Brown Bears at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park and Preserve

Katmai National Park and Preserve has one of the world's largest congregations of brown bears. Assessable by boat or float plane, it is a backcountry adventure. Katmai is unique in that the bears are in charge, and the humans are the visitors. As visitors, you learn the art of backing away from an oncoming bear.

The lifespan of a brown bear can exceed 25 years, so some bears have been around for many years. The Katmai brown bears are featured in Fat Bear Week and have names like Otis (Brooks Lodge mascot), 747, Grazer, Chuck, and 151 Walker (whose image is featured in my Brooks Bear Fishing Gallery).

The bears are typically found in Brooks Falls and along Brooks River. The bears doing the fishing on Brooks Falls are typically older male bears. And in turn, the female bear with cubs and the sub-adult bears will stay downriver around Brooks Lodge and the Fishing Bridge. That said, one gallery features images of a young mother bear with her cub fishing at Brooks Falls.

Like with most wildlife, I was struck by the commitment of brown bears to their young. A female bear will spend a couple of years with a cub as it matures. As it turns out, the biggest enemy to bear cubs is a male bear. Since their job is breeding, and a female with a cub is out of commission for a couple of years, removing the cub could cause the female bear to become available again. The female bear is very careful and has earned its reputation of not messing with a mama bear.

Katmai offers a rustic safe space to see wildlife live as it has for centuries. The salmon are plentiful, and the bears are plump and playful. Shalom exists.

Imagine you are a salmon on a mission to lay your eggs. You are returning from your ocean travels. You have navigated the Brooks River, and there is just one more hurdle to jump. And as you prepare for the pause for the final leap, you look up and see some waiting brown bears. When the bears are not present, the first image gives an idea of the volume of salmon attempting to navigate Brooks Falls. When the bears are present, it looks more like one or two fish at a time attempting the gauntlet.

A photographer's dream image, or the "money shot," is capturing a leaping salmon caught in the mouth of a hungry bear. I was lucky enough to capture 151 Walker catching a fish--my version of the money shot.

Photographers have the opportunity to watch the activity at Brooks Falls safely from the confines of a wooded overlook. The sounds speak to the endless activity-squawking seagulls, the constant drum of river water landing in pools below the falls, and the occasional roar of a frustrated bear. Nature is on display showcasing how it operates without the interference of humans.

The female brown bear and cub seem out of place at Brooks Falls. Amidst the larger brown bears, she stood out. Typically, the female brown bears with cubs are downriver a mile or so safely away from the marauding male bears. But she did a great job of protecting her cub. When she was fishing on the falls or in the backwater, she put the cub up a tree. When a male bear got too close, she was able to run him off with a vicious challenge. And as all good moms would do, she taught the cub how to fish.