Katmai Bear Experience

Katmai Brooks Camp at top of Aleutian Island chain

The first leg out of Anchorage

All bags & passengers (Marie) have to be weighed for the float plane

Now to board the float plane

Landed at Brook's Lodge

Bears everywhere - can you count 10 bears?

Another salmon jumps the waterfall - one bear is waiting above and one below in case it falls back down

Heading to shore to eat

Stripping the fish - keeping an eye out- a bigger bear can take the catch

Enjoying the rich salmon flesh

Cinnamon - the oldest bear

WOW, WOW & WOW! We have just spent 2 days out at Brook's Lodge in Katmai National Park, located at the top of the Aleutian Islands off Anchorage. Eric & Marie thought this would be the icing of our Alaska cake, and boy, were they right on the money. Brook's Lodge is famous with anglers for the wonderful salmon fishing but it also offers a relatively safe environment for visitors to see grizzly bears fish for salmon at a waterfall (Brook's Falls), where the fish are swimming upstream to spawn. The Falls are 6' high, and it is an amazing sight to see the salmon jump up and over - well the lucky ones make it. The others gets snapped up by the bears at the falls - or the anglers who are further downstream. People come from all over the world to see the bears here. While we were there we bumped into another aussie chap, and this was his 3rd trip here. We also met up with a lovely aussie couple who were staying at the campground but came to the lodge each evening to sit around the fire. They would spend several hours a day just watching the bears - they got some fabulous action photos for their efforts. I think one day they spent a total of 6 hours on the platform watching them. But I am getting off track here...

After a 1.5 hr flight from Anchorage to King Salmon, we boarded a float plane for a 25 min flight to Brook's Lodge. Before we got 2 paces from the beach where we landed, we were ushered into a room and shown a bear orientation video, followed by a ranger safety talk. We learnt how to behave when confronted by a grizzly. Brook's Lodge rangers remind us that this area is the bears' territory, and the Lodge principle is to let the bears do their thing, and visitors are to withdraw and let them continue on their way. We were instructed to remain a minimum of 50 yards from a bear, or 100 yards if it is a sow with cubs. Sadly you may have heard that yesterday a hiker in Yellowstone was killed when he & his wife were hiking a trail and surprised a sow with her cubs. After our experience of walking the trails, I can certainly understand how easy that could happen.

Within 2 mins of checking into our rustic cabin for 4 (more on that in another blog), Murray excitedly yelled out that he could see a bear from our porch. It was off in the distance, but we were thrilled to have seen one so soon. We quickly had a bite to eat to fortify us for the adventures ahead, then made a beeline for the 1.2 mile path to the waterfall, hoping to see bears. After all, that was why we had come here. We hadn't even got to the end of the first path leading out from the cabins when we were stopped by a ranger - a bear was in the area. We couldn't believe we were seeing a bear amble past so close. Our cameras started clicking, and hardly stopped for the 2 days were were there. Once the coast was clear, we continued with our bear bells jangling (we were advised to clap hand, ring bells, talk or sing to make noise to alert the bears to our presence so they can slink away). Usually it is when you come upon a bear and surprise it that it attacks. We made it to the platform overlooking the falls (see next blog which should be posted later today), and joined lots of other people, all armed with cameras. Our first sight of the bears in the waterfall will be imprinted on our brains forever. The views of salmon jumping were also amazing: our visit was just at the start of the spawing cycle, but in a week or so the river will be teeming with salmon. After spending a few years out to sea, the salmon return to the same area they were spawned. Once they spawn, they die and feed the ecosystem. Towards the end of the salmon season, the bears are so full, that once they catch the salmon, they just hit it hard with their paw to squirt out the roe (fish eggs) and they just lick up that protein-filled delicacy to top them up before they go into hibernation. They leave the fish itself for the birds! It is interesting also to see the seagulls hover around each bear once it has caught a salmon - they wait until the bear goes, then eat the tiny morsels left behind.

The bears seem to systematically eat the salmon. They don't swallow the fish in one gulp like I imagine they would, but they strip it in lengths, pulling the fish meat towards the tail. I counted one bear take 10 bites before the salmon was gone and he returned to fish again. They either use one paw to hold the fish against their leg (bigger bears can do that and maintain their position in the water), or they carry the fish closer to the shore (or all the way to the shore) and use one paw to hold it against the ground or against a rock. The salmon are about 20" long and weigh about 4-5lb. One bear I was watching caught 4 fish in 30 minutes. Bears have an obvious hierarchy, and it is fascinating to watch how they all interact. 5 bears can be in position waiting to catch a salmon, but a larger bear just has to enter the arena, and it is interesting to watch them all slink away. Once the new dominant male has chosen his position, the others then re-align their new position, making sure their presence doesn't offend the big male.

The oldest bear in the park is named Cinnamon. When I first saw it, I thought it had cancer and didn't have long to live. But someone said they thought the same when they saw it last summer, but it is still alive this summer. Poor thing. It looks all moth eaten and skinny. It takes a few steps, then stops for a rest before taking another few steps. It is too old to fish anymore, so it was a surprise to see the other bears catch a salmon, take a few bites, then let the salmon float downstream to Cinnamon. When Cinnamon isn't around, they eat the whole salmon every time. While they may seem caring in this regard, a sow with cubs isn't included in this caring attitude. Early in summer, when she has young cubs that were born during the end of the winter hibernation, she has to stay downstream away from the big male bears, as they are still hungry from their months of hibernation, and baby cubs make tasty morsels.

There is so much to tell you, and so many photos to show, that I will write another 3 blogs to cover different aspects of these 2 days. Meanwhile, check out the video of the grizzly catching a salmon below.