Sharing The Land

In the only state in America where an intruder in your home is likely to slobber and leave a pile on the rug and critters outnumber people 5-to-1,humans and hairy ones share and share alike. In Alaska, critters are everywhere and humans do a pretty good job of living alongside them. In Anchorage, where half of human Alaska resides, nobody is surprised to drive home from work and find a moose on the roof. Alaskans know wild animals are not Disney characters. Moose cause more than 100 traffic accidents a year in Anchorage. They destroy fences and eat shrubbery. “This ain’t the zoo,” says Sgt. Darlene Turner, chief of state troopers in Kodiak. “You should appreciate animals, respect them. But you can’t romanticize them.”