July 6, 2007: Benign bears befriend bruin benefactor

Undertoad · 07-06-2007, 07:33 AM

Meet Alaskan Charlie Vandergaw. He's a friend to the bears, nursing them back to health when they're injured, feeding them, now even petting and riding them.

According to the Snopes entry found by xoB, the above was all documented by the Anchorage Daily News:

Quote:

What goes on each summer at Vandergaw's remote homestead is so far from the ordinary as to be almost unbelievable. Visitors tell of him petting black and brown bears, playing with grizzly cubs while sows stand by, sitting on bears and teaching them tricks. His own photographs show even more. They capture him easing to within feet of breeding grizzlies and nursing an injured brown bear.

A visiting photographer is amazed to see head-and-shoulder shots of breeding grizzlies taken with a wide-angle lens -- photos that would require the photographer to be within feet, if not inches, of the bears.

There are photos of Vandergaw playing with grizzly cubs while their mother lounges nearby. There are pictures of gangs of bears around his cabin, of individual bears in his cabin, and even close-ups of a grizzly's injured mouth.

It might all seem unbelievable if not for the fact that his photos are confirmed, in effect, by those taken by other photographers and by the black bear wandering around the yard.

Wildlife officials are having none of it; they say he's only a dice roll away from a severe mauling. But according to Snopes, it's worse than that, they say he's a criminal:

Quote:

As of April 2007, Alaska news sources reported that the state attorney general's office was considering bringing criminal and civil actions against Vandergaw for his continuing to violate state law by feeding wild bears.

More story and three more pics at the Snopes entry.

monster · 07-06-2007, 07:50 AM

Awesome Alliteration Announces And Adorns Extra-special End-of-week Image

piercehawkeye45 · 07-06-2007, 07:55 AM

God, this reminds me of the Grizzly man.

odie number seven · 07-06-2007, 08:02 AM

The bears probably see the old man as one of their own. Look at him!

Kitsune · 07-06-2007, 08:14 AM

Timothy Treadwell not impressed.

TheMercenary · 07-06-2007, 08:14 AM

Playing with fire. No different than owning a Pit Bull. All fun and games till someone gets hurt.

Hoof Hearted · 07-06-2007, 08:52 AM

Not completely trusting...I noticed the cattle prod prominently on display and near to hand in the last posted photo.

Coign · 07-06-2007, 10:31 AM

"Hey Boo-boo, did you bring the BBQ sauce and how do you like your human roasted?" -Yogi

Clodfobble · 07-06-2007, 11:03 AM

Hey, there's no date in the thread title! Totally threw me off.

HungLikeJesus · 07-06-2007, 11:11 AM

I thought a grizzly is a brown bear.

queenb · 07-06-2007, 11:22 AM

Just an opinion but....
Cattle prod + thin skinned, placid cow = make a cow run away.
Cattle prod + thick furred, volatile bear = pissed off bear = getting your bloody ass handed back to you.
But I could be wrong.

Griff · 07-06-2007, 11:32 AM

For some reason I'm reminded of the lioness taking care of the calf.

theotherguy · 07-06-2007, 12:34 PM

Black bears maybe? They look alot like the ones in east Tennessee.

Griff · 07-06-2007, 12:59 PM

I think those are blacks. Griz have a pretty distinctive snout. If they had a good side shot you could see the difference in body structure as well.

theotherguy · 07-06-2007, 02:18 PM

The Snopes entry gives some more detail and does refer to them as black bears. There is also a shot there of him with a brown one which may be a grizzly.

07-06-2007, 07:50 AM	#2
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	Awesome Alliteration Announces And Adorns Extra-special End-of-week Image __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

07-06-2007, 08:02 AM	#4
odie number seven A dying breed. Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Virginia Posts: 22	The bears probably see the old man as one of their own. Look at him! __________________ odie

07-06-2007, 08:14 AM	#6
TheMercenary “Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo” Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Savannah, Georgia Posts: 21,393	Playing with fire. No different than owning a Pit Bull. All fun and games till someone gets hurt. __________________ Anyone but the this most fuked up President in History in 2012!

07-06-2007, 08:52 AM	#7
Hoof Hearted ...you smell something? Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Monroe, GA Posts: 420	Not completely trusting...I noticed the cattle prod prominently on display and near to hand in the last posted photo. __________________ I have the ability of single-minded determination and focu...Hey, look! A horse!

07-06-2007, 10:31 AM	#8
Coign Wanted Driver Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Vail, CO Posts: 279	"Hey Boo-boo, did you bring the BBQ sauce and how do you like your human roasted?" -Yogi __________________ Quoting yourself is the height of hubris. -Coign

07-06-2007, 07:55 AM	#3
piercehawkeye45 Franklin Pierce Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,695	God, this reminds me of the Grizzly man.

07-06-2007, 08:14 AM	#5
Kitsune still eats dirt Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 3,031	Timothy Treadwell not impressed.

07-06-2007, 11:03 AM	#9
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Hey, there's no date in the thread title! Totally threw me off.

07-06-2007, 11:11 AM	#10
HungLikeJesus Only looks like a disaster tourist Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: above 7,000 feet Posts: 7,208	I thought a grizzly is a brown bear. __________________ Keep Your Bodies Off My Lawn SteveDallas's Random Thread Picker.

07-06-2007, 11:22 AM	#11
queenb Fellow-Commoner Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: NE Ohio Posts: 10	Just an opinion but.... Cattle prod + thin skinned, placid cow = make a cow run away. Cattle prod + thick furred, volatile bear = pissed off bear = getting your bloody ass handed back to you. But I could be wrong.

07-06-2007, 11:32 AM	#12
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	For some reason I'm reminded of the lioness taking care of the calf. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

07-06-2007, 12:34 PM	#13
theotherguy no not that other guy, the other one Join Date: May 2007 Location: TN Posts: 640	Black bears maybe? They look alot like the ones in east Tennessee. __________________ I should be working.

07-06-2007, 12:59 PM	#14
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	I think those are blacks. Griz have a pretty distinctive snout. If they had a good side shot you could see the difference in body structure as well. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

07-06-2007, 02:18 PM	#15
theotherguy no not that other guy, the other one Join Date: May 2007 Location: TN Posts: 640	The Snopes entry gives some more detail and does refer to them as black bears. There is also a shot there of him with a brown one which may be a grizzly. __________________ I should be working.

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