Cal and VA | Adventures | Bears in Alaska

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Tuesday, 22 July 2025 - Today we will head out into the hinterland of Katmai National Park to look for bears on the rivers.

We had a surprise when we arrived at the floatplane - our bags were too heavy for the plane to take off on the scheduled lake. We were asked to take out cameras and lenses to lighten the load. We took out a few nonessential items and were allowed to board the plane.

alaska2025 — The riverscape we would hike for the day. Each day we wore chest high waders so we could enter the river and get close to eye level with the bears. It made for challenging hiking but worry-free photography.

The landscape we would travel over each day.

alaska2025 — A small bear shakes off after dipping in the river. I was very excited we spotted a younger cub on the river's edge.

alaska2025 — The cub's mother shakes off the river water.

alaska2025 — A big bear looks into the river to spot pools of salmon.

alaska2025 — The mother and cub - the little one shaking off again.

alaska2025 — A huge Grizzly moves through the river looking for salmon. He is looking at us - our little group is across the river maybe 200 feet. The bears did not bother us as there were many salmon to eat.

alaska2025 — Coming toward us - a large grizzly. I liked his giant paw and claws.

alaska2025 — This giant grizzly popped out of the brush on the same side of the river where we stood in the water. He was close, and our guides got ready with their bear spray. He watched us for a moment and then entered the river and crossed to the other side.

alaska2025 — A bear behind us walked along the edge of the river bluff silhouetted against the sky.

alaska2025 — Your intrepid photographer on the river bluff. We were taking a quick break for lunch. You can see a small bear in the distance on the left near the river. We would walk along the bluff looking for bears and then descend to the water for photographs.

Note the chest high waders with a fleece jacket as it was a bit cool in the wind.

alaska2025 — A mother and an older cub (maybe 2 years) are moving along the water's edge.

alaska2025 — We descended to an area where some big male grizzlies were fishing.

A big bear shaking off water after plunging into the river.

alaska2025 — A male bear walking the river edge looking for salmon.

alaska2025 — Sometimes the giant fisherman would raise up to get a better view of the salmon in the river.

alaska2025 — A young mail grizzly is curious about the group of photographers.

alaska2025 — The close bear just caught a salmon, and the bear in the rear is racing toward him. The "bad" bear would wait for another bear to catch a fish and then run and take the fish away. He seemed big enough to do this without much fighting from the other bears. The other bears would run to the shore and try to get out of his way - or eat their fish on the run.

alaska2025 — Watching the river waiting to jump in.

alaska2025 — The end move for the bears as they race after the salmon. They launch themselves at the fish. This was one of the key moments we tried to capture as we tracked fishing run after fishing run.

alaska2025 — Success!! A fish caught and then quickly devoured.

alaska2025 — A young grizzly moving along the river and watching the photographers.

alaska2025 — The bear is so close as the fish runs in front of him. He is so close that he is able to see the fish.

alaska2025 — Many bears congregating at a sandbar to fish. We were positioned in the river so the bears would run at us while fishing.

alaska2025 — A great grizzly fishing for salmon - heading right for me - at a safe distance.

alaska2025 — A successful capture of a salmon, eyeing the photographers on the same side of the river.

alaska2025 — High on the other river bank a mother and cub rest in the open tundra.

alaska2025 — A mean looking grizzly coming down to the river bank.

alaska2025 — Searching for salmon in the river.

alaska2025 — The mother and her cub see a male grizzly, which will attack the young grizzly cubs to free the female for mating. Some alarm on the cub's face.

alaska2025 — Mom and cub making their way to the river.

alaska2025 — A big grizzly on the sandbar looking for the next meal.

alaska2025 — The wind blows the fur/hair of a young male grizzly.

alaska2025 — The mother and cub make it to the river's edge and watch a seagull float by.

Seagulls follow the bears fishing as the bears do not eat the entire fish - only the "good" parts. So, there is plenty for the gulls.

alaska2025 — Our floatplane on the little lake waiting for us to return.

Our plane leaving the small lake. Fortunately, a strong headwind so, an easy takeoff. So, there was no worry about the weight on the plane.

alaska2025 — The shadow of our floatplane on the Alaska tundra.

The river we had been hiking and photographing along.

Flying back over the tundra.

alaska2025 — No aerobatics??

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Cal and VA | Adventures | Bears in Alaska

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