Katmai National Park and Lake Clark National Park, Alaska, USA - August/September 2018
This was a very special three week trip to see Alaska's Brown Bears at the height of the salmon fishing season. The first part of the trip was a Natural Habitat
group tour to Katmai National Park. On two back-to-back tours we spent a total of 8 nights on board the Ursus, going on shore everyday to see Brown Bears. We visited most of the key bays in the park - Kukak, Kuliak, Missak, Kinak Bays and Geographic Harbor. The Nathab trip was superbly guided by Drew Hamilton.
Then we went back through Anchorage to join Natures Images
annual Brown Bear trip to Silver Salmon Creek in Lake Clark National Park. Although less than fifty miles up the coast from Katmai, this is a very different location to the cliff enveloped bays we had become used to. At Silver Salmon Creek the open, flat and east-facing shoreline offers superb sunrise opportunities. Danny Green, the tour leader, worked miracles to get us to the right places for the very best light on multiple occasions.
It was a good season for salmon in Alaska, and the bears all enjoyed plenty of eating in preparation for their winter hibernation. Additionally we saw a number of coastal wolves, all of which looked to be very healthy, undoubtedly benefiting from the bumper salmon run.