Boondock–
We boondocked last night again at Robe Lake with just beautiful views of the water, the woods and surrounding Chugach Mountains. Woke to a temp. of 45 degrees F. and a light rain. Actually, we heard it rain at a moderate rate all night. We’re planning on going out on a cruise on Prince William Sound today so we’re hoping this place will act like Camelot and only rain at night for a day or two. We shall see but we’re going out on the cruise, rain or shine. Heard a lot of bird calls at the lake and saw a bald eagle fly over in addition to an armada of ducks in the water. Though I know there are large animal wildlife somewhere out in the distant woods, we haven’t seen any around the lake.
Wildlife Viewing–
We got a tip that the area of Prince William Sound near the Fish Hatchery was a good place to go and watch for seals. Then someone else told us that in the same area, we might see Brown Bear fishing in the evening, sometime around 8:00 pm. So we headed for the fish hatchery area at 7:30 pm and found a crowd of people standing on the walk way, cameras up, looking at the beach. Saw a few young men fishing off the side of the road and they had clearly caught a few fish. Looking further up along the shore, there was a Mama Brown Bear with her four cubs!
We were told by a ranger that the difference between a Grizzly and a Brown Bear is habitat. Grizzlies live in the interior where food is tough to find and the bear frequently have a lower protein diet making each grizzly need a very large area to range to look for food so they are quite intolerant of other bear and people. Brown Bear usually live within ten miles of the coast and their diet contains much more protein making them more tolerant of other bear and people. Both are still quite dangerous and the most dangerous is the mama bear with cubs.
Rarely do bear have so many cubs. That’s a lot of mouths to feed in any species! The mortality for bear cubs is high so this mama we were watching has her work cut out for her.
We stayed in this location for about an hour watching the mama catch fish, bring the fish up on the shore and begin to eat it. The cubs join in eating some of the fish and the mama tolerates them sharing in her catch. She does not feed them however and they must come to her and take some of the fish for themselves. At one point the mama crossed the road to the woods with a fish in her mouth and the four cubs following, She ate the fish in the woods, likely sharing it with them and nursed the cubs while in the bushes. Then she crossed the road to go fishing again but one of the cubs had trouble getting down the hill and she returned to get him then they all crossed the road together and she resumed fishing. Wow! Can she fish. Catching the fish with her mouth or claws, she was quick! Oh, what a great opportunity to watch a brown bear in the wild! Never thought we would get to see one so close especially a sow with cubs!
Human behavior–
The crowd watching the bears with us last night was composed of folks from around the world (Belgium, Germany, Japan, etc.) and Americans from various states. We’ve listened to and read a lot about bear safety and while no experts we do know a few safer behaviors. This was clearly not the case for everyone in the crowd last night watching the mama bear fish. No one was crazy enough to go down on the beach with the mama and cubs but a few did other risky things. When the mama bear crossed the street some people ran away. One man ran right by the bear like he was a gazelle, which is a very dangerous thing to do. Running can get the bear’s “chase” instint going, they focus on the runner and chase the runner down. Luckily she was focused on her cubs and fishing and did not give chase. Another thing a few people did was approach the cubs to get a better picture of them crossing the road (either they are brave or suicidal). There were other human behaviors that amazed us such as letting a few little kids run free making lots of “little kid noises”. Turned out, this mama bear was unusually tolerant so all there remained safe and folks have lots of great stories and pictures to take home.
Cruise on Prince William Sound–
We will be going out on a cruise today and may return very late tonight so will likely post about it tomorrow. Here’s hoping we get to see some whales out there.
The ranger gave you some misinformation on bears. Grizzly and brown bear are one and the same. Some get high protein by eating salmon, others feed on grasses and berries – all are grizzlies and all are dangerous. None are tolerant of people. The safest distance from any grizzly is 300 ft. Hold your arm out, look toward the bear from your little finger. If your fingertip doesn’t cover the bear, slowly turn and go in another direction. Don’t run. Sad to hear that some visitors just don’t get the fact these animals are wild! On the other hand, you got some nice pictures!
Thank you Melinda. Be well. Ann and Jerry
We did the Prince William Sound cruise in 2008. It was great. Saw 5 whales and dozens of other wildlife. Hope you have a great time. BTW, we have a picture of us in front of Horsetail Falls, the falls you featured a couple of blogs back.
Thanks Jim. This is such a great place to visit. I know you have wonderful memories from your visit as do we. This is one place we would go out of our way to visit. Be well and Safe Travels, Ann and Jerry
You are so lucky to get those pictures! Yet you did travel to Alaska, so it isn’t all luck. Wonderful shots! I saw a mother with her kid feeding a brown bear in the Smokies! What a stupid and naive thing to do.
Thanks Andrea. It amazes us to see some of the things people do. Glad you like the pictures, all taken from a safe distance. Be well and safe travels, Ann and Jerry