Brown Bear
Be bear aware
The summer months are known for thunderstorms, fishing, hiking and picnics but here in Colorado they are also known for bears. Bear sightings are not uncommon in the Tri-Lakes area, especially this summer.
 | ACEO Brown Bear at a Water fall Watercolor by JohnniS |  | 1 Bid | US $6.00 | 3h 55m |
 | MARK RYDEN framed CALIFORNIA BROWN BEAR tree show | | 0 Bid | US $9.95 | 5h 8m |
Exploring the Bear Country of Alaska
There is hardly any place in the world which is as thinly populated as Alaska. Large parts of the country are still dominated by the animal world. This is also true for the huge Katmai National Park in the south of Alaska, where the landscape is marked by glaciers and volcanoes, a part of which are still active. At the bottom of the tops of the Aleutan Range which are up to 2,000 metres high lies the flat and stormy Shelikof Strait. The hardly accessible coastal landscape is a Dorado for animals. This is the bear country.
Our boat - a former research vessel - is our base camp and we are anchored in the Hallo Bay. At the moment the tide is out, and a bear is wandering along the beach on the search for mussels. It is an "Alaskan Brown Bear", as the animals are called along the coast.
A subspecies of the Brown Bear lives in the heartland and is called "Grizzly" (Ursus arctos horribilis). It is much smaller than the bears on the coast and is known to be aggressive against humans. This happens mainly if the humans do not comply with the rules which need to be observed while staying in their territory. In these cases accidents with Grizzlies make for horror stories and headlines every now and then.
In general, however, Grizzlies are - just as the big Brown Bears on the coast - shy and placid creatures, which love their peace and quiet more than everything. Our Master Bruin is especially interested in the "Razor Clam". With its distinct sense of smell, under the sand it seeks out the mussels of up to 15 centimetres and digs them out. But it needs to hurry, because the mussel notices the danger and digs itself quickly into unreachable depths. If it gets hold of a mussel, it opens the mussel with teeth and claws.
Two years ago, when we were with the bears at McNeil, on Kodiak and Katmai, people at the Brooks Camp warned us insistently of the wild coast at which we are right now. They told us that there would be a particularly large number of big and very dangerous animals. And what did we find on the rough western coast of the Shelikof Strait? On the beach there were bears searching for mussels and on the grass land peacefully grazing bears. We never had any problems with them.
Certainly there are rules of conduct in the Bear Country. Food in or near the tent is an absolute no-no. Even toothpaste, lotions and cosmetics are an irresistible attraction. The distances to be observed of 50 yards to an individual animal or, respectively, 100 yards to a mother bear with a cub are justified. In the well-attended Brooks Camp, for example, people see to the adherence to a safe distance. The rule is observed by the humans but the Brownies do not always adhere to it!
As we are wandering around a curve we are standing in front of a huge green field. Bears! I count them amazed: eighteen bears are on the grassland! We are carefully approaching an animal, which is standing aside, directly in front of a steep, overgrown rock face, off which the water is rushing in long threads. The big Brown Bear chooses the most tender grass. As it notices us, it slowly approaches us. A fox is passing quickly with a bird in its mouth. Indifferently, the bear gazes after it. Then it focuses on us again, but in the end the grass seams to be more interesting to the bear: slowly it trods back to its rock face.
The rain has stopped, the sun comes out - but again only for a short time. We spend hours of quietness in this river landscape, surrounded by bears.
The boat is already waiting for us. At night we anchor near the Shakun Rock.
The weather forecast does not sound good, and we have to leave the island in heavy seas still in the late afternoon. The wind force is constantly increasing, and we are glad as we reach the Kukak Bay. We go very deep into the bay, anchoring in a sheltered place, because the storm is already raging on the open sea. The Shelikof Strait is notorious. Aboard I read in a report that there are years with 23 days of storm per month, with waves of three, six or even ten metres. We spend two days in this place in rain and wind. There is a short weather improvement afterwards, and a small floatplane can pick us up. Despite the bad weather in the Shelikof Strait, we got to know a unique landscape with a rich fauna and flora.
As for the big bears of Alaska, in hundreds of encounters with them we have only met placid animals. We have encountered them at McNeil, on Kodiak, at the Brooks River, the Katmai "back country" and at the Shelikof Strait. For us, they embody untouched wilderness and they fascinate us enormously.
Nevertheless, one should never forget that bears are extraordinarily powerful and fast animals. An erect Brown Bear can reach a height of three metres. On Kodiak there are animals with a weight of up to 800 kilograms! At an attack from close range, humans have no chance. The bears we got to know had a good to abundant food supply. Also, they were not spoilt by humans. Perhaps, these circumstances had an influence on their placid behaviour.
For the Grizzlies in the heartland, the food supply is much worse. Their living conditions are hard. A disregard of the basic safety rules in their territory can have fatal consequences. Fatal attacks against humans in the Yellowstone and the Glacier National Park document this insistently. With all the fascination - caution is always advisable with these animals.
About the Author
Klaus Jost is a nature photographer and wildlife specialist. Visit his website www.jostimages.com for
Alaska Wildlife photos
, great white shark photos and much more
Alaska Brown Bear Trapped
| ACEO Brown Bear at a Water fall Watercolor by JohnniS US $6.00 | MARK RYDEN framed CALIFORNIA BROWN BEAR tree show US $9.95 |  MARK RYDEN CALIFORNIA BROWN BEAR PORTFOLIO TREE SHOW US $3.00 |
 Brown Bear Canvas Print 2030 Inch HUGE US $24.76 |  Brown bear grizzly wildlife SFA Moosup giclee pendant US $20.00 |  BROWN BEAR GICLEE of Painting Wildlife Grizzly Bear ART US $15.00 |
 GRIZZLY BEAR BLACK BEAR BROWN BEAR ANTIQUE LITHO 1880 US $14.00 |  1885 LARGE FOLIO ANTIQUE PRINT POLAR BEAR BROWN BEAR US $22.00 |  polar brown bear dance studio animal art print 8x10 US $12.50 |
 Brown Bear 16x20 Art Poster Print Laminating US $3.84 |  LARGE FRAMED Brown Bear Photo on Canvas WALL ART PRINT US $139.98 |  Canadian Carving Sculpture Grizzly or Brown Bear Signed US $18.99 |
 brown bear Dance studio picture animal art print 8x10 US $12.50 |  brown bear ballerina ballet animal art print 8x10 US $12.50 |  Hand Colored Bear Grisly Brown American Polar Print US $15.12 |
 BROWN BEAR Fish GICLEE of Painting Wildlife Kasheta ART US $15.00 |  brown bear coffee picture signed animal Art print 8x10 US $9.99 |  1899 Photograph Brown Bear Norway Nature Animals US $40.05 |
 Brown Bear surfing picture signed animal Art print 8x10 US $12.50 |  Teddy Brown BEAR Sled Snow MOON Folk Art TYoung PRINT US $14.99 |  Brown Grizzly Bear 1873 Zoological Society Garden Art US $32.11 |
 ANIMAL PRINT AMERICAN BROWN POLAR BEAR URSUS RACCOON US $18.50 |  Brown Bear Canvas Print Large A1 Animals Wild Bear US $61.86 |  Carved Wooden Statue of Brown Grizzly Bear US $450.00 |
 Small Brown Bear Art Print by Friedrich Specht 10x13 US $9.99 |  ACEO Brown Bear Wildlife Print Original Art C Smale US $6.00 |  C1850 Colour Print Brown Black Bear Wild Animals US $28.25 |
 Bronze Statue Mountain Grizzly Black Brown Bear Cubs US $79.00 |  Original BROWN BEAR PAINTING Wildlife Kasheta ART US $68.00 |  Catherine Becquer Bear With Brown Vest 9 x 9 Print US $5.76 |
 Bear with Brown Vest Art Print by Catherine Becquer US $7.99 |  11x14 Matted Photo of a Brown Color Phase Black Bear US $14.00 |  Original Art 1950s Frank Train Valentine Brown Bear US $66.25 |
 Mark Ryden CA Brown Bear Lowbrow Framed Ruston Art US $20.00 |  PLAYFUL BROWN BEAR FRAMED CANVAS ANIMAL WALL ART PRINTS US $90.98 |  Mill Creek Studios Watchful Eyes Brown Bear Family US $85.00 |
 1895 MAN HORSEBACK LITTLE BROWN BEAR WILD ANIMAL US $25.94 |  1830 Goldsmith Antique Print Black Brown Polar Bears US $35.00 |  Bears Hand Colored Old Print Antique Grisly Brown Polar US $15.12 |
 1893 LOUIS WAIN Monkey Brown Bear and Ostrich US $23.21 |  1930 Sketches Panther Gazelle Buck Brown Bear Print US $27.31 |  ANTIQUE PRINT BROWN BEARS litho c 1895 US $24.90 |
 Nice 1940s Alaska Brown Bear Grizzly Print by Hines US $12.00 |  BROWN BEAR BALLERINA BALLET picture art GICLEE 11x14 US $20.00 |  Bear Print C1865 Common Brown Bear Hand Coloured US $6.49 |
 Kodiak Brown Bear 1999 2000 Contemporary Print US $14.40 |  ORIGINAL ART WATERCOLOR PAINTING BROWN BEAR ON MEADOW US $26.25 |  The Bear by Suzanne Etienne Brown Bear Fishing Salmon US $169.00 |
 brown bear ballerina ballet picture art print 8x10 US $12.50 |  Brown Bear Old Print Antique Portraiture Colored Art US $28.74 |  Hunt for Brown Bear with LassoPrint woodblock1880 US $24.95 |
 Brown Bear Art Poster Print Laminating US $3.84 |  1906 Brown Bear Stream Yellowstone Park America Print US $27.31 |  FRANCIS LEE JAQUES ALASKA BROWN BEAR VINTAGE 1958 LITHO US $7.99 |
 Solid Hard Wood Carved Figurine Folk Art Brown Bear US $20.08 |  BROWN BLACK GRIZZLY BEAR 1880 Natural History Print US $34.99 |  Brown Bear 1909 Antique Print Rare US $14.40 |
 Brown Bear 1901 Antique Lithograph Print Rare US $21.60 |  BlackBrown and Grizzly Bear 1880 Antique Print Rare US $14.40 |  Alaskan Brown Bear c1918 Antique Gravure Print Rare US $25.20 |
 Carl Brenders Brown Bear 1979 Vintage Print Rare US $24.00 |  Brown Bear 1988 Vintage Lithograph Print US $14.40 |  Brown Bear 1971 Vintage Print Rare US $12.00 |
 Brown Bear 1965 Vintage Print Rare US $16.20 |  Brown Bear 1950 Vintage Print Rare US $21.60 |  Jean Vietor THE HIGH TRAIL Brown Bear S N Art Print US $9.99 |
 Antique bear print Bären beer polar brown beren 1902 US $10.82 |  Antique Print BROWN BLACK BEAR Buffon 1853 US $69.50 |  Chainsaw Carved Brown Bear Cub in Log Sculpture Pine US $35.96 |
 Andrew Mass outsider art folk brown bear Big Bear CA US $9.99 |  1979 ROGER J BROWN SCULPTURE ROOSEVELT THE BEAR CUB US $19.99 |  INDIANaturalistNW ProvincesBrown Bearprint1880 US $13.49 |
 ABBIE CARR Harry brown bear tree SIGNED LIMITED ED US $27.86 |  BROWN BEAR THICK LIPPED BEAR MALAY PRINT CUVIER 1837 US $17.02 |  ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR PAINTING BROWN BEAR CUB IN FOREST US $26.25 |
 BROWN BEAR CUBS ALASKAN WILDLIFE ANTIQUE BEAR PRINT US $14.00 |  Chainsaw carved wood carving brown bear art sculpture US $145.00 |  Maine Chainsaw Art Carving Brown Hugging Bear 20 Camp US $129.99 |
 MARK RYDEN CALIFORNIA BROWN BEAR FRAMED LITHOGRAPH RARE US $69.99 |  Original BROWN BEAR PAINTING Grizzly Bears Kasheta ART US $35.00 |  dancing bears BROWN 11 x 14 ANIMAL GICLEEart print US $20.00 |
 brown bears in a dance studio11 x 14 GICLEE art print US $20.00 |  1834 GUERIN HC ENGRAVING brown bear marmoset US $29.95 |  Antique Print Brown Bear Signed US $14.95 |
 RARE 1890 118 Yr Old Brown Bear with Cubs Bear Print US $27.00 |  Brown Bear Canvas PrintFramed UVProtection US $61.86 |  WARWICK HIGGS Cubs brown bear BROWSE OUR EBAY SHOP US $20.12 |
 JEAN VIETOR High Trail Brown Bear Family Art Print US $19.95 |  Michael Sieve Tidal Flats Brown Bear LTD ED Art Print US $49.95 |  Mark Ryden CALIFORNIA BROWN BEAR SDCC edition print US $69.99 |
 Chainsaw Carved Brown Bear Cub in Log Sculpture Pine US $35.96 |  Brown Bear Feather Painting Print Hunter Green Mat US $19.95 |  Black Brown Ice Bear Racoon Bearcat Coati Plate 1906 US $6.00 |
 Canvas Art Print Wild Animal Grizzly Bear Brown US $24.90 |  Bronze Statue Mountain Grizzly Bear Black Brown Cubs US $89.00 |  Cook Zoo Animals 1943 BIG BROWN BEAR Art Print Matted US $28.00 |
 modern Canvas Art animal brown bear family 24x36 US $30.95 |
Originally posted 2009-10-01 14:53:37.
