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Travel Destinations
Katmai National Park and Preserve
Katmai National Park is located in King Salmon, Alaska. It can be reached taking a small plane from Anchorage, Alaska. There is not a road that reaches this park. Brooks River is located within the part and hosts the Brown Bears during the Salmon Run in July and August each year.
Brown Bears at Brook Falls
Katmai National Park in Alaska has not been affected by people and is highly regulated to prevent changing this environment for the wildlife. There are about 2,200 brown bears that live in Katmai (LIFE Bears, 2024, page 25.) Observing the brown bears offers an opportunity many do not get to experience. To reach Brooks Falls you must take a float plane into Katmai National Park. Upon arrival we went to "Bear School" with the Park Ranger to learn how to exist with the bears in a safe manner. We put on waders on and would keep our distance while we observed the brown bears in their natural surroundings. The bears were very close within about 300 feet. As we were walking along the river we stopped at points with the guide due to a bear heading close to us. We had to move out of the bear's way when needed.
There is also an overlook built where you can look down on the bears. We watched a mother with her cub as she made sure her cub has enough salmon. I loved watching the bear catch the salmon while they jumped on top of the waterfall. Scientists use this area to observe bears and learn about their behavior. We saw males spar with each other showing their dominance.
A bear must eat food to help with hibernation in 6 months. A bear can lose 1/4 of weight during hibernation. During summer months bears can gain 2 pounds per day (Bears of Brooks River, 2022.) In October or November the bears enter dens which allows them to avoid issues that would happen when there was less food available. Fat is used to create food and water for survival and the kidneys slow down to be barely working. Brooks Falls offer the bears the ability to eat lots of salmon all day as the river is full of fish. The amount of fish and the bears returning to this area provides the researchers with information on the health the bears and the environment. During the Salmon Run it is believed bears eat up to 90 pounds of salmon (LIFE Bears, 2024, page 36.)
Citation: Bears of Brooks River 2022 downloadable pdf at www.irma.nps.gov
Citation: LIFE Bears, 2024
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