I'll be doing a little archive diving for my next few posts. No theme other than each post will be at least a couple of years old.

This two-year-old Brown Bear cub was photographed in Katmai National Park, Alaska. It had wondered away from its mother to look for fish scraps.

Tags:   brown bear cub Alaskan Brown Bear Katmai National Park Alaskan wildlife bruin nature conservation Coastal Brown Bear protect the environment protect public lands protect wildlife

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This Brown Bear takes a brief break from searching from salmon to pose for a portrait. Lower Brooks River, Katmai National Park, Alaska. I think this bear's "expression" seems to be a mix of innocence and curiosity.

Tags:   brown bear bruin Ursus arctos Alaskan Brown Bear alaskan wildlife nature conservation brooks river Katmai National Park protect the environment protect public lands protect wildlife

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A Brown Bear at the famous Brooks Falls with with one of several salmon we witnessed it catching.
We've made several trips to Katmai and Lake Clark national parks over the years to observe Brown Bears but we've avoided Brooks Falls, preferring to mingle with the bears in the creeks and rivers where they pursue salmon in an effort to fatten up for their coming hibernation.
Brooks falls is probably the most famous and popular place to view the bears but that comes with crowds of people and viewing from platforms and elevated board walks. By late August and early September the crowds have thinned. While there are fewer bears at that time, we preferred the less crowded conditions.
A downside to photography at the falls is that the platform is elevated so that photographers are shooting at a slight downward angle whereas most of us prefer an eye level perspective or even to shoot from below our subject.
All in all we had a pretty positive experience at Brooks.

Tags:   brown bear brown bear with salmon alaskan wildlife Alaskan Brown Bear Brooks Falls nature wildlife of the west conservation bruin protect the environment protect public lands protect wildlife katmai national park

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This is "Fat Bear Week".

In a nutshell, Fat Bear Week is a March Madness-style popularity contest for Katmai National Park’s now-famous brown bears. It got its start in 2014 as a fun way to promote the park and its bears. The contest has become very popular, with thousands of people voting each day during the weeklong "contest".

One of the contestants is 747, pictured here. At his peak, his weight has been estimated at 1,400 pounds. 747 is my favorite, primarily due to the fact that he's the only contestant that I was able to photograph during our visit in 2021.

Congrats to Mark Putman who correctly guessed the answer to my "fat" clue yesterday.

My last post for a week. We're taking off for another Badlands adventure.

Tags:   747 fat bear fat bear week Alaskan Brown Bear Katmai National Park alaskan wildlife bruin huge nature conservation wildlife of the west protect the environment protect public lands protect wildlife

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I feel like a virtual trip to Alaska. This brown bear wading in the Brooks River in Katmai National Park kicks off a three shot series of Alaskan wildlife.

Tags:   brown bear Ursus arctos Alaskan Brown Bear alaskan wildlife brooks river nature conservation Katmai National Park protect the environment protect public lands protect wildlife

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