I woke with a massive headache. The kind of pain in your head that hurts so bad it wakes you from a deep sleep. This is not uncommon for me when jet-lagged in wet cold weather. I could hear strong winds buffeting my tent walls. I thought to myself at least it’s not raining. I rummaged around in the dark for my watch to check the time–4 AM. Laying in my sleeping bag I couldn’t wait for the sun to come up so I could get up and get moving. Before I could complete my thought I could hear the first rain drops hitting the tent roof. Dang, I can deal with the wind but the rain is definitely not what I wanted.
Getting up at 6 AM I put on my very damp clothing and step out of my tent and into the wilderness of Katmai National Park in Alaska. It was a typical summer day in August, high winds, temperatures in the 40’s and 50s’ and light rain. Ahhh, the life of a wildlife photographer doesn’t get much better than this. No cell phone service, no emails, no TV, just bears and wilderness.
I came to Katmai, a 4.3 million acre park in southwest Alaska to photograph bears–the coastal brown bears of Katmai are legendary. I’ve been working on a new book about bears and there is no better place to get up close and person with these huge land predators. The night before I was fortunate enough to have some sunshine and decent weather but today is threatening to be a total washout.
After a quick breakfast we headed out on the half mile walk down the wind-swept beach to a small creek where the salmon were running. There are five different kinds of salmon in Alaska and three of them spawn here at Katmai. Just days before our arrival the salmon started to build at the mouth of the creek out in the ocean and now they were running up the creek. The ocean tides play a huge role in the activity of the salmon which in turns plays a bigger role in the activity of the bears. The bears come down from the mountain just to fish this creek and I am here for the bears.
I am joined by two other photographers on this adventure. Two days ago we flew into the bear camp in a small bush plane landing on the beach. After getting settled in we hit the beach looking for the bears. We were fortunate enough to photograph a couple bears as they attempt to catch fish. Each bear has their own unique way of catching fish. Some sit calmly along the shore watching for the dorsal fins of the salmon to break the water’s surface before charging into the water. Others walk on their hind legs while surveying the river from a higher angle for fish. Others just run up and down the creek in hopes of scaring a fish up and out of the water.
But now it’s raining. We head out with heavy duty rain gear for ourselves and the camera gear. Even though the winds are gusting to 35 to 40 mph and the rain stings like insects bites when it hits exposed skin we are determined to photograph these bears. Near where the creek enters the ocean a single bear is laying in the sand facing the creek. It looks to be waiting in a couched position ready to pounce but actually it’s resting while waiting for the next fish. We set up with a decent angle to catch some fishing action. Sure enough it suddenly gets up and rushes into the freezing cold water. Undaunted by the cold water the bear makes several runs up and down the creek bed chasing fish. Our cameras are smoking as we capture some great action shots in the rain. The bear gives up and heads back to the shore where it resumes the same position ready to charge again. This goes on for a while and the bear never catches a fish so it wonders off towards the ocean surf.
We head up stream to see if we can find some more bears. Sure enough we come across a mother and a one year old cub. These bears were patrolling the banks of the creek occasionally entering the water. They too are looking for a fish meal. We managed to capture a few nice images of these bears before they wonder off too far away for our lens.
At the end of the day we head back to camp to dry out some gear and get a warm meal. For the next three days the rain and wind continues but at least my headache subsides. As I write this we are suppose to fly out of this camp tomorrow but the weather looks bad. The small airplanes that carried us in and out can only fly if they weather cooperates so for now we are stranded. Only time will tell if we will make it out or not. To be continued.
Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on twitter or facebook or at www.naturesmart.com