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| Brown Bear at Brooks Falls |
So, while Scott was narrowly avoiding disaster in Homer, I flew from Homer to Brooks Camp for one of the most incredible Bear days I have ever had. And, I’ve had a LOT of great Bear days.
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| One on our National Parks |
I have written about Brooks Camp (and the great bear viewing at Brook Falls) before. As a refresher, it’s that very famous place In Katmai National Park where Brown Bears gather in large numbers to gorge themselves on salmon.
There are several salmon runs each season and during those times, there can be as many as 40 Bears at the fall catching salmon.
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| More Bears than I ever saw; Photo: Emerald Air Service |
We have always gone during the slower times, so seven was the largest number I had seen at one time – up to now.
I flew over on a nice de Havilland Otter floatplane operated by Bald Mountain Air. It’s essentially an air taxi service from Homer to Brooks Falls and back.
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| Our sweet ride |
We took off from Beluga Lake, a floatplane lake right behind the Homer airport and landed on Naknek Lake at Brooks.
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| Naknek Lake at Brooks Camp, Katmai National Park |
While the weather seemed iffy in Homer (I was in full waterproof gear), it was delightful at Brooks. Throughout the day there it alternated between sunny and brief showers. We were told that the previous day had been horrible, so I guess I was just having a lucky day.
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| Luckily it was clear enough to fly |
Once we deplaned, an NPS Ranger escorted us to the Visitor and Education Center for orientation. No one is allowed to visit Brooks Falls without going through orientation, which covers Bear safety and the rules of the viewing platforms.
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| With so many really BIG Bears, you must be careful |
Normally, the session is held in the Visitor Center, but with COVID, it was outside. One rule is that ALL food, gum, candy and drinks besides water must be stored in a cache shed by the Visitor Center. All eating must take place in a picnic area surrounded by an electric fence.
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| A briefing inside the electric fence (the food cache is to the left; Visitor Center to the right |
Yep, there are lots of Bears and they do not want Bears to get distracted from their natural lives by people food.
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| Bears should eat Bear food; in this case, salmon |
So, we listened to the orientation, stored our gear and were then set free.
Lay of the Land
The planes park near the Visitor Center, picnic area and Brooks Lodge (maybe someday I'll stay there).
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| Map: National Park Service |
From there, you can walk to the mouth of the Brooks River where there are two viewing platforms.
Then, you can walk further on a gravel trail to a boardwalk that leads to two platforms.
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| A walk through the woods to the Falls |
The premier platform is the Falls Platform which sits right beside Brooks Falls.
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| Falls Platform |
The Riffles Platform is a bit further downstream from the Falls. Since most of the great action takes place at the falls, the Falls Platform can get very crowded during the busy season.
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| You see the most from the platform |
During those times, there is a one-hour time limit for the Falls Platform.
Once your time is up, you have to get off the platform and wait in line for another chance.
There are no limits on the other platforms.
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| You can watch off the near platforms all you want |
On less busy days, the Park Service just plays it by ear.
All the viewing platforms and raised boardwalks have locking gates to keep Bears off of them.
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| One of the platforms at the mouth of the Brooks River |
This description is from Katmai National Parks’ Bears of Brooks River 2021:
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| Fishing |
Only 1.5 miles long, the Brooks River hosts one of the greatest seasonal concentrations of Brown Bears anywhere on Earth. In early summer, the River is one of the first places in the region where bright, energetic and pre-spawned salmon are available to Bears.
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| Enjoying a snack |
Later, in the fall, Bears eat spawned-out salmon as they prepare to enter the den.
Brooks Falls creates a temporary barrier for the surge of migrating salmon through the Brooks River.
Consequently, Brooks Falls is one of the first places in the region where spawning salmon become accessible to Bears.
A Bear's fishing location is dependent on its skill and where the Bear ranks in the hierarchy.
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| Bears in the "Jacuzzi" |
Many of the very dominant males prefer to fish in the plunge pools below Brooks Falls. The “jacuzzi” is a particularly sought- after fishing spot by those Bears. Less
dominant Bears are often forced to fish at other locations.
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| Some Bears swim across the Lake to reach Brooks |
Only a few Bears are skilled enough to successfully fish the lip of the falls.
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| I saw lots of standing, not fishing |
Some Bears are specialists. They've mastered fishing at only one spot. Other Bears are skilled enough to fish nearly anywhere.
Heading Out
Since I knew there were still active Bears, I wanted to get to the Falls Platform as quickly as possible. That wasn’t easy because there were a couple of Bears at the mouth of the river.
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| A Bear near the mouth of the River |
And, ya gotta take photos ...
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| Even when they turn their back on you |
... especially of a young Bear enthusiastically eating a salmon.
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| Lunch! |
But, after a quick photo session, I moved on.
The hike is about a half an hour, so I needed to budget my time.
I had been to Brooks twice before, both times with Scott. This time, I was alone and, since no one else on my plane group seemed as inclined as I was to move quickly to the Falls Platform, I set out by myself.
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| I wanted to get there quickly |
I have to admit, it was a little scary to be walking by myself in Grizzly territory. I was hyper vigilant and saw no Bears on the trail until after I had gotten past the locked gate on boardwalk. And, then there was a juvenile Brown Bear right below me.
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| Walking below the Boardwalk |
While on the trail headed to the boardwalk, I did have a start when I saw a quick movement. It was a female Spruce Grouse that seemed to be nonplussed by me. I was able to get some great shots before moving on.
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| A female Spruce Grouse |
The Falls
When I got to the Falls Platform, I was relieved to find that the crowd wasn’t big enough to invoke the time limit. I was there for over an hour before a ranger told us we would have to leave for a special Wounded Warrior group. By that time, I had so many pictures (and I was getting hungry), so that was no problem.
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| So many pictures! |
What did I see from the Falls Platform?
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| One of many |
So, so much.
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| And another |
There was not a particularly active salmon run, but every now and then, one would attempt to jump the falls. And, although numerous Bears were positioned at the base and the top of the falls, none seemed to be actively fishing.
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| Although they moved about, they were not actively fishing |
Most seemed to be in a stupor – most likely induced by stuffing themselves for the previous three months.
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| Maybe they are just full |
Every now and then, a Bear would grab a salmon. Some were still alive and some were probably dead ones floating back downstream.
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| This salmon looked pretty good for so late in the season |
Bears ain’t that picky.
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| They eat both living and dead fish |
And, when they ate, the birds joined in ...
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| Glaucous-winged Gull grabbing a scrap |
Most of the time, the Bears just sat …
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| Waiting for fish (or just resting) |
Sat …
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| Some waited above and some waited below |
And, sat …
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| Not much happening, but he had a good position |
... until they got tired and moved on ...
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| Leaving the top of the falls |
I saw a really pretty female Common Merganser swimming around the Bears ...
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| The Bears didn't seem to care she was there |
Some Bears were close ...
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| A close-by beauty |
Very close ...
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| These two were right below the platform |
I got to witness two of the close Bears (rumored to be a mother and adult child) tussling ...
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| I thought this was spectacular |
The fighting was obviously not serious …
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| Although I saw lots of teeth, I saw no real biting |
... there was no growling, serious blows or blood drawn ...
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| I heard they were related; I don't know if that's true |
But, it was still fun to watch ...
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| So cool; but it got better |
More fun, however, were two Bears on the opposite side of the river that first got my attention with some loud roars.
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| I looked up just as the fight started |
What followed was what looked like a somewhat serious fight.
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| Such great interaction |
These photos are what made this trip so special.
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| They were really going at it |
I have never been able to capture this kind of interaction between Bears before.
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| These were exciting shots to get |
And, as I said, I have photographed lots and lots of Bears.
This was truly special and I was beside myself.
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| Wow! Just wow! |
I said it was a “somewhat” serious fight. It looked intense, but, by the time they ended it, there was no blood.
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| Just before they settled down to resume sitting |
And, from the look of some of the Bears at the falls, some fights do draw blood – and leave permanent scars.
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| This guy has a scar on his chest |
So, how many Bears did I see? Welp, at the Falls, I saw at least 12 because I actually could see 12 at the same time.
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| There are eight in this shot |
This included some old and fairly ragged-looking specimens …
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| I think he's been through a lot |
Some majestic, healthy-looking Bears …
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| A real beauty |
And, some goofballs …
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| You can't always maintain decorum |
After the time on the Platform, I spent a short amount of time getting some farther-out shots from the Riffles Platform and then, with a very rumbly tummy, I decided to walk back and grab my lunch while the soldiers were enjoying the Bears.
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| A Glaucous-winged Gull looking for lunch, too |
Here's some video of what I saw at the Falls Platform.
I always find it fascinating that, while photographers are grabbing as many photos of Bears, there are also fly fishermen in the river.
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| See the Brown Bear on the right side? |
They are restricted from getting too close to the falls. But the Bears are not restricted from getting too close to them. I guess you have to be pretty brave (and very willing to give up your catch) if you are going to fish in the Brooks River.
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| Coming back from where the fishermen were |
Heading Back
On my way back to the picnic area, I encountered another Spruce Grouse on the trail – this time a male. How cool was that? This one wasn’t too concerned with me, either.
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| A male Spruce Grouse |
I gobbled up my lunch in the safety of the electric fence while some folks were photographing a Bear walking along the float plane beach.
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| Bear tracks on the beach |
Then, I started calculating the remainder of my afternoon and I figured out that I did not have enough time to make it to the Falls Platform and back.
Drat! Maybe I came back too soon.
I still had about an hour before our plane was leaving, so I decided to go back to the platforms at the mouth of the river to see what I could see. It’s better than nothing.
Cubs!
Well, it turned out to be way better than nothing because there were two cubs right under the platform!
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| Two chubby cubs |
I was told that they were Divot’s cubs, but I am not sure that that is right.
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| I am pretty sure these are 2021 cubs, but they could be 2020 |
They looked more like this year’s than 2020 cubs, but once again, I am not sure.
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| I love them walking together |
Regardless, they were adorable and I spent a lot of time watching them under the deck ...
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| They were so close, it was hard to get a clear shot |
... and then as they walked in tandem to meet up with their mother, who was in the water at the edge of Naknek Lake.
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| Mom was in the water; her cubs were on shore |
The cubs appeared to have no interest at all in getting in the water. So, they watched …
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| Always keeping an eye on Mom |
… and waited for Mom …
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| Sitting on the shore |
… before ambling off with her ...
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| Leaving with Mom |
A few more shots of miscellaneous Bears at the mouth of the Brooks River ...
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| Blowing bubbles |
... and then it was time to board our plane for the flight back to Homer.
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| Scenes from the flight back |
It was a great day. I was sorry Scott missed it – especially after I found out that he didn’t get to go fishing.
About Bears
Oh, by the way, if you want some info on Katmai’s Bears, I took this from Katmai National Parks’ Bears of Brooks River 2021:
Shoulder Height: 3-5 feet
Length: 7-10 feet
Weight (Adult Male): 600-900 pounds in mid-summer
Weight (Adult Female): 300-600 poundsAverage Life Span: 20 years
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| This guy may be reaching his life expectancy |
The only Bears to regularly inhabit Katmai National Park and Preserve are Brown Bears. Taxonomists currently consider Brown Bears and Grizzly Bears to be the same species (Ursus arctos).
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| Little Brown Bears are still big |
The difference between the two is somewhat arbitrary. In North America, Brown Bears are commonly distinguished by their access to coastal food sources such as runs of salmon, while Grizzlies reside further inland.
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| The coastal Bears spend a lot of time in the water |
Bears are eating machines, and their survival is dependent on attaining enough calories over the course of the spring, summer and fall to sustain them through their denning period.
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| Salmon for lunch |
As the summer wanes into fall, Bears spend an increasing amount of time feeding.
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