Bear Cub Attack

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Katmai, Photos, Travel Leave a Comment

Sow coming to the rescue of her cub.
Sow coming to the rescue of her cub.

This is one of those moments in nature I will never forget. We were watching a sow and a young cub fish the water hole in front of us. After a bit, the sow crossed over and fished right next to us, while the cub stayed on the far side. Then, out of the grass another adult bear appeared on the same side of the river as the cub. This adult took one look at the situation, and then took off after the cub!

In the first photo you see all three of the bears as the mom comes to the cubs rescue. Surprisingly, the sow briefly got distracted by a salmon and actually stopped and turned around before going back to the pursuit. In the second photo, you can see the mom in hot pursuit as the adult viciously attacks the cub – we thought it was dead. In the next photo you can see the sow arriving and saving the cub which could still walk to our amazement. The sow and cub sat side by side not moving for a good half hour after the attack. In the final image, the sow and cub came back to the waterhole for more fishing, and as you can see, the cub hardly has a mark! This fortunately had a happy ending, however the events definitely had us rattled for awhile.

The adult is on top of the cub while the mom approaches at full speed.
The adult is on top of the cub while the mom approaches at full speed.
Here the mom has rescued the cub. I was surprised she didn't go after the attacking bear more aggressively.
Here the mom has rescued the cub. I was surprised she didn’t go after the attacking bear more aggressively.
A little over a half hour later they were back to fishing for salmon. Life is tough for these young cubs, only 1 in 3 survive the first three years.

Fishing Katmai

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Brown bear

A brown bear on the lookout for salmon, Katmai National Park, Alaska. As a side note, that might look like snow on the side of the distant mountain, but it is actually volcanic ash.

Hallo Bay

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Katmai, Photos, Travel 1 Comment

Hallo Bay, Katmai National Park, Alaska.
Hallo Bay, Katmai National Park, Alaska.

I’m sure everyone sees the bear fishing at Hallo Bay in Katmai National Park, Alaska, but who can spot the white wolf?

Kukak Brown Bear

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Brown bear boar, Kukak Bay, Katmai National Park, Alaska.
Brown bear boar, Kukak Bay, Katmai National Park, Alaska.

A huge brown bear boar feeding on a salmon right in front of us! At one point, we had 4 huge boars chasing salmon around us! Kukak Bay, Katmai National Park, Alaska.

Hallo Bay

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Hallo Bay, Katmai National Park, Alaska.
Hallo Bay, Katmai National Park, Alaska.

A brown bear sow and her second summer triplets as they finish eating a pink salmon we watched her catch just moments before. Hallo Bay, Katmai National Park, Alaska.

Katmai Bears

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Brown bear chasing a salmon in Geographic Harbor, Katmai, Alaska.
Brown bear chasing a salmon in Geographic Harbor, Katmai, Alaska.

I’m home from an amazing Katmai Bear photo Tour. We had amazing weather the whole week, and saw over 50 bears! In our first bay, Geographic Harbor, we had 10 spring cubs! Two sets of triplets, and two sets of twins. Also on the trip we saw a wolf, fox, fin and humpback whales, and more eagles, otters and puffin then we could count. All that, and we only saw one other tour boat and one other plane during the whole time on the Katmai Coast.