Prime Fishing Spot
Alaska, USA
Each year, sockeye salmon runs inundate the backcountry rivers of Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve. They navigate from the open ocean into the rivers, lakes, and streams, back to the headwaters in which they were hatched. There they spawn and lay the eggs that will give rise to the next generation. Tens of millions of Sockeye salmon enter the park’s waters each year.
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. Many of these normally solitary bears head toward the waterways, moving upstream with the salmon, gorging themselves along the way.
But the bears must be wary and follow the rules of congregating. The larger bears generally get the best fishing spots, which is where the bear with the fish sat. As the salmon swim upstream they must jump the falls, some right in the hands of a waiting bear. Natural channels funnel the fish to the best spots, and the experienced bears know this.
Photo © copyright by Dr. Edward Mikol.
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