Bears at Brooks Falls

Fishing at Brooks Falls

     For the past few weeks I've been eating breakfast and lunch with the bears at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park in Alaska.  The Park Service set up two web cams aimed at the falls and the river.  Though of us who can't make it to Alaska can see the live action, too.  Explore.org features the bears, as well as a lot of other animals, on its site.
      Last night I had an extra treat when I came in to listen to Ranger Mike talk about the different bears.  It was an amazing night at the Falls.   The salmon were huge and plentiful.   The bears would position themselves and wait for a salmon to swim right by.  At one time I counted 13 bears.  The hour flew by!

    This female bear, #409, is a great fisher.  She caught a number of fish last night.   Another female, not shown in the picture, was standing nearby waiting for a chance to take the fish away or to at least get the leftovers.

      The bears are all numbered, and some have been named by the people who watch and regularly chat on-line.   I tried to take good notes as Ranger Mike talked.  There's a free e-book available that has all their pictures and great info.

Adult male #747 fishing in the “Jacuzzi”.

     Holly and her two cubs were there, too.   The small one on the left is a female.  The middle cub is a male that she adopted.  I haven't learned the story about how that happened yet.  He's a year older than the female and doesn't like to share his food.    You can see his darker coloring in this picture.

    These two keep their mom busy all the time.   But she seems like a really good and patient mother.   They fish in an area called the Ripples, away from the bigger males.

   

       A big male with his catch.

An eagle watches from a high tree.

     Two large males engaged in "jaw popping" as they sorted out who was going to be the dominate male.   It didn't last long before one of them backed away.  I was glad to see that. The fishing was good and a fight could seriously hurt both of them.   One of the bears lost an ear in June during a fight.




       This photo was taken about 9 p.m. Alaska time.  The bears were still fishing and eating when I went to bed.

No Lions...No Tigers...But Bears!!!! Oh My!!!

     Earlier this month we took a trip to San Diego to escape the heat and have some fun.   Fun for me meant a trip to their zoo.

     I took lots of pictures, but the ones of the bears turned out the best.    The day was cool and the big guys were active.   Even the polar bears were out and about.

After all that bear watching, we went to Alberts, the zoo's nice restaurant for lunch.   A great day!

Bearizona -- A Wild, Wild Place

  Yesterday we went to Bearizona, a wildlife park that you drive through.    It's the best wildlife park/zoo I've ever visited.     Bearizona is located outside of Williams, in northern Arizona.   I had seen a brochure about it a few months ago, and I've been wanting to visit ever since.  

   They have bears, mountain goats, buffalo, Dall sheep, and my favorite---wolves!!!   

 They have two kinds, Alaskan Tundra wolves (pictured below) and Artic wolves. 

      In Yellowstone a few years ago we saw Grey wolves, but only at a distance using scopes.   Of course it was great to see them in Lamar Valley, but I really wanted to see them up close.   At Bearizona I was able to do that because the white one, pictured first,  came right up to the car!   He was beautiful.   

     I was so occupied staring at him that I didn't try to take his picture.  He licked the Prius (lucky car), and circled around it to check it out.    We had to move slowly on because he and the other ones were getting a little too interested in the car.    They tell you to move on if the animals start to approach the car, but I just had to watch them up close for a little bit.       

 

     The bears were great, too.   I've never seen so many, active ones.   In the zoos they usually sit quiet, waiting for food.   But they were playful and energetic here.   It was cool and lightly raining, which may have helped energize them. 

     A few moments after this picture was taken, the one by the tree moved to a different tree and climbed it.  That was amazing to watch.   I knew they could climb, but I had never seen one do it.  Now I wonder how many times a bear might have been up in a tree while we were hiking unaware beneath it. 

     

They easily blended into the rocks and hid behind trees, too.

 

      In  Fort Bearizona, the area where small and baby animals are kept, there were suppose to be bear cubs on display.   At first we thought they had been moved.  The enclosure was empty.   Then we looked up and saw that all of them (at least 5) were high in the tall pines.

      We also saw porcupines, raccoons, beavers, Lynx, bobcats, fox, and many, many other animals in the Fort section.   This prickly little guy was enjoying his breakfast.

       Bearizona has only been opened since 2010, and they are still working on it.   I can't wait to go back again.