I met my first Brown Bear in Katmai National Park, which is at the beginning of the Aleutian Peninsula. He was coming down a trail I was walking up. He and I had a discussion and then I slowly backed away. Never run from a bear unless you are hiking with someone slower than you are. (grin)
Peggy and I are off in Alaska as you read this blog. Since I won’t have time for blogging or reading blogs, I decided to repost a few blogs from the trip we made to Alaska three years ago. If you have been following me for a while, you will have read these blogs previously. I will try to respond to comments. –Curt
Back in the 1980s, I spent three years living in Alaska and dedicated as much time as I could to wandering in the woods. Along the way I met most of the wildlife Alaska is famous for. A grizzly bear stalked me on the Kenai Peninsula. I went to sleep listening to wolves howl on a winter cross-country ski trip in Denali National Park. Even more entertaining, a pair of Dahl Sheep had a head-butting contest in my campsite in Chugach State Park.
You don’t have to disappear into the vast wilderness of Alaska to encounter animals with big teeth, claws and antlers, however. Our friends Edith Barrowclough and David McElroy reported that both a black bear and a moose wandered through their yard in Anchorage over the weekend. They have also seen a wolf and a lynx in the area.
Our friends David and Edie. Edie went to high school with Peggy in Port Clinton, Ohio. She now works as a CPA in Anchorage. Her husband, David, is a pilot working on the North Slope and a published poet. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)
Peggy and I stayed with them for four days. Every time Chula the Dog barked Peggy darted outside in hopes of spotting something large and furry. All she saw was the neighbor’s dog but we did end up seeing our share of wild animals. David and Edie insisted on taking us to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center at the southern end of Turnagain Sound. The Center serves as a wildlife sanctuary and is designed to duplicate the animals’ natural surroundings. They have done a good job. The photos in this blog were taken there.
Our trip down Turnagain Arm to the sanctuary was a trip down memory lane for me. It was one of my favorite drives when I lived in Alaska.
A shot of the railroad tracks running along Turnagain Sound. The V in the mountains on the right is where the town of Hope is located. Hope was the starting point for 100 mile backpack trips I led across the Kenai Peninsula.
We stopped off at Bird River on our way down Turnagain Arm. The dots on the river are people fishing for salmon. Three days later we would be fishing for salmon on Kodiak Island.
Black bears are smaller than their cousins. I once woke up with one standing on my chest in Yosemite. I screamed loudly. You may have heard me. This guy was about to join his companion in the cave.
Here he goes.
Our first view of the Brown Bears was of one playing in the water throwing a moose bone into the air. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson)
Here he catches the bone with one paw while pointing out his skill with the other. He didn’t have to persuade us.
My, what big teeth you have. And no, we have no intention of taking away your bone. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson)
One wet Alaskan Brown Bear, up close.
Check out the claws on this guy.
My grandson Connor insisted I include this head shot I took of one of the Brown Bears. The bear was sitting up.
I thought I would conclude with this photo because it emphasizes just how big Alaskan Brown Bears become on their diet of salmon. A large male can weigh up to 1200 pounds.
34 thoughts on “Encountering BIG Brown Bears and other Alaskan Wildlife…”
Alison
Wooohoooo! Great Shots! Fabulous experience. (Met a few bears myself during my time in the north – none up too too close though, except for an encounter on the way to the outhouse lol)
Curt Mekemson
Me too… (grin) Today I left our fishing spot to visit a tree and a Kodiak Bear was running around in a small pool a hundred or so yards away trying to catch pink salmon. I quietly backed away and left him to his chase. –Curt
Alison
Good plan!
gallivance.net
Curt, you da man when it comes to photographing bears. The “bone tosser” is brilliant. What a great series. I’ve spent a fair amount of time in the bush as well, and am happy to report that thus far, I haven’t had a bear encounter. None of this breaks my heart however. I’ll just leave this part of the outdoor experience to brave sorts like you. ~James
Curt Mekemson
Happened again today, James. Peggy and I were fishing for pink salmon with our son and his family on Kodiak Island and I had to find a tree. Instead I found a large Kodiak Bear fishing the same stream maybe 100-150 yards away. I quietly backed off and left him to his business. (grin) –Curt
gallivance.net
Curt, I just noticed that Peggy shot the bone tosser. Convey my compliments. ~James
Curt Mekemson
Will do… she has a larger telescope lens. LOL –Curt
FeyGirl
Amazing!! Such gorgeous creatures…. How lucky, WOW!
Curt Mekemson
They truly are, FeyGirl. Today, Peggy and I have a float plane bear watching trip that our kids got for us. Leave in about ten minutes. (grin) –Curt
Animalcouriers
Oh wow – as much as we love animals this is one we’d really rather not try to squish in a travel compartment 😉 Incredible and magnificent in the wild. What great shots you have taken.
Curt Mekemson
Thanks! As for putting him in an Animal Courier van, he might be a big help at border crossings. (grin)
Animalcouriers
Ha ha ha – just open the side door and we’d be whooshed right through!
sixdegreesphotography
What a fantastic trip you and Peggy are taking.. Surprise, surprise, bears do not scare me. Well, let’s say from afar.. Big, beautiful creatures they are..
These photos are amazing!!
Curt Mekemson
Thanks. Now I can’t comprehend being scared by a beaver but not by a bear. lol
sixdegreesphotography
I know right..lol..
shoreacres
The thought of bears playing is just delightful. Cubs, of course. But a nice, big one like that? What a great set of captures. I’ve never seen a bear in the wild. Coyotes, bobcat, assorted deer and antelope, sure. Moose and elk, too. But no bears. If I ever did, I’d prefer to be with someone who has experience wtih them. I can’t imagine turning around to see one. Oh, my.
Mustang.Koji
Kurt…. 100 mile trek through nature?! Bear standing on your chest? Meeting bears on a trail?? You’re alive?? Please always remind me I am a city slicker!! 🙂
Curt Mekemson
I once had a friend who taught wilderness survival tell his students if bears liked to eat people, they would move into towns where there were lots of people to eat. 🙂
walkerpod
After two months in Alaska, the only bear we saw was a grizzly from about a mile away, in the bottom of a valley, in Denali. We didn’t feel ripped off, but when hike after hike had people saying “watch out for the bear up the trail” but no bear sighting, we were a little disappointed. I guess next time, kodiak will be on the list.
Curt Mekemson
Thanks for following! I lived in Alaska for three years and was once stalked by a grizzly down on the Kenai Peninsula. 🙂 That was fun. You might want to add Katmai to your itinerary. The huge Brown Bears wander through your campsite. –Curt
walkerpod
Alisonanddon suggested I head your way after reading my blog. They told me you knew more about US National Parks than anyone they knew. I guess you may have an idea about how to get my idea further out there? Wes.
Bruce Thiesen
A worthy re-run. The bone thrower makes that certain.
Curt Mekemson
I had to look twice, Bruce. It was really funny. We finished up out trip today. Great fun including a 12 hour train trip with spectacular views. –Curt
Bruce Thiesen
Did they let you drive the train?
davekingsbury
Hope those shots are taken with a zoom lens …
Curt Mekemson
Sort of. 🙂
lumar1298
Adventurous life… I’m not that adventurous… It’s the only way to get great shots of the bears and other wold life though…
Curt Mekemson
Up close and personal. 🙂
JoHanna Massey
Lets hear a round of applause for the bone juggling bear, and to you Curt, for showing up to record the performance.
Great post. Thank you.
Curt Mekemson
That bear was one of the most unusual sights I have ever seen, JoHanna. –Curt
White Postcards
I’m loving this series of post on Alaska. We’ll be visiting our daughter in the Yukon at the end of May and tho I hope to see lots of wildlife, an encounter with a bear in not on the wish list. – Ginette
Curt Mekemson
Glad you are enjoying the series, Ginette. Bears are a delight from a distance. Care is required when they are closer, however. Once I was stalked by a large grizzly, not a pleasant experience. –Curt
Crystal M. Trulove
Turnagain Arm and Chugach State Park bring back memories for me too. Some places are so compelling, they stick with you. I had no bear incidents, but these are Places, with a capital P, and they stick with me many years later.
Oh yeah, combat fishing we called it, when they’d line up in the Kenai River when I lived there. It was a surprise to me, coming from Idaho, that people would bother to fish right next to 27 other people fishing.
Curt Mekemson
I never could get lining up shoulder to shoulder and fishing! The reason I always fished, when I used to, was to get away into the wilderness. When I used to see the mobs at Kenai, all I could think of was tangle lines. Not for me… 🙂 –Curt