Bears Beware! (2 page)

Bindi knew it was actually quite late as the clock beside her bed flashed ten o'clock at night, but even after an action-packed day, it was difficult to sleep when outside it was still broad daylight. It was something to experience firsthand
that in summer, Alaska had more daylight hours because it was so close to the North Pole.

Bindi and Katrina had enjoyed an afternoon at the local museum, which was packed full of information about the local history and wildlife. Now Bindi understood why locals didn't bat an eyelid when they talked about earth tremors. The area was prone to earthquakes and if you lived here you became used to it.

‘Hummmmmf!' Bindi let out a long sigh. It felt as if tomorrow would never come. Bindi was itching to get out the next day and see a bear in the wild!

She looked over to see Katrina
tossing on her bed on the other side of the room.

‘Are you awake?' Bindi asked her friend.

Katrina rubbed her eyes. ‘That sigh was loud enough to wake my parents!' She laughed and sat up. ‘Only joking. I can't sleep either.'

Bindi grimaced. ‘I can't stop thinking about that horrible family and their bear hunt.'

Katrina felt exactly the same way. ‘I just don't understand. Bears are endangered all over the world, but here on Kodiak, the Kodiak bear population is actually healthy. So they allow bear hunting! How does that make sense?'

Bindi was so agitated that she leapt from her bed and began pacing the room. ‘They want to make a rug out of one!'

Katrina nodded and sighed. ‘My parents are petitioning to try to get hunting banned. And we think the hunters have retaliated by badmouthing us on tourism web-sites, which has hurt our business.'

‘That's terrible!' exclaimed Bindi. It made her even madder about the hunters. ‘Is there anything we can do?'

Katrina shook her head sadly and shrugged. ‘There is a certain amount of permits issued each year to hunt a Kodiak bear. It costs thousands of
dollars, but it's completely legal if you can afford it. And hunters like Hank Robbins are ruthless. They'll do anything to get results.'

Bindi shuddered. ‘There has to be a way. That awful father and son should not be allowed to get their “trophy”. Ugh, I hate that word.'

Suddenly Katrina had an idea. She hesitated as she spoke. ‘There might be something we can do.'

Bindi was all ears.

Katrina looked anxiously at her friend. ‘But we could get into heaps of trouble.'

Bindi met her friend's eyes. ‘Not as much trouble as the bear, though!'

Katrina made up her mind. ‘You're right.' She sprang out of bed to begin dressing. ‘We'll need to make some preparations while Mum and Dad are asleep. Are you in?'

Bindi couldn't get her clothes on quickly enough. ‘If it saves a bear's life, you bet I'm in!'

The next morning Bindi and Katrina were washing up their breakfast dishes when Tony and Mia arrived downstairs in the kitchen.

‘You're up early,' commented Mia as she helped herself to a cup of coffee.

‘We … we wanted to get a head start on sightseeing. Bindi's really excited about checking out the island,' Katrina hastily explained. She blushed bright red and hid her face as she energetically dried a plate with a tea towel. It was obvious to Bindi that lying to her parents didn't come easily to Katrina and she felt bad for her friend.

‘What did you have in mind?' beamed Tony as he joined his wife at the table. ‘We could give you a lift.'

‘Oh no, it's okay,' broke in Katrina. ‘We'll use the bikes.'

The girls nearly tripped over each other in their hurry to finish the dishes and get out of the kitchen.

‘See you, Tony, see you, Mia!' Bindi gave them a wave and the two girls rushed out of the kitchen.

Bindi and Katrina were gathering their gear together out in the shed beside the house. The family owned a few bikes that they used for their ecotours so it was no problem for Bindi to find a bike and a helmet that fitted. During the night the two friends had filled two daypacks with food, water and various supplies, which they now slung over their backs.

‘Let's hit the road,' whispered Katrina with a furtive glance towards the house. ‘We want to catch the hunters as they head out or we won't know where they're going. Hank lives outside of town, so it's a bit of a ride.'

The girls mounted their bikes and took off down the windy streets of Kodiak.

After about an hour of cycling Katrina pulled over to the side of the road and motioned for Bindi to do the same. She held a finger up to her lips for Bindi to keep quiet. They hid the bikes behind a pile of logs by the fence and crept down the dirt driveway. ‘Hank's
Bear Hunting – Trophy Guaranteed!!' the sign at the front gate claimed. Next to the advertisement was a picture of a hunter standing over a dead bear. Bindi gave a shudder.

Just then a large four-wheel drive pulled into the driveway. The girls dashed to the side and hid behind an old wooden shed. The car came to a stop and out tumbled the teenage boy and his dad. They were dressed in khaki shirts, long khaki pants and thick leather boots.

‘Those folks are giving khaki a bad name!' whispered Bindi to her friend, outraged.

The girls watched as a fit-and strong-looking man in his forties
clambered out from the old farmhouse to greet the family.

‘That's Hank!' whispered Katrina.

Bindi sized up the hunter. He wore a shaggy beard and certainly looked the part of a man who'd spent plenty of time in the wild.

‘Ready to bag a live one?' asked Hank in a loud voice, as he clapped the teenage boy on the back.

The boy nodded vigorously. ‘You bet!' The men then headed inside the farmhouse.

‘We will need to follow them on foot. Hank's property backs onto the national park,' said Katrina.

Bindi knew how dangerous it was to head out into the bush alone
to try and stop a group of bear hunters, but she could not stand back and let an innocent bear get killed. She nodded and gave Katrina the thumbs up.

Katrina and Bindi quickly hid behind a cluster of trees a short distance from the farmhouse and waited anxiously for the group. Hank finally clattered down the front steps of the house, carrying various packs over his shoulder. In
his right hand he held a large rifle.

Bindi sucked in her breath. The black shiny gun looked ominous. Then she saw a sight even more horrifying. Father and son followed Hank outside and they each held their own rifle. They looked as if they had handled guns all their lives; in particular, the boy seemed very at home with a firearm as he let out a loud ‘whoop' with excitement as he raced down the steps.

‘It's good to be pumped,' said Hank, ‘but before we get going, a little about myself. I'm first and foremost a hunter; I'm not into dazzling you with fancy meals and cushy
surroundings. It's all about getting you your trophy.'

The father and son smiled. Hank pointed to a line of tin cans standing on a fence in the distance. ‘Give it your best shot.' He nodded to the boy.

The boy's face broke into a huge grin and he lost no time in positioning his rifle and taking aim.

‘KA-CHING!'

The bullet let out a loud ping as it rebounded off the metal can and sent it flying into the air.

‘Bullseye!' cried the boy with a self-satisfied smirk.

Crouching low behind the trees, Bindi gave Katrina a determined stare. Katrina nodded. Bindi didn't
need to speak out loud for her to know what she was thinking. They were going to stop this hunt!

After gathering their gear together, the group headed off on foot. Hank's property backed on to the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, where hunting was allowed to take place as long as you had a permit. Bindi and Katrina tailed the group, making sure to keep out of sight and well behind so they couldn't be heard. It was easy to follow the men from a distance. They might be good shots but they were not natural walkers, nor were they fit as they puffed their way slowly through the foliage.

‘Fingers crossed we don't see any bears,' whispered Katrina. She was putting on a brave face, but felt decidedly anxious about their plan.

They walked for a few hours and soon it was time for the group to take a break. The girls watched as Hank chose a shady spot by a river and unpacked some morning tea for them to share. Bindi and Katrina took the opportunity to eat at the same time.

All of a sudden there was a cry from Hank as he pointed to the creek. ‘You gotta check this out – salmon jumping! There's a good view from the bridge up here.'

The family stood up, eager to
get a look at this popular local attraction. They moved closer to the creek and away from their picnic spot.

Katrina watched them go. She grabbed a cloth package from her backpack. ‘Now!' whispered Katrina urgently to Bindi. The girls leapt out of the bushes and raced over to the pile of rifles on a large flat rock. Katrina began carefully taking the bullets out of each rifle.

‘Check for extra ammunition in the bags,' whispered Katrina.

‘Found some!' cried Bindi. She pulled out a round of bullets on a long string. Katrina handed her the bullets she had taken from the rifles.
‘Quick, bury all the bullets before they come back.'

Bindi darted behind the trees and quickly dug a hole to hide the ammunition. Success! She couldn't believe such a simple plan had worked.

Bindi raced back to Katrina with a big grin on her face … only to be met by three angry-looking faces. Hank was staring down at Katrina with his arms crossed.

‘I repeat,' said Hank in a gruff voice, ‘what are you doing out here?'

Bindi took one look at Katrina's rabbit-in-the-headlights stare and knew it was up to her to talk their way out of this one.

‘We know we're not meant to be here but I've come all the way from Australia and I really think
bear hunting is just about the best thing ever.' The words stuck in Bindi's throat as she said them in her strongest Australian accent.

Hank growled. ‘How long have you been following us?'

Bindi looked back at him as innocently as she could. ‘We started off at your house this morning.'

Hank looked embarrassed that he hadn't heard them but shrugged it off. ‘Well, you're obviously enthusiastic.'

The teenager glared at Bindi. He looked less than happy to have two girls crashing his hunting party. ‘Teen girl stalkers, that's all we need.'

Hank turned to the father. ‘It's up to you, Ted. There's no age restriction for hunting in Alaska.'

Ted surveyed the girls. ‘We can't really leave you out here alone. Stay out of our way and don't go anywhere near the firearms. You got that?'

Bindi smiled. ‘You'll barely notice we're here, I promise!'

The friends exchanged a look of relief.

At first there was silence as they continued on their way. Bindi and
Katrina now knew that the son's name was Joey. It had puzzled Bindi that anyone who knew even a little about bears could possibly want to hurt one. She decided to test out Joey's knowledge and casually dropped in beside him as they walked.

‘That was a great shot you took back at Hank's place.' She gave Joey one of her biggest smiles.

He looked at Bindi in surprise. ‘You saw that, did you?'

‘Oh yeah!' cried Bindi enthusiastically. ‘You're a crack shot. Have you done much hunting?'

As much as Joey didn't really want to spend his time talking to
a girl, he did like talking about hunting. ‘I've hunted mountain goats and deer and got trophies each time,' he told Bindi smugly.

‘Wow. Never missed, huh?' gushed Bindi. ‘And now you want to bag a big one?'

‘You got it!' Joey lifted his rifle into the air with emphasis. ‘I'm going to bring that sucker down.'

‘You know the males can stand over ten feet tall on their hind legs?' asked Bindi.

Joey nodded. ‘Those boars are big fellas.'

‘Have you ever seen one?' asked Bindi.

Joey shook his head.

‘Neither have I,' said Bindi, and then couldn't help but add, ‘People say it's a life-changing experience.'

Bindi was about to continue chattering away when Joey abruptly demanded, ‘You don't know the first thing about hunting, do you? If you did, you'd know to keep your trap shut. Stop talking!'

This gave Bindi an idea. She walked on ahead of Joey.

‘Aaaa-choooo!' Bindi let out a loud sneeze.

The others swung around and glared at her.

‘Sorry. Must be allergic to the … aaaa-choo!' She sneezed again.

‘Thanks for alerting every bear
within miles,' growled Hank. He sighed and shook his head.

Bindi smiled to herself. They walked on in silence. Daylight was beginning to fade. Bindi hoped that soon they'd give up on seeing any bears.

Hank checked his watch. ‘It's getting late. I think we'll call it a day and make our way to the cabin for the night.'

‘Not so fast,' called Ted in a low voice. ‘No sudden moves but take a look between the two large trees at 4 o'clock.'

Everyone turned their heads very slowly in the direction Ted was looking. There in the shadows
stood a large and very shaggy male Kodiak bear. He was quite calm and still. He watched them passively as if he was curious to see what they were up to in his neck of the woods.

‘What a beauty!' said Joey and Bindi at the same time, although Bindi knew he saw the beauty in a very different way to the way she did. Bindi grimaced as she watched Joey position his rifle to shoot. Ted and Hank did the same.

‘He's all yours, son,' said Ted to Joey. ‘We're just here as backup.'

Joey had the boar in his sights. ‘Don't worry, Dad, I've got the perfect shot.'

There was nothing Bindi and Katrina could do as Joey lined up the position of the rifle and pulled the trigger.