A Thousand Pound Bear With Delicate Paws!
The month of May in the Grizzly Sanctuary brings warm breezes that will soon blow over the vast meadows of which have laid dormant over the long cold winter. It won't be long before these tree and brush lined northern plains will turn from brown to a thick plush carpet of green sedge grass.

The heavy snows of the highlands and upper elevations begin their age old repetitive pattern of melting as the sun brings the temperature above freezing. The melting snow and ice drain
from the high country watersheds in route to valleys, creeks and streams that weave and feed into the rugged unexplored rivers of this unique bear country vista.

Huge grizzly bear claws with the dexterity of human fingers

A sow teachers her cub the skill of locating clams in water

With spring on the horizon and warming temperature developing across the mighty Alaska landscape the great grizzly bears begin to stir and feel the urge and necessity to head to the lower valleys and search for the food that will fatten them again for the long harsh winters that lie ahead. Instinct drives this age old process.

The mighty brown bear slowly works his way down from rocky cliffs. Across mountain ranges and high country fields. Through heavy timber he continues to march downward. Sometimes taking days and weeks to reach his feeding regions. The grizzly along the Katmai coast is not alone. Here he will find many fellow bears all following the same urge.

The grizzly will start to congregate first alone the tree line bordering the meadows and then the grizzly will work his way into the meadows to feed on the sedge grass. With each incoming and out going tides ( twice a day ) the brown bears will work their way to the ocean coastline. It is here that the brown bears will feed and gorge themselves on clams with receding tides.

A experienced bear viewing guide will keep tabs on the time table of bear movements from year to year. Some good bear guides will do fly-over's with a small float plane to check the consistency of the bear traffic in the meadows and along the coastline.

The tasty reward inside

Grizzly bears cracking clams on the beach

Resting after a meal of clams

This is important information to know before the first client arrives. In years due to harsh winters and cold temperatures the bears may be a week or two behind schedule from coming down from the high country.

Brown bears are classic omnivores - animals that eat both meat and plants. Here on The Grizzly Sanctuary the brown bears eat mostly vegetation ( roots, berries, pine nuts ), salmon and clams at low tides. Occasionally you will find the bears eating rodents, grubs and carrion.

If you have never photographed brown bears digging and eating of clams then you are missing a great photo opportunity. Watching a thousand pound bear locating and then excavating piles of sand in digging up a clam only then to use massive paws and 4-5 inch claws to open it with the dexterity of human fingers is a rear photo find for the lens men.

Photographers gasp as bears wade sometimes 3-4 feet deep and some how can locate a clam under water. The bears will come up with a clam dangling from it's jaws. The grizzly will then crack it open with it's jaws or wade back to shore to enjoy the tasty offering inside.

Watching a mother bear dig up a clams in the educational process of teaching her cub how to search and find food is a great nature capture in bear viewing. After a few example catch and eating of the clams sows will often drop a clam still in the shell in front of the cub and
expect the cub to crack it open with claws or teeth to gain the meaty contents.

Bear viewing guides rank the clam digging experience right up there with the coastal brown bears fishing for salmon. Clam digging is at it's peak with the brown bears of the Grizzly Sanctuary in late June , July and August. When the salmon are running up the rivers the bears have plenty of food and congregate sometimes shoulder to shoulder along the rivers where the fishing is easy. There is plenty of photographs of bears catching fish but not nearly as many as grizzlies digging for clams.

A cub enjoying the meal of fresh clams

A adult bear prepares to crack open a clam

A grizzly digging deep for clams

A Brown bear digging near shore at low tide