The Moment Bears Have Been Waiting For

One of the top wishes for our trip to Alaska was to see bears fishing for salmon. All spring, hungry bears settle for sedges along the shore and skunk cabbage root. In early summer, they seem to disappear from the shores, further into the forest to forage berries and other food. All the while, just biding their time until the real treat comes in mid-July: salmon returning to the streams to spawn. This is what they need to pack on the weight for a long winter hibernation.

We anchored in sweet little Ell Cove (shaped like an "L" as a matter of fact), the only boat. As soon as we were settled, it was off to explore. In the bay to the South was Kasnyku Falls.

In the bay to the North, sea anemone, a juvenile eagle and a big bunch of kelp.

The next bay over was called Hidden Falls. At the top of the ramp, we found there was a hatchery and a laminated card was there for a self-guided tour.

Also lots of signs indicating it was an area of high bear activity and to be alert. No problem!

We looked over the edge of an embankment down to the bottom of a small fish ladder and were surprised to see have a dozen brown bears, 50-100 yards away, fishing and gorging.

They did look up at us from time to time, but as we were doing exactly what they expected, standing and staring, they didn't worry about us and went on catching and eating these...

Chum salmon trying to return to the river, but in a pond above the short ladder, there was a net that kept them available to the hatchery team to harvest eggs and sperm.

Some of the bears fished in the quiet waters of the pond...

but most seemed to like the rushing water.

This little guy looks unsure about the rushing water.

Success! One of the favorite parts of the salmon seems to be the roe (eggs). They frequently squirted out when they bit the salmon and the bear was pause to lick them all up first.