The Bears of Brooks River

Brooks River provides excellent habitat for brown bears, who rely on its resources year-in and year-out.

NPS Photo / L. Law

 

The waterfall at the Brooks River's halfway point makes it a perfect location for bears to fish.

NPS Photo / L. Law

The Bears of Brooks River

Brooks River is one of many rivers in Katmai. The Brooks is part of the larger Naknek Watershed, meaning that as water flows in the Brooks River, it will eventually make its way to Bristol Bay via the Naknek River.

The Brooks River is an essential salmon spawning stream. Salmon pass through this river to other tributaries further upstream, and salmon spawn in this river.

Almost all rivers in Katmai are salmon streams, but what makes the Brooks unique is the 6ft high waterfall at the river’s halfway point. This natural dam forces the salmon to school up under the falls before making their leap up and over the falls to their spawning ground.

For salmon, this is a helpful resting spot to reserve energy before their push upriver. For the bears however, there is opportunity for feasting on the thousands of fish that come through the Brooks each year.

 

Just like bears return to Brooks River for the reliability of salmon, tourists flock to the Brooks River for its reliable wildlife viewing opportunities.

NPS Photo / F. Jimenez

Brooks River bears return to the river in mid-late June and stay around the area until late October when the salmon run is over and it’s almost time to hibernate. Because of the predictable nature of salmon, we can expect bears to return to the Brooks as the salmon do.

Brooks River has been a tourist destination since the 1950s and people have started to recognize the individual bears as they return year after year. An ongoing study started in the early 2000s tracks these bears movement patterns and behaviors and is reliant on information from individual bears. In 2012, explore.org set up live streaming cameras that allow visitors from all over the world to engage with these bears and learn about the individuals and their habits.

 

Learn More About Katmai's Bears

• 

  Bears of Katmai

  Explore Katmai's many online resources about its bears.

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  An Intact Ecosystem

  Katmai's brown bears are just one part of its rich ecosystem filled with many other fascinating species.

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  Bear Webcams

  See the bears of Katmai live through explore.org webcams.