On Seeing A Documentary On The Kodiak Island Bears Poem by Francis Duggan

They had lived on Kodiak Island centuries before man came
And they were called Kodiak for want of a better name
They once were plentiful but nowadays considered rare
And man took his toll on the World's largest bear.

The big game hunters shot them for their skin
And a large male Kodiak a great prize to win
A dried out skin to hang on lounge room wall
Of massive creature over three metres tall.

With the Alutiio people their Island they did share
And the native man got on well with the giant bear
But the big game hunter to the Kodiak Island came
And the bigger the bear he shot the more his fame.

But the United States Government eventually stepped in
And silenced the guns of the bear hunting men
And the Kodiak bears protected ever since
And to shoot one now considered an offence.

Each year when spawning Season comes around
They fish for salmon bound for spawning ground
The bears put on weight before their Winter lie
On salmon that come home to spawn and die.

The Kodiak Island giant the largest bear
By the World wildlife fund considered rare
They lived on the Island centuries before man came
And were called Kodiak for want of a better name.