Category: Bearcam

Bearcam Bears Conservation National Park Service Science

Alaska’s badass bears: A battle to reclaim the river’s throne

sudshr47 September 25, 2018

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In the deep Alaskan wilderness, an imposing brown bear has regained his lost throne.

Bear 856 — well known on the explore.org live streaming webcams — had been the dominant bear along Katmai National Park’s Brooks River for at least six years. 

But last summer, Bear 856 appeared skinny and enfeebled. Another large male, Bear 32 — nicknamed “Chunk” by the rangers — exploited 856’s condition and took control of the bear’s dynamic river hierarchy. Rangers watched from elevated bear-viewing platforms as an emboldened Chunk pushed other bears around and claimed the river’s best fishing spots. 

Yet, over the last three and a half months, Bear 856 has reestablished his dominance, even over the likes of formidable Bear 32 and the tank-like Bear 747. At times, 856 has tackled other large bears that have attempted to challenge him, but he hasn’t ceded any ground. Now, the bears are fattening up for their long winter hibernation, and it appears 856 will end the season as the river’s king, once again. Read more…

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Alaska Bearcam Bears Salmon Science

The bears of Alaska’s bear cam should have left the river by now. Why are they still here?

sudshr47 August 1, 2018

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Thousands of fish are ripped to shreds along the Brooks River each July. 

With a glut of fresh salmon at their disposal, many brown bears just munch the fatty skin and brains of the fish, leaving the bright red meat for lesser bears. 

By later July, once the salmon run peters out, however, most of the bears usually vanish into the dense woods from whence they came, seeking fresher feeding grounds. 

But it’s August 1, and Katmai National Park’s Brooks River — home to explore.org‘s five live-streaming webcams — is still bustling with brown bear activity. Read more…

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Alaska Bearcam Science Webcams Wildlife

Cannibalism, infanticide: The dark side of Alaska’s bear cam

sudshr47 July 12, 2018

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On a sunny May morning in 2014, as the Alaskan subarctic was beginning to warm up, park rangers watched a young female bear, Tundra, explore the marshland around the famous Brooks River. 

Two months later, she was dead.

Tundra, also known as Bear 130, had been partially eaten by another bear.

Her grim death, like many harsh bear realities, happened beyond the view of the bear cams — the live streaming webcams set up along the mile and a half Brooks River by explore.org.

One of the peaks of the bear-viewing summer season has now arrived, as the legendary Alaskan salmon run entices brown bears to congregate around the Brooks River waterfall, in remote Katmai National Park. In this wild, far-off  realm, people globally tune in to watch bears snatching salmon out of the air, and once full of fish, dozing beside the river.  Read more…

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Bearcam Bears Katmai National Park National Park Service Science

The matriarch of the Alaska bear cam makes her glorious return to the river

sudshr47 June 29, 2018

In 1989, park rangers first spotted Bear 410 as a small cub. 
Since then, she often returns to the banks of the salmon-filled river where she grew up. And again, nearly 30 years later, this old, remarkable bear has come back, claiming her status…

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