BrownBear_Fishing_1

56 images of Coastal Brown Bears fishing for Salmon at
Silver Salmon Creek in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

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Alaskan Coastal Brown Bear

Golden Female and Cubs
Brown Bear Fishing          Assorted Bears

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Images in this section are in several different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
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Images can be found in the following Galleries (Direct Links):

Alaskan Coastal Brown Bear
Brown Bear Fishing       Golden Female and Cubs
Assorted Brown Bear       Brown Bear Composites 

Eagles         Puffins            Assorted Shorebirds

Avocets, Stilts and Yellowlegs         Rodents

Alaskan Scenic

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BrownBear_Fishing_HS2889


Brown Bear Fishing HS2889

A male Coastal Brown Bear takes off after a fish at Silver Salmon Creek in Lake Clark National Park.

BrownBear_Fishing_HS2891


Brown Bear Fishing HS2891

BrownBear_Fishing_HS2892


Brown Bear Fishing HS2892

In image 2891 (above left), you can see the salmon as a lighter bump in the water ahead of the bear,
and in 2892 as a bump in the water with a small roostertail splashed by the frantic movement of its tail.

BrownBear_Fishing_HS2893


Brown Bear Fishing HS2893

An Alaskan Coastal Brown Bear chases closely behind a fish in Silver Salmon Creek at mid-day.

The Alaskan Coastal Brown Bear lives in the coastal areas, as the name suggests.
The southern coast of Alaska has seasonal spawning runs of the five Pacific Salmon,
as well as a milder climate and a rich array of vegetation that allows the bears to grow
larger and live in denser populations than their inland cousins the Grizzly Bear, which
are otherwise classified as the same species. The Brown Bear ranges in color from
a dark brown through a light blond, and has a noticeable hump atop the shoulders.

BrownBear_Fishing_HS2895


Brown Bear Fishing HS2895

BrownBear_Fishing_HS2896


Brown Bear Fishing HS2896

The bear nearly catches the fish, which makes a rapid change of direction directly towards the camera.
In image 2896 (above right) you can see the salmon just below the surface, directly under the bear’s nose.

BrownBear_Fishing_HS2897


Brown Bear Fishing HS2897

The rapidly moving Brown Bear puts on the brakes while keeping his attention firmly fixed on the fish.

BrownBear_Fishing_HS2898


Brown Bear Fishing HS2898

The bear makes the turn, losing only a few feet, and gets right back into the chase.
The salmon realizes that it is again in trouble, and makes another direction change,
cutting first to our left and then to our right, with the bear gaining ground right behind.

BrownBear_Fishing_HS2901


Brown Bear Fishing HS2901

BrownBear_Fishing_HS2902


Brown Bear Fishing HS2902

This was really a pretty smart salmon, as far as you can say that about a fish. It took the bear into
a deeper section of Silver Salmon Creek, where the water resistance slowed down the bear a bit.

Silver Salmon Creek is in Lake Clark National Park, at the bottom of the Alaska Peninsula in
southwestern Alaska, on the west side of Cook Inlet between Chinitna Bay and Tuxedni Bay.
Located 100 miles south of Anchorage, Alaska, it is accessible only by boat or float plane.

BrownBear_Fishing_HS2903


Brown Bear Fishing HS2903

The Coastal Brown Bear digs in to gain ground on the salmon, who opened up an eight foot gap.

BrownBear_Fishing_HS2905


Brown Bear Fishing HS2905

The bear begins to catch up to the salmon again as they get into shallower water.
In the image above, you can see the water disturbed by the tail of the fish at right.

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Images in this section are in several different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Gallery Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.

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Images can be found in the following Galleries (Direct Links):

Alaskan Coastal Brown Bear
Brown Bear Fishing       Golden Female and Cubs
Assorted Brown Bear       Brown Bear Composites 

Eagles         Puffins            Assorted Shorebirds

Avocets, Stilts and Yellowlegs         Rodents

Alaskan Scenic

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BrownBear_Fishing_HS2916


Brown Bear Fishing HS2916

The fish makes another turn as it heads downstream, but the bear is getting even closer as the
water is now fairly shallow. The gap is now four feet (the salmon is at the right edge of the frame).

BrownBear_Fishing_HS2917


Brown Bear Fishing HS2917

The bear pours on the speed as he hits the shallows. The fish is just out of frame at right.
A few more quick steps and the bear had the fish trapped in the shallows near the bank.

BrownBear_CatchingSalmon_HS2927


Brown Bear Catching Salmon HS2927

BrownBear_CatchingSalmon_HS2928


Brown Bear Catching Salmon HS2928

The Brown Bear pounces on the fish, trapping it against the rocks, and the struggle is soon over.

BrownBear_EatingSalmon_HS2934


Brown Bear Eating Salmon HS2934

The bear settles in to eat his prize and another spawning salmon bites the dust.

Bears eat a lot of salmon during spawning runs, as they need to double their weight to allow them
to survive the winter in their den. While in the den, they do not hibernate, but their body temperature,
heart rate, and metabolic rate drops, and they do not eat, drink, urinate or defecate. They must build
up a vast store of body fat to survive while they sleep the time away during the long Alaskan winter.

In some southern areas of Alaska with milder climate (such as on Kodiak Archipelago 200 miles
further south, just east of the Katmai Peninsula), Brown Bears can remain active all winter. The
Kodiak Bears have been isolated from other species of brown bear since the last Ice Age,
and are the largest subspecies of Brown Bear. Larger males can exceed 1500 pounds.

BrownBearFishing_SilverSalmonCreek_XXXL


Brown Bear Fishing Silver Salmon Creek XXXL

A 1600 x 1024 version of the XXXL Composite (10520 x 6380) showing
a Brown Bear catching fish in the early afternoon at Silver Salmon Creek.

BrownBear_Fishing_HS2939


Brown Bear Fishing HS2939

BrownBear_Fishing_HS2941


Brown Bear Fishing HS2941

A thoroughly satisfied Coastal Brown Bear splashes back into Silver Salmon Creek
after eating a freshly caught salmon and begins to look downstream for its next victim.

BrownBear_Fishing_HS2947M


Brown Bear Fishing HS2947 M

A male Alaskan Coastal Brown Bear looking for salmon in Silver Salmon Creek.

All of the landscape (horizontal) large version images linked from the thumbnails are 1500 pixels wide.
Portrait (vertical) images are 1200 pixels tall (1290 pixels with title bar). Images designated with an “M”
in the shot number are 5:4 aspect ratio, 1500 x 1290 with a title bar, or 1500 x 1200 without the title bar.

BrownBear_Fishing_HS2949


Brown Bear Fishing HS2949

BrownBear_Fishing_HS2951


Brown Bear Fishing HS2951

BrownBear_Fishing_HS2952


Brown Bear Fishing HS2952

The salmon seem to have left the area, so the bear heads upstream to find a new spot.

The Salmon runs in Silver Salmon Creek attract a number of bears, and the normally solitary nature
of the Brown Bear changes due to the abundance of fish. The bears tend to tolerate other bears and
even humans in the area, although when one bear is fishing in a particular stretch of the creek, others
will avoid the area. When a large male arrives, other bears tend to rapidly scatter and leave it to him.

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Images in this section are in several different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Gallery Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.

PhotoshelterGallerySection


Images can be found in the following Galleries (Direct Links):

Alaskan Coastal Brown Bear
Brown Bear Fishing       Golden Female and Cubs
Assorted Brown Bear       Brown Bear Composites 

Eagles         Puffins            Assorted Shorebirds

Avocets, Stilts and Yellowlegs         Rodents

Alaskan Scenic

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BrownBear_Fishing_HS2963


Brown Bear Fishing HS2963

BrownBear_Fishing_HS2968


Brown Bear Fishing HS2968

The bear reaches another favorite fishing spot, but cannot see any fish, so he stands to get a better view.

BrownBear_Standing_HS2971


Brown Bear Standing HS2971

BrownBear_Standing_HS2972


Brown Bear Standing HS2972

BrownBear_Standing_HS2974


Brown Bear Standing HS2974

An Alaskan Coastal Brown Bear searches for sign of salmon. A large bear standing at close range is an exciting sight.

At right is a 1000 x 1600 image of a Brown Bear standing in Silver Salmon Creek, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

BrownBear_Standing_HS2978M


Brown Bear Standing HS2978 M

BrownBear_Fishing_HS3040M


Brown Bear Fishing HS3040 M

The young female Coastal Brown Bear spots a fish in Silver Salmon Creek, and moves into deeper water.

BrownBear_Fishing_HS3041


Brown Bear Fishing HS3041

BrownBear_Fishing_HS3042


Brown Bear Fishing HS3042

The bear pounces, but misses her fish. This bear was quite a character, as you will see in the following images.

BrownBear_Standing_HS3046M


Brown Bear Standing HS3046 M

BrownBear_Standing_HS3048


Brown Bear Standing HS3048

The young female lost sight of her prey and stands to try to catch sight of it under the reflective waters of Silver Salmon Creek at mid-afternoon. At left is a 1000 x 1600 pixel image of the female Brown Bear standing in Silver Salmon Creek.

BrownBear_SheepishLook_HS3050M


Brown Bear Sheepish Look HS3050 M

BrownBear_withLeaf_HS3054


Brown Bear with Leaf HS3054

At left, the embarrassed bear realizes she has lost her fish. As a consolation prize, she catches a leaf which was drifting by.

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Images in this section are in several different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Gallery Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.

PhotoshelterGallerySection


Images can be found in the following Galleries (Direct Links):

Alaskan Coastal Brown Bear
Brown Bear Fishing       Golden Female and Cubs
Assorted Brown Bear       Brown Bear Composites 

Eagles         Puffins            Assorted Shorebirds

Avocets, Stilts and Yellowlegs         Rodents

Alaskan Scenic

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BrownBear_Fishing_HS3055


Brown Bear Fishing HS3055

BrownBear_Fishing_HS3063


Brown Bear Fishing HS3063

The young female Coastal Brown Bear continues into deeper water in the creek, looking for fish.

BrownBear_Fishing_HS3066


Brown Bear Fishing HS3066

“You didn’t see a fish swimming by here, did you?”

BrownBear_Shakeoff_HS3071


Brown Bear Shakeoff HS3071

BrownBear_Shakeoff_HS3074


Brown Bear Shakeoff HS3074

The bear shakes off after her excursion into deeper water, preparing to stand again.

BrownBear_Shakeoff_HS3078


Brown Bear Shakeoff HS3078

BrownBear_Fishing_HS3083


Brown Bear Fishing HS3083

After shaking off, she moves into shallower water... then stands to search for salmon.

BrownBear_Standing_HS3085M


Brown Bear Standing HS3085 M

A 1000 x 1600 close portrait of a young female
Coastal Brown Bear standing in Silver Salmon Creek.

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Images in this section are in several different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Gallery Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.

PhotoshelterGallerySection


Images can be found in the following Galleries (Direct Links):

Alaskan Coastal Brown Bear
Brown Bear Fishing       Golden Female and Cubs
Assorted Brown Bear       Brown Bear Composites 

Eagles         Puffins            Assorted Shorebirds

Avocets, Stilts and Yellowlegs         Rodents

Alaskan Scenic

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BrownBear_Fishing_atDusk_X3602


Brown Bear Fishing at Dusk X3602

An Coastal Brown Bear fishing at dusk (10 PM), in the mouth of Silver Salmon Creek at Cook Inlet.

Southern Alaska is quite close to the Arctic Circle, where the sun remains in the sky in the summer months.
Dusk occurs late at night in the summer and twilight occurs at midnight, as the sun is only about 6-7 degrees
below the horizon in the summer, causing a phenomenon known as “White Nights” (no need for artificial light).

BrownBear_Fishing_atDusk_X3604


Brown Bear Fishing at Dusk X3604

BrownBear_Fishing_atDusk_X3607


Brown Bear Fishing at Dusk X3607

The light is still fairly low for action photography, so I ended up shooting these images with a 300mm lens
wide open at f/2.8 to gather enough light and still keep the ISO low to reduce noise level and maintain detail.

BrownBear_Fishing_atDusk_X3612


Brown Bear Fishing at Dusk X3612

An Alaskan Coastal Brown Bear fishing at dusk in the mouth of Silver Salmon Creek at Cook Inlet.

BrownBear_Fishing_atDusk_X3618


Brown Bear Fishing at Dusk X3618

The bear does not find any fish, but keeps looking for a while in case some spawning Salmon arrive.

BrownBear_Fishing_atDusk_X3620


Brown Bear Fishing at Dusk X3620

Nothing seems to be happening... so the bear decides to move off to a more active fishing area.

BrownBear_Fishing_atDusk_X3621


Brown Bear Fishing at Dusk X3621

BrownBear_Fishing_atDusk_X3622


Brown Bear Fishing at Dusk X3622

BrownBear_Fishing_atDusk_X3625M


Brown Bear Fishing at Dusk X3625 M

An Alaskan Coastal Brown Bear fishing at dusk in the mouth of Silver Salmon Creek at Cook Inlet.

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Images in this section are in several different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Gallery Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.

PhotoshelterGallerySection


Images can be found in the following Galleries (Direct Links):

Alaskan Coastal Brown Bear
Brown Bear Fishing       Golden Female and Cubs
Assorted Brown Bear       Brown Bear Composites 

Eagles         Puffins            Assorted Shorebirds

Avocets, Stilts and Yellowlegs         Rodents

Alaskan Scenic

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Click the Display Composite above to visit the Alaskan Coastal Brown Bear Fishing 2 page.

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Click the Display Composite above to visit the Brown Bear: Golden Female and Cubs subsection.

Asst_Bears


Click the Display Composite above to visit the Assorted Alaskan Coastal Brown Bears subsection.

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Click the Display Composite above to visit the Alaskan Eagles page.

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Click the Display Composite above to visit the Puffins, other Wildlife and Alaskan Scenery section.

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