Trails closed due to aggressive bears

About 9:30AM we headed down the Denali Park Road toward our campsites that Norm procured on December 1st of last year. First in first served, so we wanted to get there early to pick the best spots, which unfortunately, were not terribly close to one another.

Scored a great campsite here at Savage Creek in Denali National Park

 No big deal, it was just a little inconvenient, with no cell service to make plans and eat meals together.  We did it the "old fashioned" way. Walk and talk. Wow, that works!

We camped here for 3 nights.  Aggressive bear (s) in area. Yikes!

We had planned on a great hike here at Savage Creek, that is why we chose this campground even though it had no services - it was all about the hiking.  We soon learned that all trails in the area were closed, except down by the river due to "bear activity".  I wondered why not the river too, because bears do walk around - perhaps they might like the river view, too?

We did take a "stroll" by the river, talked with a young girl who was taking surveys about the National Park visitors, and took a longer route back to the campground, eavesdropping on a tour guide speaking with a group.

There were many stories as to why the trails were closed, but I found this article online from The Alaska Dispatch News:

Aggressive Denali bears injure 1, prompt trail and parking lot closures

•  Author: Jeannette Falsey
 
•  Updated: June 25
 
•  Published June 25

Aggressive grizzlies have prompted officials in Denali National Park and Preserve to close trails and parking lots.

The Savage Alpine Trail, the Savage River Loop Trail and both Savage River parking lots were closed indefinitely as park wildlife technicians tried to teach a bear in the area to avoid approaching humans. The park has also stopped issuing backcountry permits for the Savage River area.

The small grizzly early in the week charged vehicles near the Primrose area and chased visitors near Savage River along the Denali Park Road.

The same bear also charged hikers on the Savage Alpine Trail on Wednesday and consumed two candy bars and bottles of soda from a daypack one hiker threw as a distraction.

Dave Schirokauer, resources and science team leader for Denali National Park, called the situation "very serious" because the bear was rewarded for aggressive behavior and may have learned to associate humans with food.

A grizzly sow and an older cub walk down the road in Denali National Park in May. (Bob Hallinen / Alaska Dispatch News)

Wildlife technicians hope to find the bear and lure it into a similar scenario, but instead of providing treats, they plan to fire paint balls, beanbags and rubber bullets at the animal to make it wary of people.