes a very stinky mess. He said to cut back the hide, and peel it away from the muscle and bone, exposing the four legs, and the spine. That is what I started to do. Methodically, I made my cuts, and peeled back, while swatting away the flies and mosquitoes. I paused a time or two, to catch my breath or answer the phone. Mostly, I just kept at it, and after a couple of hours, I had two hind quarters and two front quarters washed, wrapped, and safely stowed in the refrigerator. The butchering of it, into manageable size pieces, would come later. I next located the backstraps, and carefully cut those away from the spine. As for the tenderloins....well, as tasty and tender as they might have been, I didn't attempt to retrieve them. Greg says that it is possible to get them from the back side, by reaching inside, and using a knife to loosen and cut them free. But since I had my orders not to puncture the gut cavity, I felt it was too risky. Why push my luck when things were going so well?

By this time, Addie was home from work, so she took a moment to snap a photo of me, and I gave her a quick anatomy lesson on things visible still within the bear.
The job wasn't over yet, as I still had to take care of the remains. I washed up and got everything secured in the truck, and then drove off to find a remote area to dump the carcass. I had been telling people that a lot of the days at the resort, I would find myself pretending to be Greg, when I was attempting to figure out a solution to new challenges. That day, I felt like I was Greg, driving down an old road, bumping along in the truck, mission nearly accomplished. I got the deed done, and soon was back home to do the final job of the moment, clean-up. I scrubbed the back of the truck like I clean in cabins, since I didn't want the smell around to attract any other critters. Finished, I have to say that I felt a bit of a sense of accomplishment, having achieved a job I never dreamed that I would be doing when I signed on to be a resort wife.