Ursus arctos horribilis
The sections in quotes below are from Wikipedia.
"The grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), also known as the silvertip bear or just the grizzly, is a subspecies of brown bear (Ursus arctos) that generally lives in the uplands of western North America. This subspecies is thought to descend from Ussuri brown bearswhich crossed to
Alaska from Eastern Russia 100,000 years ago, though they did not move south until 13,000 years ago.
Grizzlies are normally
solitary active animals, but in coastal areas the grizzly congregates alongside streams, lakes, rivers, and ponds during the
salmon spawn. Every other year, females (sows) produce one to four young (commonly two) which are small and weigh only about 500 grams (one pound). A sow is protective of her offspring and will attack if she thinks she or her cubs are threatened."
Sarah Palin had a good life as a solitary bear out in wild Wasilla. But, she went from a rural solitary bear to a socialized salmon hunting bear. There are two reasons bears from the wilds join the throngs at the salmon falls. Either they are purely opportunistic, greedy, selfish wild animals, or they saw a threat of starvation or attack if they just stayed in the wild. Sarah, has proven herself very clearly a popular leader among the Grizzlies at the salmon runs. Very popular. She knows how to hunt and rarely misses her kill. Though smaller than the males (establishment politicians) she knows how to taunt them and keep them at bay. She knows she can’t face the males directly, but they know they like her and might want to keep her around for times when they want a very popular, good looking, proven breeding champion.
It may be noted that Grizzly bears are not the smartest of creatures, dolphins are. They are not the most successful of creatures, cockroaches and ants are. They are among the most adaptive of creatures, ranging far north and south. They are perhaps the most dangerous creatures men have even encountered. Lewis and Clark noted that it could take a dozen musket balls to bring one down. They are formidable.
"The grizzly bear also appears on the
Flag of California, though they are extinct in the state, the last one having been shot in 1922."
There was a time when an independent, active, protective, opportunistic bear ranged all over the west, from Alaska to Southern California. Could such a range be taken again? Not likely.
"Reproduction
Grizzly bears have one of the lowest reproductive rates of all terrestrial mammals in North America."
Grizzlies in the wilds often have as few as one cub every 4 years. If they are well fed at the Salmon runs they can produce 3-4 cubs every 2 years. It is all about environment. 2010 was the best environment for Palin possible. She has gained a lot of ground. This is likely her peak productive period, because politics swings back and forth. As the political streams become more muddied with all the activity of two party rule, salmon will be less hard to pick off. This is the top of her popularity. She will be useful in hunting the special cases where the Tea Party enthusiasm can swing elections, but overall her place in US politics will become less and less.
"Grizzlies are subject to fragmentation, a form of population segregation.[12] Fragmentation causes
inbreeding depression, which leads to a decrease in genetic variability in the grizzly bear species.
<p style="line-height: 0.2in; widows: 2; orphans: 2″>[13] This decreases the fitness of the population for several reasons. "
Inbreeding is a blessing at the falls and can strengthen the bears population for a while, but too much will lead to slow-witted habitual creatures. Sarah Palin’s biggest challenge right now is to get out and face her opposition and she is doing that. She is getting much better at it. Her new cable show about Alaska shows where her heart really is, though. I really believe she is going to fade into Alaska, where she will continue to be popular and regaled for her glory days as VP candidate, most popular Alaska governor ever, and springboard to the biggest congressional turnover in generations. As soon as she got into the governor’s office in Alaska she took on her biggest foes, the oil companies and corrupt political machines, and whipped them both very badly. It was a good time for her to take them on, but she handled the battle with amazing success. She failed in some small measure to get them all and her own reform bills were later used to drive her from office, but she didn’t just quit, she went on to two or three big projects where she has been very successful again. She wrote two top selling books capped with a big tour of the states. Big Success. She boosted the fates of Tea Party candidates moving the political field in her direction as no one else in the pack of Republicans did. Now, she has a record settingly popular cable TV show that showcases her engaging personality. No one who watches this show with an open mind could hate her for long. There is something about seeing someone in love that draws people, and if you don’t see that Sarah Palin loves Alaska, you are blinded by your own far left prejudice.
"Although grizzlies are of the order Carnivora and have the digestive system of carnivores, they are actually omnivores, since their diet consists of both plants and animals. They have been known to prey on large mammals, when available, such as moose, deer, sheep, elk, <span style="font-weight: normal; “>bison, caribou and even black bears. "
Sarah is not averse to taking ground wherever she can. She is as comfortable talking domestic economics (vegetarian fare) as she is world battles (raw meat). Those who dismiss her views on either of these do so to their peril. She is a very fast learner with excellent survival instincts. She took over pack at the salmon runs (Alaskan political scene) and consolidated power there very quickly and effectively. To believe she is not up to it nationally is naive. She could have been vice president today if John McCain had only opposed TARP. So, her grizzly mate missed his kill when he went after Obama. That does not mean she was not a formidable VP candidate. She is certainly a better decision maker than Joe Biden.
"Conflicts with humans
Grizzlies are considered by some experts to be the most aggressive bears[citation needed] even by the standards of brown bears.[30] Aggressive behavior in grizzly bears is favored by numerous selection variables…….It is imperative for all campers in areas inhabited by grizzly to maintain a clean campsite. "
When Grizzlies get into fights with humans, the humans better be well armed if they want to survive. She brought incredible strength to McCain’s campaign even when the political battle field was tilted way to the left. The only time McCain ever lead Obama in the polls was when he picked Sarah. That one week. McCain had the right pick, but his people simply would not let her be herself. She made a big mistake in not being more herself and being more frank, but she has learned from that and when she wanders into the camp of males (establishment politicians) she is not so restrained. She can take care of herself. Even though her influence will fade, she won’t be railroaded out of the power structure so easily as she was during the campaign.
Bear bells. Finally, I would caution her opponents to wear bells. I learned about bear bells from a wilderness living expert, my sister-in-law Janet. She was tower sitting fire watcher for years and has lived in the woods of Montana alone for months at a time. When you go out in bear country the last thing you want to meet is a momma grizzly with cubs by surprise on her terms. You do not want to spook a Mamma Grizzly. So, wise