Alaska’s Brooks Falls hosts one of the biggest populations of grizzly bears in the world.
As salmon make their way up the sixfoot waterfalls, bears vie for the best fishing spots. And the females do whatever it takes to protect their young.

TRAVEL LIKE ME
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If you'd like to follow in my footsteps and see a magnificent grizzly bear for yourself, take a look at my travel page where you can find my itinerary and book a similar trip to Alaska: https://www.robertefuller.com/travel/'>https://www.robertefuller.com/travel/

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ABOUT THIS FILM
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Grizzly bear characters

The grizzly bears at Brooks Falls are hugely popular with tourists and are also followed closely on Katmai's live bearcams. Some have nicknames, such as Walker, Chunk and 747. But I travelled to this spot to see the females.

Journey

I stayed at Jacques Camp on the banks of Lake Iliamna, and travelled by float plane to Katmai National Park to watch the bears at Brooks Falls. The journey itself was quite an adventure. We flew to Naknek Lake, downstream of the falls and from there walked through the woods.

Brooks Falls

These waterfalls represent the final challenge for salmon migrating from the Pacific Ocean to breed in the upper reaches of these rivers. Each spring, following a journey of at least a thousand miles, the salmon must leap the sixfoot falls to make it to their spawning grounds in Brooks Lake beyond. Safety is less than a mile away, but first they must run the gauntlet, jumping out of the water, right into the path of some hungry grizzly bears.

Grizzlies gather

The chance for an easy meal leads the bears to gather in huge numbers. The largest bears tend to take the best spots at the falls, but I find the way the females and cubs behave the most interesting.

Female bears

Mother bears give birth between January and March, and by now their cubs are around six months old. I watched one female, known as 402, who is believed to be around 25 years old and to have had eight litters, more than any bear at Brooks River.

Protecting cubs

Grizzly males are a threat to cubs and can sometimes kill to force a female into oestrus and ensure only their own genes are passed on. The females therefore spend much of their time guarding their young.

Grazer

But one bear mum, Grazer, had no problem standing up to the other bears. Her cubs were two years old and nearing independence. Affectionately known as the 'Grazerettes', they oozed confidence as they followed their dominant mother to the best fishing spot on the falls.

Bear tactics

Interestingly each 'mama bear' had its own, unique approach to parenting. Some, like a female nicknamed 402, were cautious, others were chancers and yet more were old hands and calmly confident.

ABOUT ME
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I am a British wildlife artist and filmmaker on a mission to share my love for wildlife with the world. As well as creating detailed animal film and art portraits, I promote wildlife tours around the world and do all I can to help conserve and protect wildlife here at my home in Yorkshire. I hope that by putting nature in the frame I can foster a deep love for wildlife amongst my followers.

You can support my work by donating here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s... or joining one of my supporter communities: https://www.robertefuller.com/support...

Of course, you may like to purchase my artwork which you can find on my website: https://www.robertefuller.com. Many of my paintings are portraits of the wonderful characters you watch here!

You can also follow me on these platforms:
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CHAPTERS
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00:00 Brooks Falls, Alaska
00:54 Journey To The Falls
01:42 Grizzly Bear Scratching Post
01:52 Brooks Falls
02:09 The Salmon Run
03:21 An Experienced Mother
05:03 Playful Cubs
05:33 Males Means Danger
06:15 A Formidable Family Unit
06:45 Grazer & The Grazerettes
07:31 Taking Prime Position
08:15 Fierce Competition
09:40 More To Come...
10:02 End Credits

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© Robert E Fuller

Copyright Disclaimer: Please feel free to share my videos but do not download any content without permission with the intent to reupload. If you would like to license any content, please get in touch: [email protected]

*Robert Fuller travelled with wildlife photographer Daryl Balfour http://www.wildphotossafaris.com/. He stayed at https://alaskagrizzlies.com/ in Jacques Adventure Lodge with Jerry Jacques.

#robertefuller #grizzlybear #alaska #wildtravel