Up Close

One of the great things about the Katmai Brown Bear comes from the abundance of food found in the summer. When they emerge from hibernation they ravenously munch on sedge grass to get their digestive systems up to speed. Then the salmon berries bloom. A good salmon berry crop in the spring bodes well for spring cubs the following year - this year was stellar which gives me just the excuse I needed to head back there next summer. Next, the salmon arrive. The bears adopt a very cool "I'll mind my business if you mind yours" attitude toward people when there is so much for them to eat. That said, never underestimate them. Statistically the chances of being attacked by a brown bear drop by 50% when you add just one person to make a group. Increase the group to three or more people and the likelihood of a bear attack drops to 0%. We had 8 people.

This sow spent quite a bit of time hunting for salmon in the rivers fed by the Serpent Tongue Glacier. She followed the tide and deftly grabbed salmon from the shallows when they least expected it. By sitting quietly in a group several feet back from the rivers edge, we were no more obtrusive in her world than the gulls who swooped in to clean up the remains of her meal after she left. She made several circles in front of us and even laid down to rest and gaze at the fish swimming past. A pretty amazing experience to photograph a bear this big with only a 70-200mm lens.

Working With What You Have

While we had plenty of bears in Katmai, they weren't always cooperative when it can to being on the proper side of the sun. Many times we found ourselves on the wrong side of a deep and fast moving stream while the bears thumbed their noses at us knowing we were only getting silhouettes.

Luckily I knew about a few tricks I had up my own sleeve. I continued to shoot away merrily, not stressing over the light. Making certain that I had good separation between these two young siblings I was able to create an artsy image with an infrared filter. Sometimes you just have to work with what you are given.

Teaser

I'm back!!

Just in from a wonderful week in Katmai National Park at the Katmai Wilderness Lodge. Tons of Grizzly Bear, Harbor Seals, Otters, Kittiwakes and Puffin. Over the next little bit I'll be telling you all about it. For now, I need sleep.

Admiralty Island

Just off the coast of Juneau is an enormous island called Admiralty. It is 1,646 square miles, making it the 7th largest island in the United States. But that isn't what makes it special... the Tlingit people named the island Xootsnoowú which means "Fortress of the Bears". Admiralty is home to an estimated 1,600 Alaskan Brown Bears, the highest density of brown bear in North America.

We arrived before the season truly begins, the salmon are not running yet so there isn't much to pull the bear out of the woods just yet. That said, we were greeted immediately upon landing in our float plane by a sow working the shoreline for mussels and clams. She would dig and dig and then chew the clams open with her massive teeth.

She had no intention of moving either and we waited a good long time before we could tie up the float plane and disembark. She was completely unperturbed by the entire proceeding, barely sparing us a glance form time to time. Permits are needed to visit the island which is covered mostly by a sanctuary. The only development on the island is a small settlement of about 570 Tlingit people whom are outnumbered nearly 3:1 by the bears.

We watched four different bear clamming and eating sedge during our visit. I'd love to come back once the salmon are swimming though a longer lens is a definite must.