Up close and personal with Ursus arctos at Katmai National Park

There are two things to keep in mind about bears:

1. There are no rules regarding bear behavior.
2. When in doubt, see rule no. 1.

Some ecotourists got a lesson last summer at Katmai that they will not soon forget: 'It came so close it sniffed his hoodie'.

The bear seems to be distracted by something else that he smells in the brush, the way he stops and sniffs the air like a scanner. He seemed to be double-checking the smell of the tourists against something else that is concerning him, but not really focused on the people in a threatening way. Not to say that bluff charges are much fun to experience!

What a strange, strange article

Over and over again, the article claims the tourist were "terrified", and "there was nothing they could do except sit perfectly still."

Really?

I've been pretty well gripped before, and pulling out the camera to take pictures and movies of the unfolding situation was not the first idea that came to mind. Yet at least 2 people in the group do exactly that.

And they go to observe grizzlies hunting and take no protection or deterrent of any kind? "Nothing they can do"? Did no one consider the possibility of a charge or attack beforehand?

Very strange. Either the article isn't telling the whole story (likely), or the whole group, guide included, needs to have their heads examined.

It looks like their cameras are already out.

Katmai can literally have a "zoo" like feel to it sometimes b/c the bears there fish in the same places year after year.

I agree that I think the bear was sniffing something else.

Pretty cool you ask me.

No, they don't need to have their heads examined. This sort of close quarters, guided viewing goes on constantly at Katmai and other locations in AK where bears congregate to catch fish. The guide is sometimes equipped with pepper spray, and the viewers may have pepper spray as well. But often they will have neither in the group. The viewers will have been thoroughly prepped on the need to sit down, stay put and take their pictures. This particular encounter is extremely rare.

sardog1 said:

No, they don't need to have their heads examined. This sort of close quarters, guided viewing goes on constantly at Katmai and other locations in AK where bears congregate to catch fish. The guide is sometimes equipped with pepper spray, and the viewers may have pepper spray as well. But often they will have neither in the group. The viewers will have been thoroughly prepped on the need to sit down, stay put and take their pictures. This particular encounter is extremely rare.

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You are welcome to your opinion. But considering the two rules you laid out in your OP, and what you've written above, my opinion is that these people need to have their heads examined.

Yeah, I get it that these are relatively social bears and that they are habituated to human presence (questionable whether or not this is a good thing), and I get it that charges are rare (though clearly they DO happen), and I get it that attacks and fatalities are even more rare (though, famously, that happens too). Considering all of that, either:
1. These people need to have their heads examined,
2. They had other options beside "just sitting there," or
3. This was not as "terrifying" as the article would have you believe.

It's hard to understand Katmai from the outside. There are no weapons allowed because trigger happy tourists would be a greater risk than these bears. The people also get acclimated and after a few days of having 1,000 - 2,000 pound brownies walking around camp like squirrels, you get used to them and are not pooping your pants at every moment.

And, I think we all realize that running is a futile effort. If there were 6 people in the huddle, you only have a 1/6 chance of being eaten. If you run, you have a 1/1 chance of being eaten.

Here's the thought process of Katmai; once in a lifetime experience and photos versus the historical statistically-zero chance of getting mauled. Heck, even my Mother went and she's spent most of her life advising me against such things.

So, yes, #3 - not as "terrifying" as the article would have you believe.

hikerbrian said:

Yeah, I get it that these are relatively social bears and that they are habituated to human presence (questionable whether or not this is a good thing),

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It is my understanding that the bears in this area are habituated to groups of humans watching them from discreet distances. (I presume the humans are not allowed to bring food to the viewing spots to prevent raids and to prevent association of humans with food.)

Bears tend to be more tolerant of each other when feeding in salmon streams, perhaps they extend this tolerance to humans who don't compete for the fish or fishing spots. All bets may be off when the salmon run out...

Doug

@Chugach- Got it, that makes sense. Actually, after writing that last post, I too was thinking that #3 was the most probable scenario. The fact that the cameras were out and no one was soiling themselves adds further evidence.

And DP, I recall from Grizzly Man that the year he and his companion got eaten was a poor salmon year - you may be right about all bets being off in those conditions. I hardly feel comfortable bringing Treadwell up though, since that certainly was a unique case with contributing factors that no one will ever be able to fully understand.

hmmmm

i spent 8 days knocking around the more remote reaches of Katmai in Aug 08. never went to the falls but had a few close encounters w/ Grizzlies. third gen bush pilot told me, like orig post said, there are no rules. he and other locals did not carry a weapon unless there hunting in which case it was a very high powered rifle. his strategy was dont let them get too close and if they did get too close figure them out and maybe try to scare them. first day we were there a med sized (8 ft) male teenager got in my face and pilot jumped between us maybe 3-4 ft from bear and scared him off. i was so terrified i actually became zen-like calm. the next week we NEVER got 'used to them,' lol. we saw several very large bears from relatively close up. you just kept an eye on them and hoped they ignored you which they almost always did. there was only one problem bear, actually not far from where Griz man got eaten - Lake Becharof. fortunately that day we had four people so we just banded together and held him off. my take on the whole Griz experience was walk softly - people and Griz mixing not a good thing...