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Coastal Brown Bears

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Alaskan Coastal Brown Bears are one of the largest bears in the world.  The average weight for a male adult is 900 pounds, though they have been recorded to weigh as much as 1,500 pounds and stand as tall as nine feet. The largest was recorded in 1948 , weighing between 1,600 and 1,700 pounds - a male who had just come out of hibernation. If it were the end of summer, he could easily have topped out at 1,800 pounds. Females are much smaller and average about 30-50% less. A distinctive characteristic of the brown bear is the hump on its shoulder, and the long front claws. Though typically brown, their coats can range in color from blond to black.

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Being in the presence of so many giants was both surreal and humbling. The photos of the bear prints were taken on a sandy beach at Katmai when Bruce and I were there in 2019. All of the bear photos below were taken from a safe and respectable distance, though occasionally, a lone bear would wander into our comfort zone.

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Lake Clark National Park
Clam Cove, AK
Katmai National Park
Alaskan Grizzly Bears

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Alaska
Stellar Sea Lions

Lake Clark National Park

In 2019, Bruce and I chartered a flight out of Soldatna, Alaska through Natron Air (who we highly recommend) on the WWII Widgeon, and flew to Clark State Park to view the Coastal Bears. After landing on the water, we were motored in a small aluminum boat to an isolated cove where I captured several photos of a mama bear fishing for her two yearling cubs, as their diet consists mostly of salmon and clams.

Clam Cove

Clam Cove is located within the wilderness of  Lake Clark National Park in Alaska, and can only be reached by boat or private floation plane. When the tide goes out, the bears can be found along the coastal shores digging in the thick mud for clams, a favorite, and staple in their diet. 

Katmai National Park

Katmai is located on the northern Alaska Peninsula, northwest of Kodiak Island and southwest of Homer, Alaska. It is home to an estimated 2,200 bears. As with Lake Clark National Park, the Katmai wilderness can only be reached by boat or private floatation plane.

Alaska's Interior Grizzly Bears

Grizzly bears are a subspecies of the North American brown bear. The interior grizzly bear, which can be found from Alaska, south to Montana and Wyoming, is not as large as the coastal bears of Alaska, as their size varies according to the availability of food. The average male weighs between 300 and 850 pounds, while a female may weigh between 200 and 450 pounds.
Albums added May 29, 2022
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