Wash. bear researcher: 'I've got huge respect for these animals'

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Imagine being side-by-side with grizzly bears in Alaska for weeks at a time, learning about them by living around them.

That's what one Washington state man has been doing for the past couple of years - and now he has a three-part special airing on PBS.

"I've dedicated nearly half my life to the study of bears," Chris Morgan says.

Morgan, a Bellingham man, says - no, he's not out of his mind.

"No, I've got huge respect for these animals. I never lose sight of the fact that they're wild animals in an environment that's their environment."

He went on a 3,000-mile motorcycle journey with a film crew. They immersed themselves into the world of bears in Alaska - black, brown, and polar.

"There's something magical and different and wild about this place," he says.

Morgan's three-part special, airing on KCTS starting Sunday night, took him to a place on the Alaska Peninsula nicknamed "City of Bears."

"These bears have become very, very socially tolerant because there are so many of them in this habitat," he says.

He was able to get very close to these massive animals.

"Letting brown bears approach you anywhere else would be unthinkable," he says.

Perhaps even a little too close at times - although he says there never really were any scary close calls.

"I don't claim to be a bear whisperer, I don't know these bears inside out. But there are certain things you can look out for, and it's all the things that other bears are looking for as well - the body posture, whether they're really looking at you directly," Morgan says.

Part of his work explores a problem that we face here in Washington - urban development pushing farther and farther into bear country.

"You know, I think humans are the smart ones," he says. "We can make small adjustments in our life to make sure that those bears we share habitat with don't come into conflict with us."

"My mantra is, 'What's good for bears is good for people' - and it's so true. We all need clean air, fresh water, natural resources - we all need it, whether you watch from your armchair or hike in it every weekend," he says. "It's something that's important for all of us for our health and sanity."

Morgan says sometimes he's more comfortable living out in the wild than he is here with the rest of us.

His three-part series will air on May 8, 15 and 22 on KCTS.