The Ranger heard on the park radio the other day that there was a bear on an elk carcass at Isa Lake 5 yards from the road. All visitors stopping were 5 yards from the bear. No bueno. So some bear management folks were going to head up there to check it out, but first they had to get a vehicle with a winch to hoist the carcass up into the truck. Please note that rangers would normally let nature play out, but when it's a carcass and bear so close to the road, they simply have to remove it to protect the predators and scavengers...and humans.
As all of this was being related to me, the ranger said it this way, "Yeah, they have to get a wench to hoist the elk." I laughed. I said as politely as I could, "Honey, there's a big difference between a winch and a wench. A wench is a hussy, a prostitute...you know, a strumpet."
Ranger shakes head at me with scrunched up eyes and walks off.
2 weeks ago