...an hour's flight from Kodiak City we lift into mornings low hung scattered clouds. Dodging our
way through snow capped mountains sitting high over lush green alders dotted with purple
splashes of Lupine growing vivid against the greenery. Between picturesque valleys, out across
the Shelikof Straight, Calmly above whale spouts and salmon fisherman, a history is revealed.
Dean, a float plane pilot with knowledge of the straight and airways brings to light the mountain
ranges, the sea and its Russian and American heritage. As the plane dips left, he positions for a
smooth landing into Kukak Bay. The Aleutian Range and Katmai Mountain swallow the horizon.
The bay is still, almost like it is resting in the diffused light, as the sun burns off the remaining cast
of sky, presenting a day before me unlike any other day I had ever visited.
We board a research vessel the MV Waters, which will be home for the next 7 days.
Katmai Coastal Bear Tours, which is owned and operated by John Rogers, offers first class
hospitality. Along with his entourage of fine on board chefs, skiff operators and world class bear
guides. John presents an adventure to clients ranging from Discovery Channel film crews to
retired folks traveling the world. Wasting no time after introductions our bear guide Buck Wilde,
a man who quite literally holds the spirit of the bear and its world deep within his soul, is eager to
venture us into bear country. It is important to understand the choices that you make in life, for
only you can be responsible for the consequence. It has been a long time dream of mine to be at
one with nature. I felt, no, I trusted that my vision to approach nature on its terms had to be
possible. That with respect, common sense, caution and research entering bear country would be
a choice that on some level would effect the rest of my life.
On a shore not too far off the bow of the Waters, an adolescent male bear tosses large
flat rocks aside as if they were made of Styrofoam. Underneath are mouth loads of Blennies, a
small 4-5 inch long fish that can be found caught in tidal pools. All at once as if from nowhere, I
am in bear habitat. I am learning of an ecosystem that sustains these coastal bears. No different a
brown bear than the Kodiak or Grizzly. In fact no different a species than a Polar Bear, just a
bear that has taken a different path and developed a behavior to set it aside from other bears to
become known as a Coastal Brown Bear. The skiff, a small boat designed to do shore runs from
a larger ship, takes us further on across the bay. We approach eaglets perched in a nest atop a
weathered sea stack; their heads tilt and bob as we approach around their sentinel view. The sea
stack marks as entrance to a quiet cove worlds away from life as we know so well. It seems a
courtship of bears has gone awry, and that the female has nestled herself amongst a bush
surrounded by daisies out on a cliff far from the reach of a pursuant male. Buck and I set up our
tripods and wait to photograph moments of graceful beauty as the brown bear lifts its head to
check the breeze for troubled scent. Tidal waters are rising we are forced ashore where time has
sent the male to feed on sedge grass, but gazing upward occasionally as if he was waiting for his
female to have a change of heart. We photograph the male brown bear and he grants us
permission to come in close. For the first time in my life, I am standing in the presence of a great
predator. The ambient light filters through his powerful profile, highlighting the prominence with
which he carries himself. The tell tale hump that forms at the shoulders made of muscle from years
of flipping rocks and digging clams. His massive head weaving in the sedge grass as he forages
for the protein that will carry him through winter. And last, his cautious gaze as he affirms our
position relative to his plan for moving on, and it was over. In a bears environment you must give
into the fact that only by the decisions that you make can you help to create a safe bear
encounter. A bears life thrives on instinct, gestures and intent. Along with his enhanced senses of
smell and hearing, a bear is constantly making decisions that are best for him. Your choices have
to be best for the bear also. We waded on through the drowning rice grasses around the point
that embraced the cove, to the opposite side of the sea stack that held the two eaglets. Rather
large at this time of year, it will not be long before they drop on to a current and take their
majestic qualities to flight. Today however holds a challenge as a curious adolescent brown bear
scales the seaward side of their rock perch entering onto the nest. The eaglets in all their
innocence and beauty remain stationary with restless hisses toward threatening danger. The giant
bear eases his head well within striking distance. The moment is still as everyone holds their
ground, in another classic moment as two species encounter one another the curious brown bear
moves on. Truly amazing visions of Alaska's grandeur flow through my head. The skiff ride back
to the MV Waters is like a dream, the evening last forever and sleep comes late as thoughts of
coastal bears graze through my head...
It is a well-known fact that this location holds the highest concentration of brown bears anywhere
in the world. As beautiful as this sounds it is equally as sad to know that this sanctuary is one of
the last untouched frontiers for the bears. Even in this protected habitat poaching still occurs. It is
a known fact that bears have a low reproduction rate, and that the survival rate of even 3 year old
bears (which is the age that mothers send their offspring out on their own) is very low. You can
see the need to take on roles toward conservation. Conservation does not necessarily have to be
in the form of money, nor does it have to overtake your daily life with hours invested in fighting
causes. Conservation can come by adopting true insights towards nature, and help to dispel
horrifying myths that have been tagged to animals such as Wolves and Bears. Simply,
conservation can spread word of mouth from young to old. A walk amongst the bears has
changed my life. Now, I will walk amongst the world an advocate for their protection.......
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