Day 3, Alaska: Pack Creek Brown Bears

Started early today to motor to Pack Creek on Admiralty Island which was known by the Tlingits as Kootznoowoo, or “fortress of the bears.” The northeast portion of the island is a prime brown bear viewing area, accessible only by boat or plane - about 1/2 mile from the beach to a small open viewing spot. The blip is Patches, a female brown bear (grizzly), fishing. She clearly was good at it, in spite of the fact that she had a badly broken leg 5 years ago and walks with a funny gait. The other younger bears clearly defer to her. Grizzlies are omnivores and eat both vegetation and animals. We got several different viewing times (and it didn’t rain!) I’ve put more on Alaska trip Day 3,4 on flickr which shows Patches catching the fish and the eagles who came after. The bears eat the brains, eyes , skin, (high fat) and then discard the rest of these pink salmon coming up the creek. They try to put on 8" of fat over the summer for their winter hibernation. It was great fun!!

Day 3 and 4 Alaska set