Martha Loves Sitka: Fortress of the Bears

Fortress of the Bears was first developed in Sitka by Les and Evy Kinnear as an orphaned cub rescue facility and accepted their first 2 bears in 2007. Chaik and Killisnoo came from Admiralty Island topping out at 700-800 pounds. There is no physical interaction between human and bear but over time they taught them to open their mouths on command, food being the bribe to do so, through a barrier in an interior room to check for health problems. They built the complex by buying an abandoned pulp mill and converting the tanks into a beautiful home for the bears. They put in huge swimming pool and diverted a mountain stream so there is continuous fresh water coming in to the pools. They are doing road work on Sawmill Creek Road where the bears are and as they cut down trees the people from the Fortress was right behind to catch them and take them for the Fortress. This gives the bears different smells that they would not normally get. They fix all of the males so there is no mating at all in the Fortress as they are brother and sister and I guess incest is not best even with bears. LOL
The goal of the Fortress is to educate people that you can co-exist with them if you know their habits. The volunteers are very knowledgeable and could answer any and all of the questions a visitor might have. The bears were so cute you felt like you could just curl up with them, but I'm not going first! My mother in law is here for a visit and it was fun to take her someplace we had not been yet. If you ever make it to Sitka I highly recommend a visit to Fortress of the Bears.