Brown Bears A Reminder Of The Wilds!
The Grizzly Sanctuary is home to the highest concentration of brown bears in the world.  Alaska contains over 98% of the United States population of Brown bears, and more than 70% of the North American population.  Therefore we strongly promote conservation of this great resource.

Brown bears are very much apart of the allure of Alaska.  Technically, Brown bears and Grizzly bears are classified as the same species (Ursus arctos). Brown bears on Kodiak Island are classified as a distinct subspecies from those on the mainland, because they are genetically and physically isolated.

The term "brown bear" is commonly used to refer to the members of this species found in the coastal areas where salmon is the primary food source.  These are the huge and magnificent bears we here at The Grizzly Sanctuary photograph on our exclusive guided tours.  Brown bears found inland and in northern habitats are often called, "Grizzlies".

Brown bears on the Alaskan Peninsula are the largest brown bears in the world.  The coastal brown bears of The Grizzly Sanctuary feature a prominent shoulder hump with less prominent ears and longer straighter claws.

Warning...Don't Get To Close!

Early June In The Meadows

It is thought that the prominent shoulder hump and the long claws of these coastal brown bears are adaptations directly related to feeding behavior.  

The massive paws and claws of theses brown bears are useful in digging for roots or excavating burrows of small mammals as well as digging for clams and for defending territory.  The musculature and bone structure of the hump are adaptations for digging and for attaining bursts of speed necessary for hunting moose and caribou.  Brown bears have thick fur for the harsh climate on the Alaska Peninsula and ranges in color from a dark brown to a blonde color.

The Largest Brown Bears In The World Live Here!
The Grizzly Sanctuary has the highest concentration of brown bears in the world. Some of the reasons for the  high concentration of these  giant coastal bears is the lack of human influence and the abundance of food . The Katmai National Park has  "no hunting" and is a ideal food factory for these grizzly bears. Many rivers in the Katmai National Park are spawning grounds for some of the world's largest salmon runs of which the bears gorge themselves on from middle July into late September.

There is also a abundance of sedge grass, berries, clams, small mammals and rodents that these large brown bears feed on through out the season.
A bear's weight in The Grizzly Sanctuary can vary depending on the time of year.  The big brown bears weigh the least in the spring and early summer.  Once the Grizzly bear comes out of the den and ventures from the high country he is a eating machine indulging on the protein rich sedge grass, clams, berries, roots and finally his main coarse of salmon from the many rivers along the Katmai coast.  

Huge Boar In Sedge Grass

Young Adult Clam Digging

The great bears gain weight rapidly during the summer and by late fall (late September to late October) the brown bears have achieved huge rolls of fat with luxurious heavy fur coats just prior to denning up for winter. At this time of year the bears are at their largest size with mature males ranging in weight from 600-1000 pounds.

Soft Furry Cubs To 1500 pound Giants!
The Grizzly Sanctuary Has some large boars (male bears) who's weight exceed 1000 pounds.  There is some extremely large coastal brown bears to be found here. It seems each year we cross paths with some real giant brown bears.  We have photographed some extremely large individuals weighing between 1,200 and 1,500 pounds!  A giant bear in this category when standing on his back feet is about 10-12 feet tall.

 Inland bears of the Alaska interior are usually smaller than the coastal brown bears, probably due to the lack of readily available supply of protein rich food in their diet.

Because of the geographic location of The Grizzly Sanctuary the large coastal brown bears have a chance to live out their lives in harmony as nature intended it to be.  Because of this the grizzly bears here have a chance to grow old.  Brown bears have been known to live 34 years in the wild, though this is rare.

Usually, old males may reach 20-25 years with old females reaching 25-28 years of age.  Here in The Grizzly Sanctuary you will have a chance to see some very old bears. A testament to bears in harmony with nature and a lack of human intervention. Brown bears have an especially good sense of smell.  It has been documented that these bears have been known to be able to detect odors more than a mile away.

July in the Sanctuary

These Eyes Tell No Lies

Experts suggest that their hearing and eye sight is slightly better than that of humans.  On your photo safari in The Grizzly Sanctuary it is not uncommon to see the brown bears standing up on their back legs in a upright position. this is a favorite image for a lot of photographers. The grizzlies do this not to charge but rather to test the wind and to aid their eye sight. In some cases the females (sows) do this to show size as well as to locate the boars in an attempt to protect the cubs from harm caused by the large males. 

One Of The Last Great Places!
The Grizzly Sanctuary is one of the last great places to see true wild brown bears in the wild. The life of the grizzly bear here has a chance to go from beginning to end as it has for thousands of years completely untouched by humans.

We try our best to leave no footprints of our photographic tours. By this we simply mean, "leave it as you found it".

A Grizzly bear's life on the sanctuary: Mating starts to take place in May through July with the peak of activity in early to middle June with some year's cycle moving the peak mating into late June.  Coastal brown bears generally do not have strong mating ties to one another. Individual bears are rarely seen with the same mate for more than one week.  Males (boars) may mate with more than one female during the breeding season.

Twin Beach Combers

Brothers Bears

Mother The Protector Of Cubs
On The Grizzly Sanctuary (in June) you will frequently see the boars following the sows in the sedge grass meadows trying to mate.  It is possible to acquire and photographers often achieve images of the bears mating. The baby bears are hairless and weigh less than a pound at birth.  The cubs are born the following January or February in a winter den.  Litter size is usually ranges from one to four cubs with two being the most common number.  The young cubs will emerge from the den with the mother in spring and are fiercely protected by the mother. Chances are while you are photographing in The Grizzly Sanctuary during the months of June through September you will have opportunities to photograph a mother brown bear with cubs in tow.

June will be the month when the babies are the smallest and most vulnerable and tightly attached to their mother. This is a great time to catch images of the babies nursing on top of the mother. While the month of September presents the cubs in their heavy fur. At this time both the mother and the cubs have beautiful fur and the babies look very round from eating all summer.  We strongly suggest caution and listen to your guide during this mother and cub photographic opportunity. This can be "extremely dangerous" if you get to close to the cubs.

A beautiful young bear in the greens

A sow and her cub graze in the pastures

Offspring typically separate from their mother as 2-year olds in May or June.  In some cases the young will not separate until they are 3-5 years old. Once this separation happens the mother bear will breed again and produce a litter the following year.  Winters And The Grizzly Bear

Winters And The Grizzly Bear
Except for females with offspring and breeding animals, bears are typically solitary creatures and avoid the company of other animals except when food sources are concentrated like sedge grass meadows and spawning salmon in rivers.  Here in The Grizzly Sanctuary there is many sedge grass meadows and numerous rivers teaming with salmon guaranteeing you photographic opportunities of the brown bears. It is not uncommon to observe 20, 30, or even 40 bears at one time. Bears in Winter. Winters here in The Grizzly Sanctuary can be extremely cold with heavy snow accumulations do the the many high mountain ranges and the moisture of the coastal oceans.  In winter food can be scarce.

Fortunate nature has provided for the brown bears with hibernation.  The magnificent brown bears fat with food enter their dens from late October and November and prepare for winters worst.  While in a state of hibernation their body temperature, heart rate and other metabolic rates are greatly reduced. The bears needs for food and water is eliminated.  Although their is a small percentage of brown bears that stay active all winter the great majority will hibernate form 5 to 7 months in their den.

A portrait from in tall grass

This is the greatest bear show on earth

Pregnant females are usually the first to enter dens in the fall. These females, with their newborn cubs, are the last to emerge from their dens. Adult males, on the other hand, appear to enter dens last and emerge earlier than other bears.