Adults and kids alike were transfixed last week as the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) presented its dynamic team of Karelian bear dogs to the town of Index. Meant to be both educational and fun, it was an emotional event filled with laughter, joy and even a few tears.
Coordinated by Index resident Sue Cross and WDWF Officer Nicholas Jorg, the presentation took place on Friday, Feb. 27. Members of the community, guests and students from the Index School filled the Index Fire Station for the opportunity to learn about bears and meet the charming and social team of Karelian bear dogs (KBD).
A history of working dogs
The event also served as a retirement ceremony for 12-year-old Mishka and his handler, WDFW Officer Bruce Richards. Mishka, who has been partnered with Richards since 2007, was the department's first-ever working KBD. Initially partnered with Washington state Carnivore Specialist Rocky Spencer, Mishka transitioned to Richards after Spencer passed away unexpectedly in September 2007.
"When you see that dog, you're looking at history,GÇ¥ Richards said with emotion. "When you touch my dog, you're touching history GÇô because he's the first one in the United States.GÇ¥
The KBD program was initially implemented by Spencer, who sought a way to work through bear-human conflict, utilizing wildlife service dogs. The work was continued by Richards and Mishka after Spencer's death.
Mishka has tracked countless bears and cougars during his career, located cadavers and has even tracked evidence to help prove cases of illegal poaching. Additionally, he has interacted with thousands of children. From the time they are born, KBDs are highly socialized to further advance their friendly and affectionate nature.
"These dogs are people-friendly and bear-aggressive,GÇ¥ Richards said.
A unique breed
An extremely high-energy breed, KBDs need lots of exercise. Richards' wife, Jane, shared that, even at 12 years old, Mishka still needs to run at least five miles a day.
Prior to Mishka's retirement, the WDFW had a team of six KBDs, five of which were in Index for the presentation. Jorg is partnered with Colter, Richards with Mishka, Officer Chris Moszeter is partnered with Colter's brother Savute and Wildlife Biologist Rich Beausoleil works with his two dogs, Cash and Indy.
KBDs come from the Karelia region of Finland and were historically bred to hunt bear and moose. Today, WDFW dogs come from a nonprofit organization in Montana called the Wind River Bear Institute, whose mission is to help prevent the destruction of bears around the world through the utilization of wildlife service animals.
Richards discussed the merits of the KBD program, and how effective the dogs are at what they do. He recalled a bear-human conflict that occurred about four years ago near Lake Wenatchee.
"Cash actually stopped that bear in the middle of the night, by himself, without even treeing it,GÇ¥ Richards said. "We would have been chasing that bear for about three or four weeks, and we probably never would have caught it, but Cash was able to stop that bear by himself GÇô that's how really fantastic these dogs are.GÇ¥
Cash, who is around 9 years old, was the second bear dog to join the team.
A smart, elusive target
The presentation included extensive information about bears, including a simulated bear capture-and-release enacted by the WDFW. Jorg offered a host of information about wildlife in Washington, and talked about how to safely co-exist with bears. There are two species of bears that are native to Washington: black bears, which are relatively common, and grizzly bears, which are far more elusive.
Bears are exceptionally smart, explained Jorg, and they have an extremely powerful sense of smell. They love grain, and can smell birdseed or other types of grain from a mile away. He pointed out that bears don't solicit confrontations with humans GÇô conversely, they spend much of their time avoiding people. But if food or garbage is left so that it's accessible to them, bears will not be able to resist.
When living in bear-prone areas, Jorg explained, it is critical to keep garbage secured in bear-proof containers and to avoid keeping bird feeders.
Typically, black bears hibernate in dens for three to four months out of the year, and contrary to what people might think, they are remarkably clean animals.
"These dens are immaculate - they don't smell at all. These bears are so clean, and they have them lined with sword ferns,GÇ¥ Jorg said. "After a bear's been laying there for three or four months, I would have no problem going in there and taking a nap myself GÇô they are not gross in any way.GÇ¥
Approximately 25,000 black bears live in Washington state. Grizzlies are far less common; for each grizzly, there are roughly 700 black bears.
Jorg explained that early on, the WDFW experimented with many different types of dogs to facilitate bear tracking, capture and release. KBDs were selected because of their exceptional intelligence, strength, speed and agility and their uncanny knack for being able to work with wildlife. The dogs are medium-sized, typically weighing in at around 50 or 60 pounds.
And it just so happens that they love humans.
"They're super-socialized,GÇ¥ Jorg said. "Our dogs love kids, and they don't chase and bite people. But they're really good with mountain lions and bears and working with wildlife.GÇ¥
KBDs are incredibly skilled at what is referred to as a "hard release,GÇ¥ a technique that involves using the dogs in combination with various non-lethal strategies, including rubber bullets, pyrotechnics and loud yelling, to reestablish the bear's natural fear of humans. Once a bear starts to make his way back into the forest, the dogs are sent after it to make sure that it continues running away from the populated area.
And if a bear should stop running too soon, KBDs have no issue with providing some additional motivation to keep them moving along. Jorg explained that if a bear isn't doing exactly what Colter wants it to do, he won't hesitate to bite him right on the rump.
The dogs pursue the bears for a set length of time, after which they are called back by their handlers. The goal is for the bear to experience a sense of relief once the dog leaves and it has returned to a less-populated area, in hopes that it will stay there. The idea is for the bear to feel at home in the woods GÇô not in civilized areas.
All in a day's work
Six-year-old Colter was named after John Colter, a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition in the early 1800s. Jorg has been working with Colter since he was 3 months old; he was the third dog to join the department's KBD team.
"He's been a real pleasure to work with. He caught his first bear down in the Sultan basin two weeks after I got him,GÇ¥ Jorg said. "He was a real gung-ho, little puppy. It was just a little bear on a rainy day, but it was pretty funny.GÇ¥
Colter tracked a bear known as the "Urban Phantom,GÇ¥ who was discovered in Everett in 2009. After the bears are tracked, they are sedated and caged. Once they wake up, they are released back into a safer area. The bears are typically marked so that they are identifiable should the department ever encounter them again. The success of a release is often gauged on whether they encounter that bear again in the future.
Colter is known for his ability to work with stubborn bears to establish boundaries. Jorg said that during difficult releases, when a bear isn't interested in cooperating, Colter seems to have a sixth sense about what to do.
"If it's kind of going awry, he'll pick up the slack and push the bear exactly to where I want it to go,GÇ¥ Jorg said. "Somehow, he just knows.GÇ¥
Jorg loves the partnership that has flourished between himself and Colter.
"It's the most rewarding thing when it starts to come together,GÇ¥ he said. "Sometimes it just blows me away.GÇ¥
For more information on the WDFW Karelian Bear Dog program, visit wdfw.wa.gov/enforcement/kbd/. For more information on the Wind River Institute, visit www.beardogs.org/.-á
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