It’s not uncommon at rural landing strips around the world to buzz the runway before landing to ensure no grazing cattle, wandering wildlife or other ‘native guests’ are in the path of the landing plane… But buzzing the beach to clear the foraging grizzly bears in Alaska is certainly something different! And yet it’s a common theme to my arrival into Alaska where I run my Grizzly Bear Photo Tour each year from where I run my “Alaskan Grizzly Bear” photo tour each year.
For my guests, it’s always exciting and a great starting point to the trip – flying by classic Beaver fixed wing to our remote and very comfortable lodge, a beach landing literally amongst the bears as they search the shore for food, discovering the majestic beauty of Lake Clark National Park from the air, and meeting our friendly hosts before settling into the comfy accommodation we will enjoy for the next five nights.
Every year is slightly different, with slight changes to the itinerary adding to the excitement. I remember one trip where my group was a little more hyped than usual having just spent the previous few days photographing humpback whales, puffins and seals in the Kenai Fjords – a side trip we added to the start of the tour, the highlight of which was seeing and photographing a stunning aurora borealis from the balcony of our accommodation on the very first night! Which all combined to mean we hit the ground running when we arrived amongst the bears – with one of my guests using her first ever DSLR yet capturing images as confidently as everyone else.
Photographing the grizzly bears in Alaska is something really special and this was my personal favorite destination from which to do so. Lake Clark National Park is often described as the “essence of Alaska” as the park includes so many of Alaska’s amazing landscape features all in the one area; from mountain ranges to active volcanoes to coastal rainforest, the famous Turquoise Lake and the tundra of the Western plateau… And then, of course, you have the local wildlife – including the massive ‘Ursus Arctos Horribilus’.
A subspecies of the Brown Bear, the Grizzly Bear – ranging from Alaska down to Mexico – is one of my favorite wildlife species. Although considered carnivorous, in actuality they are prolific omnivores with a diet that includes fish, animals, a wide range of plants and berries, carrion, eggs, seashells and any other opportunistic meal that might come their way. They are mostly solitary animals, coming together during the mating season before the mother raises the cubs on her own. However, it is during the salmon season that they will gather near the waterways, searching out the protein-rich salmon which make up the bulk of their diet prior to hibernation – which is the perfect time for photography.
The Photo Tour is based from a private 40 acre property within Lake Clark National Park on the western shores of the Cook Inlet, and is one of the only locations I know where you can safely enjoy such intimate bear encounters at close range (and I’ve visited a few). To the point where the bears will wander past our campfire at night while the group is sitting around enjoying a cold drink and eating “S’mores” made over the flames. (An American tradition made with marshmallows and chocolate melted between shortbread biscuits – the lodge staff flew in the ingredients especially for us). However having the bears so easily accessible is no laughing matter and the guides are excellent – ensuring we fully comprehended all of the safety instructions and precautions and making sure we maximize the photographic opportunities each day without risk to ourselves or to the bears.
Because the lodge is situated near the coast, this gives us the options of photographing the grizzlies as they stroll the shoreline digging for clams, watching them at the river mouth as they chase the salmon entering from the sea, or exploring the various river tributaries to see the bears wading through the open marshes either side and standing in the shallows as they search for salmon. It is great to have such a diverse range of backdrops and environments for our photography! The bears themselves are as impressive as ever. In Alaska, it is not uncommon for these creatures to reach weights of up to 1500 pounds just before they go into hibernation, which is considerably larger than the same species in other regions. And when you see a large grizzly bear on hind legs, often standing 7 feet tall, it certainly is awe inspiring!
And so it was “cameras at the ready”, taking and comparing shots of amazing sights every day as we explored this region and photographed the many bears we saw there. From mother bears with their cubs, which they would often leave in our vicinity – knowing the adult male bears were less likely to bother them when near humans, through to juveniles playfighting in the rain, adults gorging on salmon, digging for clams, even one bear who “dives” for fish near the lodge (a learned behaviour, they call him “Snorkel”), there was plenty of variety in our days. Add in a side trip to photograph the incredibly clumsy horned puffin that inhabits this region, and we were all in photographic heaven.
For me, one of the highlights of my most recent trip was when we added an extension package to Katmai National Park and Brooks Falls after the tour. Brooks Falls is a completely different experience to Lake Clark. Viewing time is scheduled and everyone is stuck on the same platform overlooking the same waterfall. After the freedom of the past five days, it seemed a very foreign experience. But Brooks Falls is the best place to be if you hope to get that iconic shot of a bear catching salmon as they leap up the river. When we arrived, there were a few lonely bears in the river but no salmon in sight. What followed was a waiting game as the bears departed and then the salmon arrived, literally hundreds of them leaping up the waterfall! We had left the platform for lunch and on our return, we spent time photographing the leaping salmon – which was an amazing spectacle in itself – while waiting patiently for the bears to arrive. We were in luck, with the action all happening that afternoon and thankfully during our allotted time slot on the platform. The results being some terrific shots of the bears as they enjoyed their leaping sushi buffet…!!
All too soon and our journey was at an end. After enjoying our evenings around the fire at the lodge, swapping stories and comparing images with the staff and other guests, and following our flying visit to Katmai, it was time to say goodbye and jump aboard our individual flights back home. Like every trip to Alaska, we left with amazing memories – and amazing photos – of a wonderful journey and a fantastic experience.
Chris McLennan is a professional travel photographer working around the world on photographic assignments that have seen him shoot in over 50 different countries to date. Check out his website for details of his Alaska Grizzly Bear tour, as well as other exciting locations such as Africa, Norway, New Zealand, Myanmar and more… www.cmphoto.co.nz/photo-tours/
