The Violent Side of Nature

Post by Ranger Roy Wood of Katmai National Park

The Brooks Camp Bearcams are giving the world an uncensored view into the daily, sometimes violent lives of Katmai’s brown bears. This week’s events were no exception:

On Sunday morning, October 7, biologists stationed at Brooks Camp noted that adult male Bear 469* (no nickname, but this is the one bearcam viewers called “Digger”) had apparently killed something and was in the process of caching it. A bear will often cache food when there is more than can be eaten at once. Salmon, for example, are typically not cached, but a moose would be. Throughout the day, Bear 469 added to, and rearranged his cache, and slept. Biologists later that day, (after the cams shut down), determined that the cache contained the remains of an unidentified bear.

Sometime after dark and before the biologists returned to the Lower River on Monday, October 8, another bear, Bear 814 (Lurch) arrived on the scene and took over Bear 469’s cache, chasing him off. Bear 469 was not killed, and was seen one additional time after the cache-building event. Throughout the day on Monday, Bear 814 was observed to be adding to and rearranging his cache.

On Tuesday morning, October 9, biologists once again observed the remains of a bear in the cache. Bear 814 was seen to periodically dig into the cache and pull out a part of the dead bear and eat it. When not eating, he slept and rearranged his cache. Most other bears continued to steer clear of Bear 814 and his well-guarded cache. Whether you are man or beast, stumbling upon a brown bear’s cache is one of the most dangerous situations to find yourself in. Bears know this all too well, but may initially be drawn close by the irresistible smell of rotting meat. You will sometimes see a bear walk past the bridge, and upon recognizing the cache and Bear 814, they turn and move away quickly.

Bear 814 has become somewhat notorious at Brooks Camp, beginning with the killing of Bear 435’s (Holly) spring cub in 2009. Now in his prime of 15 or 16 years old, he has become more dominant at Brooks Falls in July, often lurking downstream from the falls and then stealing fish from the other bears. While his behavior earns him scorn from most visitors and bearcam viewers, this form of dominance can be quite successful over time. His reputation among bears enables him to fish where he wants, and frequently results in his mating with numerous female bears in June and July. However, it is a fine line that he walks: too much aggression may ultimately lead to more fights, with possible life threatening injuries, especially as he ages and younger bears challenge his dominance. On a related note: last week it is believed that Bear 814 killed and ate a subadult bear about a half mile from the Lower River area. The cache-stealing and cannibalism we have just witnessed probably happens more than we know. Regardless, this late season feast virtually guarantees Bear 814’s winter survival and return to Brooks Camp in 2013.

Bear 814 continues to guard his cache on Wednesday and Thursday, even as its size diminishes. In time, there will not be enough caloric value to what remains in the cache, and he will move on. Until then, we are privileged to have this safe, front row seat at one of nature’s little-seen events.

*Bear 469 has no nickname, and only frequents Brooks River late in the fall, after most humans have left. He is not habituated to the presence of people and is more active early in the morning. The light patch that appears to be a scar on the bearcam is actually a diamond-shaped patch of mocha colored fur.

More information about the other bears can be found here and on iTunes.