A brown bear mother and her cub is seen along the banks of a river in katmai national park in Alaska in the summer.

Brown Bear Mother and Cub

Alaska, USA

Each year, sockeye salmon runs inundate the backcountry rivers of Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve. As the salmon concentrate, so do the bears. It is estimated that 2,200 brown bears inhabit the park, one of the highest densities in the world.

But the bears must be wary and follow the rules of congregating. The larger bears generally go wherever they want, unchallenged. Sometimes bears will size each other up and tussles break out. Moms must protect their cubs, while teaching them to fish. Most mothers avoid direct interactions with other bears, but sometimes lessons are learned the hard way. Cubs are sometimes killed by larger bears.

Photo © copyright by Dr. Edward Mikol.

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