Old Crooked Nose, fishing for salmon
I’m on my knees in wet sand, and the bear is about 150 feet away, on the opposite side of the stream. Suddenly, he spots something, and takes off running - directly toward me! While I’m intent on getting action shots, I can’t help feeling nervous about the fast approaching, 700-pound animal. About 30 feet away, he lunges, and comes up with a glistening salmon in his mouth. Disaster averted, and man do I ever have a great action sequence!
We’re on the beach somewhere along the Katmai coast, in south central Alaska. It’s an unimaginably remote location, hundreds of miles away from any major city. To get here we’ve flown over dormant volcanoes, glaciers, alpine rivers and lakes, and landed on a small beach in our 5-person Cessna aircraft. The flight itself was incredibly exhilarating, and now the three of us are here as a dozen brown (grizzly) bears roam freely down the beach. It’s a surreal feeling to be in such absolute wilderness among these magnificent creatures, with no other signs of humanity for miles around. Katmai National Park is like no other place I’ve ever been.
Flying to Katmai over dormant volcanoes and glaciers
Brown bears and grizzlies are the same species, referring to coastal and inland populations respectively, like beachcombers and landlubbers among humans. Aside from location, their differences are mainly in diet - coastal brown bears feast predominantly on protein-rich salmon, whereas inland grizzlies are more omnivorous. The abundance of fish on the coast partly explains why Alaskan brown bears seem indifferent to humans - that, along with the fact that they’re not hunted in the vast Alaskan national parks.
For safety, I’d always been taught to keep my distance from Yellowstone grizzlies, but at Katmai it’s a different story - bears and humans intermix quite comfortably. However, even here it’s important to exercise caution - we stay together, don’t stare directly into a bear’s eyes, and never, ever run, no matter what. Just two weeks before my arrival, my guide was charged by an annoyed bear, but stood his ground and made noise, which called the bear's bluff.
Male bear eyeing the photographer
Another good example of why it’s wise in bear country to keep a watchful eye out happened one morning while we were focused on a few bears fishing the stream in front of us. By chance, I glanced over my shoulder, and was startled to find two big males standing up, challenging one another for dominance no more than 100 feet away! It was an epic fight, and I was thrilled to capture it on camera, but also thankful that they hadn’t been any closer.
Two males fight for domination
Catching salmon by hand (paw) requires great instinct, skill, and speed, and some bears are better at it than others. I watched one large male, dubbed “Crooked Nose” by me because of facial scars, repeatedly catch three salmon for every one caught by other bears. He was clearly a pro, and had the girth to prove it. Run and pounce fishing requires a lot of energy though, so most bears take periodic naps. I was surprised to discover that those big brown lumps in the sand weren’t boulders at all, but sleeping grizzly bears! They seemed so peaceful and serene, almost beckoning to be petted. 😆
Storm clouds start forming on the horizon, so it’s time to pack up and go. It’s been an amazing experience to spend three days here, watching bears forage nearby, as eagles and gulls soar overhead. At Katmai, truly bears are king.
To view more of my photos from Katmai, please click here.