Coastal Brown Grizzly Bear on the beach

A Coastal Brown Bear on the hunt for Razor Clams on Ninagiak Island delights my group with a close encounter of the bear kind during my Ultimate Brown Bear Adventure in Alaska.

The Katmai coast is known for the large number of brown bears congregating to feed on salmon. The bears also scavenge on marine mammal carcasses that wash ashore and have developed the unique skill of digging for razor clams. They have also been observed swimming relatively long distances to gain access to ground-nesting birds. In Hallo Bay, brown bears swim 2 miles (3.2 km) from the mainland to Ninagiak Island to feed on the eggs and chicks of glaucous-winged gulls and puffins.

These bears are most often young males or sows and their cubs. It is advantageous for a mother bear to take her offspring to islands because of the ready supply of food and because the islands are likely safe refuge from adult males. Likely, cubs taken to an island by their mother will return.

Coastal Brown Grizzly Bear On The Beach (Coastal brown bear, Grizzly bear, Ursus arctos, ours brun) Ninagiak Island on the Katmai Coast from my June Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai workshop in Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless camera & Sony 200-600mm Lens (@350mm) ISO 3,200, f/6.3 @ 1/3,200s Manual exposure. Full frame image.

Coastal Brown Grizzly Bear Portrait in sweet light

This image from last June’s Ultimate Brown Bears of Alaska Workshop of a boar Brown Bear grazing was made after the group sat quietly for more than half an hour waiting for it to lift its head and look towards us. The Alaskan golden light was magical and seemed to last forever.

Coastal Brown Grizzly Bear Boar PORTRAIT in sweet light (Coastal brown bear, Grizzly bear, Ursus arctos, ours brun) from my June Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai workshop in Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha a1 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 G Master OSS Lens with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @800mm. ISO 1,600, f/5.6 @ 1/3,200s Manual exposure. Full frame image top to bottom.

Portrait of a Brown Bear Yearling

A simple portrait of my favourite yearling from last year’s Ultimate Brown Bear Adventure. This guy was an entertaining showman and sure did show off for us!

Coastal Brown Grizzly Bear Yearling PORTRAIT (Coastal brown bear, Grizzly bear, Ursus arctos, ours brun) from my June Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai workshop in Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha a1 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens with Sony FE 1.4X Teleconverter @840mm. ISO 10,000, f/5.6 @ 1/3,200s Manual exposure. Full frame image top to bottom.

Coastal Brown Bear Yearling Grazing by Pond

Here is another image from my Ultimate Brown Bear Adventure in Katmai National Park, Alaska, last June. This male yearling stole the show many times, including our afternoon in the wet and soggy sedge. I loved the freedom of walking around with only my Sony Alpha 1 camera body paired with my Sony 200-600mm G Master lens.

Coastal Brown Grizzly Bear Yearling Grazing by Pond (Coastal brown bear, Grizzly bear, Ursus arctos, ours brun) from my June Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai workshop in Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless camera & Sony 200-600mm Lens (@600mm) ISO 6,400, f/6.3 @ 1/3,200s Manual exposure. Full frame image.

Join me in Alaska for the ULTIMATE Brown Bear June 12 to 19, 2024 (8 days / 7 Nights) MOTHERS & CUBS Adventure June 12 to 19, 2024 (8 days / 7 Nights)

🐻

Join me in Alaska for the ULTIMATE Brown Bear June 12 to 19, 2024 (8 days / 7 Nights) MOTHERS & CUBS Adventure June 12 to 19, 2024 (8 days / 7 Nights) 🐻

Coastal Brown Grizzly Bear Mother and Yearling on the run

Seeing a bear explode from a nap to 56km/h (35MPH) is impressive! Even more so as they head directly towards you! My Ultimate Brown Bears of Alaska group saw this several times during my workshop in the sacred Halo Bay on the Katmai Coast in Alaska.

Not to worry, although they look like they are about to run us over (especially while looking through a zoom lens @347mm), this intelligent mother is running behind us to use us as a shield from the boar who turned away when he saw us.

Few sights are as terrifying for a mother brown bear in Alaska as a big male brown bear. Adult male bears (boars) are known to kill cubs —and sometimes the mother that defends them. A new study suggests that intelligent mama bears have found a surprising way to protect their young. To shield her cubs from male attacks, mom has to raise them near an adult bear's No. 1 enemy: humans.

Join me in Alaska for the Ultimate Brown Bears of Alaska for eight days of brown bear photography! Learn more HERE.

Coastal Brown Grizzly Bear Mother and Yearling on the run (Coastal brown bear, Grizzly bear, Ursus arctos, ours brun) from my June Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai workshop in Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless camera & Sony 200-600mm Lens (@347mm) ISO 3,200, f/6.3 @ 1/3,200s Manual exposure. Full frame image.

Coastal Brown Grizzly Bear female yearling cub in fog

Here is another image from my Ultimate Brown Bear Photo Adventure last June. We had countless hours with this curious Coastal Brown Bear Yearling (1-year-old cub). I chose my Sony Alpha a1 camera body paired with the ultra-portable Sony 200 to 600mm zoom lens set at 378mm.

Coastal Brown Grizzly Bear female yearling cub in fog (Coastal brown bear, Grizzly bear, Ursus arctos, ours brun) from my June Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai workshop in Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless camera & Sony 200-600mm Lens (@378mm) ISO 5,000, f/6.3 @ 1/1,250s Manual exposure. Full frame image top to bottom; cropped a little off the sides to make a 4x5 aspect ratio.

Join me in Alaska for the Ultimate Brown Bear adventure of a lifetime

🐻

Join me in Alaska for the Ultimate Brown Bear adventure of a lifetime 🐻

Coastal Brown Grizzly Bear Mother and Yearling Cub in heavy fog

We had some fantastic moments with this mother and her yearling in Halo Bay along the Katmai Coast during my Ultimate Brown Bear Adventure. The fog was incredibly dense, but it gradually lifted, offering different views and special images.

In Katmai National Park, brown bear cubs stay with their mothers for 2.5 years. During a cub’s first year of life, they are considered cubs-of-the-year (COYs) or spring cubs. In their second year, they are generally called yearlings and will den with their mother for at least one more winter.

Coastal Brown Grizzly Bear mother and yearling cub in heavy fog (Coastal brown bear, Grizzly bear, Ursus arctos, ours brun) from my June Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai workshop in Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless camera & Sony 200-600mm Lens (@600mm) ISO 8,000, f/6.3 @ 1/2,500s Manual exposure. Full frame image.

Coastal Brown Bear Cub Showing Off Fresh Salmon

A Coastal Brown (Grizzly) Bear shows off a fresh pink salmon in gorgeous light against out-of-focus Alaskan autumn colours. My group was treated to some incredible moments during my ULTIMATE BROWN BEARS of KATMAI SALMON FISHING WORKSHOP.

Coastal Brown Bear Clamming in the fog

Here is a Coastal Brown Bear (AKA: Grizzly Bear) emerging from the three-foot deep hole it dug in about 25 seconds while hunting for a Razor Clam. We had a fabulous morning watching this giant clamming while ignoring us during my Ultimate Brown Bears Galore Adventure Workshop in Alaska. I used my Sony Alpha 1 and the 200-600mm zoom lens I love for its portability and versatility, set at only 255mm.

Grizzly Coastal Brown Bear Mother and Cub

Another image from my recent ULTIMATE BROWN BEARS OF KATMAI WORKSHOP in Alaska. After another of Melissa’s epic home-cooked meals on our private charter ship, we returned to shore in heavy overcast and foggy conditions and spent a few hours waiting for this mother and cub to wake up from their afternoon nap :)

Grizzly Brown Bear second summer cub in the rain

A second summer Coastal Brown Bear grazing in the rain from my recently concluded ULTIMATE BROWN BEARS OF KATMAI WORKSHOP. I love cloudy and overcast light, especially when it is misty or drizzling in Katmai. The short grass in mid-June offers amazing low-angle images possible. The bears love the sweet, high-protein sedge and spend much time grazing like cows - smile.

One of the few reliable food sources for bears in the spring is Lyngbye's sedge (Carex lyngbyaei). On the Pacific coast of Katmai, large numbers of bears gather to graze like cattle when this sedge emerges in salt marshes. As it begins to grow, Lyngbye’s sedge is relatively high in protein and lower in crude fibre, making it easier for bears to digest and extract nutrition.

Grizzly bear mother and cub running

We had a fabulous time with this mother and cub during my recently concluded ULTIMATE BROWN BEARS OF KATMAI WORKSHOP. Contrary to most assumptions about how aggressive a mother is when protecting her cubs, the mother bears of the Katmai coast seek us out as protection from the big boars (the male bears). We sat with his mother and cub for hours as they slept on the ground pointed away from us with their noses pointed into the wind and us as protection downwind. The moment she caught the scent of a big male, she ran for cover, and they ran past us, spraying mud as they escaped.

Coastal Brown Bear mother and cubs

A Coastal Brown Bear mother and cubs pose for my group during my Ultimate Mother and Cubs bear boat trip. There is still space for my Mothers & Cubs trip in June and my Fishing Bears trip in September. I am also looking for a female solo traveller to share a room with another female solo traveller. Learn more about my Bears Galore workshop HERE.

Coastal Brown Bear Mother with cub

At the end of a very long day hiking around Katmai National Park (Alaska) in the rain knee-deep in mud this mother and cub seemed to look as wet and muddy as I felt - smile. As always in Katmai, we respect the bears from a distance, but they usually tend to gravitate to my group as a trusted shield from the roaming adult males (called boars) and move closer to us. I can see from the timestamps on the images that we spent 44 minutes waiting for both of them to look our way at the same time; we were lucky to have the added bonus of the cub touching mom :)

Since the sky is much brighter than the bears, it was extremely bright and washed-out in the image, so I replaced the background sky to make the scene resemble more closely what my eyes saw.