When there’s no fish, you can still sit and have a think. Gif : Katmai National Park

An annual rite of summer is upon us. No, not the solstice. Southern Alaska’s Katmai National Park has fired up the ol’ bear cam this week. And the bears are back in town.




The long, cold winter of Alaska behind them, brown bears have emerged from their dens and are in search of tasty treats. One of their favorite spots to find a snack is the Brooks River Falls, a place where salmon fight their way upstream in search of their spawning grounds. The park has a bear cam set up there and at two other locations (one of which is delightfully called Riffles Cam), as well as an underwater one at the falls so you can get your complete bear fix.

Katmai has one of the highest densities of brown bears in the world owing to its ideal habitat and plentiful food. Upwards of 49 bears were spotted at the falls in 2017. This year, the park expects more juvenile bears that “tend to move about erratically and may be of great interest to many viewers.”


In other words, bear cam is gonna be lit for summer 2018.

Right now, the bears aren’t swarming the falls like they do in the height of spawning season later this summer. But don’t let that get you down. The fish will come, berries will bloom, snacks will be had, and life will go on. Unless Ryan Zinke has his way, the bears will come too.

Be like the bears, which are sanguine and good.