Tammi Meissner stands astride "Rupert," which she decorated for Bearfest 2017. Attired in regalia, the bear took five coats of acrylic paint and a protective coating to complete, and features a wooden paddle and beaded moccasins.
A full complement of events is being arranged for next week's Bearfest, the eighth held since the festival's inception.
It was started in 2010 by Alaska Vistas operator Sylvia Ettefagh, in order to highlight Wrangell's robust bear population. One of the prime places to see the area's brown and black bears together in one place is at Anan Wildlife Observatory, a short jump south of the island on the mainland. Several thousand visitors come to the island each summer in order to visit the Forest Service-maintained site, where ursines of all size are drawn to the returning run of salmon congregati...
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