Bear Camp Archives: My Favorite Photos & Fun Facts

After 5 days at Bear Camp, we had 2,000 photos to go through (okay, only 1,929, but that's still a lot). It took hours to filter through them all and find the best shots.

The photos I included in this article are the ones that truly took my breath away. The ones I pull up time and time again to show friends and family. The ones that still catch my eye no matter how many times I've seen them. These are my favorite shots of the beautiful brown bears of Alaska. Along with the photos, I included some fun facts about bears in the captions. I hope you enjoy reading through them.

Note: Some of my absolute favorite photos and videos from the trip are in my other article, 5 Moments From Bear Camp I Can't Stop Thinking About. Be sure to give that one a read as well!

THE SETTING: KATMAI NATIONAL PARK

Katmai National Park landscape near Bear Camp — Katmai became a protected area due to its volcanic landscapes, not because of the presence of bears. In 1912, the massive volcanic eruption of Novarupta created the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. A few years later, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the area Katmai National Monument to protect the volcanic site. It wasn't named a national park until 1980!

Brown bear in Katmai National Park

Brown bear in the wild in Alaska

Brown bear at Bear Camp in Katmai

THE PERFECT SHOTS

Brown bear portrait in Katmai — I captured this photo! Alex is the photographer behind 99% of the photos on this blog, but I've been learning how to use a camera over the last month and I was very proud of myself for getting this shot.

Brown bear standing in Katmai National Park — *Brown bears are the second largest of the 8 bear species (only polar bears are larger). The other bear species are: American black, Asiatic black, Andean speckled, giant panda, polar, sloth, and sun.*

Brown bear walking through grass in Katmai

FISHING BEARS

Brown bear eating sockeye salmon in Katmai — *Bears eat sockeye salmon (pictured) and rainbow trout here in Katmai National Park & Preserve. They also eat berries and grass.*

Brown bear with a cheeky expression in Katmai — *I just love the cheeky look in this bear's eyes!*

Brown bear fishing in Katmai — These brown bears are often erroneously called grizzly bears. The main difference between the two is location and diet. The brown bears of Katmai live on the coast and have access to salmon. Their high caloric intake allows them to grow much larger. Grizzlies, on the other hand, live further inland and feast mostly on plants and bugs.

Brown bear cub carrying a fish away from its mother — *A cub wrestles a fish away from mama and runs away with it.*

Brown bear near the water in Katmai

WRESTLING BEARS

Brown bear cubs wrestling in Katmai — Wrestling with their siblings helps cubs build the skills they'll need to defend themselves once they grow up. Bears without siblings are at a disadvantage. Hopefully, their mom will play with them to teach them the skills they need.

Adult male brown bears wrestling in Katmai — It's not just the cubs who wrestle. These adult males are brothers. Many believe that bears are strictly solitary once they graduate from their mother's care. That's not entirely true. Many siblings stick together until they are 8 or 9 years old, and there have even been cases of adult males rejoining their mother to help her care for her new cubs.

Brown bears wrestling at Bear Camp

Alex and I made a great team here. He captured the video, and I got the photo.

Brown bears interacting in Katmai

Brown bears playing in Alaska

Brown bear in Katmai National Park and Preserve

YOGA BEARS

Brown bear in an unusual pose in Katmai — *We had a habit of calling bears that did strange poses "yoga bears."*

Brown bear stretching in Katmai

Brown bear sitting in Katmai

POLAR BEARS?

Blonde brown bear cub in Katmai — *Brown bears come in all shapes and sizes...and colors? This bear cub, while it looks remarkably similar to a polar bear, is a blonde brown bear!*

SNOW BEAR

Brown bear in snowy scenery in Katmai

SO MANY BEARS

Brown bear in Katmai — *Female bears live up to 36 years old in the wild. Males live up to 32 years old.*

Several brown bears visible along a river in Katmai — Bears everywhere! It's estimated that between 150 to 220 bears occupy this 2 mile stretch of river in Katmai National Park & Preserve. A handful of times throughout the trip, we had 10-12 bears all in our line of sight at the same time! In this photo, you can see four.

Brown bear family in Katmai — *Bears have between 1 and 4 cubs in each litter. They will care for them for 2.5 years (sometimes up to 3.5 years) before sending them off on their own.*

BEAR FEATURES UP CLOSE

Close-up portrait of a brown bear in Katmai — *The perfect headshot.*

Close-up of a brown bear's tongue — *Look at that long tongue!*

Close-up of a brown bear's claws — *I'm not messing with those claws!*

Brown bear resting in Katmai — Bears in Katmai hibernate from October to April or May each year. Once mothers and cubs leave the den, they must abandon it and never return, because many predators (including wolves and other bears) can smell their presence and may stalk their den to hunt them when they return. Lone adult males will sometimes return to their dens after they leave them, as they do not face the same dangers.

Close-up of brown bear cub paws — *Bear cub paws*

BEARS ON ALERT

This peaceful moment with a mama bear and her cubs was interrupted by a bear nearby. The cubs were alert, because they knew they were in danger. As soon as the coast was clear, they went back to breastfeeding.

Mother brown bear and two cubs warning another adult bear to stay away — *A mother and her two cubs warn another adult to stay away.*

BEAR SILHOUETTES

Silhouettes of people and brown bears in Katmai — *I LOVE this photo that Alex captured. You can see the outlines of the two humans and the bears perfectly.*

Brown bear silhouette in Katmai

Brown bear silhouette at Bear Camp