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Grizzly Bear Viewing
Posted in Cheetah, Grizzly bears and people with tags Alaska, animals, bears, grizzly bear, wildlife on November 8, 2011 by grizzlybearblog
My husband John and I settle down in the grass to rest with our favorite grizzly bear “Cheetah” after she chose to approach us closely.
Grizzly Bear and Wolf Tracks
Posted in Alaska animals with tags Alaska, animals, bears, grizzly bears, wildlife, wolves on November 8, 2011 by grizzlybearblog
A healthy Alaskan ecosystem will reveal the tracks of predators. Here, grizzly tracks are bordered in fresh wolf prints. The wolf population has been growing on the coast of Katmai National Park. The wolves use the beach as a highway and they trek the coastline during the few hours of summer darkness.
Bears and wolves compete for food sources. During this past summer, guides witnessed wolves fishing for salmon alongside the grizzly bears on the Katmai coast.
Bald Eagle in Spring
Posted in Alaska animals with tags Alaska, animals, bald eagle, eagles, wildlife on September 19, 2011 by grizzlybearblog
A Bald Eagle in Homer, Alaska snacks on some scavenged meat.
Grizzly Bears Safely Near People
Posted in Grizzly bears and people with tags Alaska, animals, Bear Viewing, bears, brown bears, grizzly bears, wildlife on September 12, 2011 by grizzlybearblog
A grizzly bear female decides to walk right past my husband John. We knew this grizzly bear quite well, and were comfortable with her close approach. She was curious, and decided to walk near my husband after she took a dip in the stream.
Grizzly Bear Penis
Posted in Grizzly Bear Physiology, Male grizzlies with tags Alaska, animals, bears, brown bear, grizzly bears, wildlife on September 3, 2011 by grizzlybearblog
Web stats can be interesting – this blog’s most popular post is “grizzly bear penis” so here’s another one!
Grizzly Bear Close Up Photo
Posted in Cheetah with tags Alaska, animal, bear, bears, grizzly bears, wildlife on August 25, 2011 by grizzlybearblog
Here’s a close up of my favorite bear we named “Cheetah”. Making eye contact with a wild grizzly bear is one of the most thrilling experiences of my life. There is so much behind their eyes, you can instantly see the vast depths of their intelligence and individuality.
Photo of Grizzly Bear Male
Posted in Male grizzlies with tags Alaska, animals, bears, grizzly bear, wildlife on August 2, 2011 by grizzlybearblog
Here’s a couple more photos of my grizzly bear buddy “Charlie”.
You can really see how tall he is when he stoops down to bite on sedge grass. Although certainly not the largest male grizzly bear I’ve seen, he was one of the largest on the Katmai Coast during one of our camping trips. I always bolted to sit near him if I saw “Hopper”, the much smaller bear who had bluff charged us. One afternoon Charlie was taking a nap, surrounded by eight or nine grazing female bears. When he woke up, and started to walk, every single bear scattered and ran away quickly. In this photo, he is actually grazing near several females who were comfortable in his presence.
Grizzly Bear Cub at Brooks Falls
Posted in Grizzly Bear Cubs, Grizzly Bears Fishing with tags Alaska, animals, bear cubs, grizzly bears, salmon, wildlife on July 28, 2011 by grizzlybearblog
This second year grizzly bear cub is taking a salmon out of the river below Brooks Falls. Her mother had caught the fish, but she let her two cubs figure out how to walk out of the river carrying large pieces of salmon. Mother bears coach their cubs in various ways to prepare them for fishing on their own.
Grizzly Bear Teenager
Posted in Grizzly Bears Fishing with tags Alaska, animals, bears, brown bears, grizzly bears, wildlife on July 27, 2011 by grizzlybearblog
A grizzly bear sub-adult waits on the sidelines of Brooks Falls. This grizzly bear is probably three or four years old and possibly on his own for the first summer. He was waiting on a small ledge of grass near the bottom of the falls. Lots of inexperienced bears will wait downstream from the falls since older bears will drop their salmon scraps. Of course this little bear will have to fight the ravens and gulls for the scraps! I’ve watched quite a few bears eat tons of big pieces of fish just by scavenging downstream from the falls. This little bear was too timid to even attempt to get near the actual falls.
Photo of Grizzly Bears Fishing Brooks Falls
Posted in Grizzly Bears Fishing, Male grizzlies with tags Alaska, animals, bears, Brooks Falls, grizzly bears, salmon, wildlife on July 25, 2011 by grizzlybearblog
Grizzly Bears line up on top of Brooks Falls to fish for sockeye salmon. At the height of the sockeye salmon run in July, the falls is packed with fishing bears. Grizzly bears choose different spots on the falls – these bears are at the top waiting to catch a salmon leaping up the falls (you can just make out a salmon in the far right of this photo). Other bears will be below the falls to catch fish before they make the big leap.
It is a total myth that the biggest males dominate the top of Brooks Falls. I actually just saw a commercial on NatGeo Wild for a grizzly show called “King” and they of course say this King bear controls the best fishing spot at Brooks. This is a total lie- the bears actually line up as shown in this photo. When a bear catches a fish, she/he would usually leave the top of the falls to eat the fish on the sidelines. When a bear with a salmon leaves, another bear files in and waits to catch a fish. The grizzly bears are really quite organized, and share the fishing spots by cycling in and out. Of course, this isn’t a totally fixed rule. Some bears might grumble, growl and fight to maintain “their” spot for a while. But the two summers I spent in Brooks I rarely saw any loud fights on the actual falls.
It is also a myth that the large males are the best fishermen. The females, with cubs waiting on the sidelines, usually were much quicker and efficient at getting a salmon when it was their turn on the falls.
I also like this photo because it shows the drastic color differences between a line up of grizzly bears.