Bears Beware! by Bindi Irwin Page A

we’re trying to stop hunting taking place on Kodiak Island and we do have considerable support in the local community.’
    Katrina smiled proudly at her dad. ‘Go get ’em, Dad!’
    It was then that Bindi felt a strange shaking and noticed the ripples on the water increase. She instinctively grabbed the railing of the boat and held on tight. ‘What was that?’ she asked nervously.
    Tony looked casually about him. ‘I’d say that was a tremor.’
    â€˜An earthquake tremor?’ cried Bindi.
    Katrina laughed at Bindi’s nervousness. ‘Honestly, they happen all the time here. It’s nothing to worry about.’
    Bindi tried to be reassured by her friend’s casual attitude, but she couldn’t help thinking Kodiak Island was proving a little more exciting than she wanted it to be!

As they made their way back to land, Bindi felt no more tremors and soon forgot all about her trepidation. There was too much to see and do. The girls were ravenous by the time they docked in the harbour. There was nothinglike being at sea to work up an appetite.
    â€˜I’m starving!’ exclaimed Bindi.
    â€˜We have just the place to help you out with that,’ piped up Tony with a wink. They walked down the main cobbled street of town and turned into a side street. Bindi noticed a colourful sign further down the street advertising Alaska’s best salmon burgers.
    It didn’t take long for the four of them to find a table in the busy restaurant. The atmosphere was warm and the staff friendly. She was starting to get a sense of what an Anderson family ecotour would be like and she was loving it!
    Bindi ordered a salmon burger and then took a look around the restaurant while they waited for their meal. It was built of large logs of wood and the walls were surrounded by old black-and-white framed photographs. Bindi realised that they documented a big earthquake in 1964, when most of Kodiak’s wharf and surrounding city buildings were destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami. Deciding she might concentrate on something less scary, she looked around at the other patrons in the restaurant.
    Nearby, a large man and a teenage boy were tucking into burgers and a large plate of fries and onion rings.‘Do you reckon we’ll be able to make a bearskin rug out of it, Dad?’ asked the teenage boy through a mouthful of food.
    The man nodded. ‘What do you think we’re paying all this money for?’
    â€˜I want a trophy from this kill,’ said the boy, biting enthusiastically into his burger.
    â€˜You’ll get a trophy if you’re man enough to earn one,’ answered the boy’s father. ‘Anyway, this Hank says he has an eighty-five per cent success rate. He promises to go the distance to get big game.’
    Bindi grimaced, and caught Katrina’s eye. Katrina had also beenlistening to the father–son exchange. They both took a seat back at one of the free tables.
    â€˜Tell me they aren’t serious?’ Bindi whispered to her friend.
    Katrina shook her head. ‘They’re going bear hunting. It’s horrible, but it’s also legal if you have enough money.’
    Finally their waiter arrived with plates piled high with goodness. Bindi looked down at her lunch. Suddenly she didn’t have much of an appetite.

Bindi knew it was actually quite late as the clock beside her bed flashed ten o’clock at night, but even after an action-packed day, it was difficult to sleep when outside it was still broad daylight. It was something to experience firsthandthat in summer, Alaska had more daylight hours because it was so close to the North Pole.
    Bindi and Katrina had enjoyed an afternoon at the local museum, which was packed full of information about the local history and wildlife. Now Bindi understood why locals didn’t bat an eyelid when they talked about earth tremors. The area was prone to earthquakes and if you lived