A day among the brown bears of Alaska

Alaszka

The most anticipated and the most unforgettable program of my 3-week trip in Alaska was a full day excursion in the Katmai National Park – a day among the brown bears of Alaska

The vast majority of this park can only be accessed by floatplanes and some businesses in Homer have been offering bear viewing tours for decades. I signed up for one of these as I know from past journeys that viewing animals in their own habitat is usually a most memorable, unique experience.

You’ve got to learn the bear etiquette

It was already exciting to read the safety instructions received by email from the tour operator. In my Budapest flat, it had seemed totally surreal to read about what to do when you encounter a bear. It was not about meeting them by chance while hiking outdoors, but to visit them deliberately and getting close on purpose.

What you must be aware of is that bears do not like surprises. It is advised to walk in groups, in open areas and talk loudly in order to avoid surprising them while stepping out from behind a bush.

When the bear stands on its hind legs, it means curiosity, not a threat. You should back away slowly, diagonally, but if the bear follows, you’d better stop, wave your arms and talk to him without making any eye contact, let him know who you are. Never try to run away, you have no chance to win.

I would not say I was completely calm before the trip, but I fully trusted the tour operator, since they had been doing these trips for decades. On the evening before the trip, I had to go for a final orientation meeting at the office of the Bald Mountain Air Service.

I was weighed so that they could calculate the weight on the plane and I was told what to bring with me the next day: insect repellent, lunch, drinking water, toilet tissue and a plastic bag for the waste, raincoat, and warm clothes. I also learned that it didn’t matter what kind of shoes I’d wear because I would get hip boots so as not to get wet when I walked to the beach from the plane that would land on a lake.

If the bear approaches, squat

On the morning of the departure, at 8:30, we were standing around in the harbor with our daypacks and high anticipation. That day there were two groups for the two, 10-seater planes.

Our guide gave us our hip boots and a final orientation. The most important information was that if the tour guide said „sit down”, you immediately had to sit on the ground, without any hesitation or trying to find a suitable log or patch of grass to sit on. It is essential for the bear not to feel threatened by the group. I still couldn’t imagine myself in such a situation, but a couple of hours later I had the chance to practice my new knowledge.

After boarding the plane the pilot asked if anyone was interested in taking the seat next to him. I was the fastest to reply and moved immediately to the front seat. Thus I could shoot magnificent photos on our way – the landscape was simply breathtaking.

In Katmai National Park you will find true wilderness. It cannot be accessed by road, only and exclusively by floatplanes. The park is known for hosting a high concentration of brown bears that take advantage of spawning salmon.

The basic rule: do not feed animals

Park rangers and employees pay special attention that visitors do not feed animals, do not leave food or garbage behind and avoid conflicts with the bears. Their effort has paid off:  tourists can walk undisturbed among bears, who simply ignore them. Not having prior encounters, bears do not feel any fear of people and do not attack them.

The key to this unique environment here is that bears do not get used to human food. Once bears eat leftovers from garbage cans in suburbs or national parks, they fight to get human waste again and become dangerous. But this is not the case here.

I looked like a girl from Alaska

When we landed on the lake and waded out in our hip boots to the beach, we were immediately attacked by a swarm of mosquitos. I was dressed from head to toe in multiple layers, sprayed with two kinds of insect repellent, but despite all precautions, I was badly bitten.

Later that night, my kind host in Homer laughed at me and noted that I finally looked like a true Alaskan girl. These Alaskan mosquitoes do not leave little red dots like the ones in Hungary – but huge bumps, and plenty of them. I had to apply antihistamine cream on my whole body in the evening. Luckily the bites disappeared in a couple of days.

We headed for the bushes to search for bears. We did not have to wait long, the first one popped up soon. As we had learned at the orientation, the whole group sat down immediately. The bear played by the book too, stood on its hind legs to observe us.

He found that we posed no real threat and went on grazing leisurely. When our tour guide deemed that the bear had got used to our presence, we could slowly continue walking.

Cubs were more afraid of male bears than us

I have to admit I did not know that bears eat grass. We learned that they could live on eating grass, crops, and various plants until rivers are filled with salmon. Of course, they like smaller animals as well and can stand still for a long time in front of a foxhole in the hope of grabbing one.

As we were sitting in the meadow, shortly more bears arrived. First, they were at a fair distance, but a mom with three cubs approached our group quite close. They did not pay any attention to us, but were rather staring tensely at a big male bear.

While we were gazing ahead to watch this family, suddenly someone from my group exclaimed: Look, behind you! Three little cubs were staring at us, just as curiously as we did. But we couldn’t hold their interest for long – they soon started to worry about an approaching big male. Male bears can kill cubs and we did not see their mom nearby who would save them. We were also worried about a lighter colored female, who was hurt and could hardly move her hind leg. I realized with surprise that I was more worried about the cubs and the wounded female than my own safety. But luckily, not one got hurt.

I do not want to see them behind bars

This whole experience was definitely one of the most moving adventures I ever had. To see the bears in their own world, how they relate to each other and to us, was a completely unique learning experience. I was later shocked to learn that bears were hunted in designated areas of the park. I can somehow understand if indigenous people kill bears – more frequently in the past, but only rarely nowadays. They make use of every single piece of bears: eat the meat and make clothes from the fur. However I cannot understand and find it totally unacceptable that someone travels to Alaska and pays thousands of dollars just to kill such an amazing animal. And why? Simply to show off with a photo next to a carcass. Out pilot told us, these hunters often place the carcass a few meters ahead of them, because then it looks even bigger on the photo.

On our way back home, our floating plane did not start. Though it was a great trip, we were not planning on staying overnight. The pilot calmed us down saying that if were not back by the given time, a rescue plane would be sent. It was promising, but still, we were all relieved when the engine finally roared.

This full day trip is not cheap at all (USD 695) but it certainly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And just as certain, that I will never be able to see these beautiful animals behind bars in the zoo. I want to see them just in the forest and meadows, where they belong…

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