We’ve come to the end of another season with our Brooks Bears. And what a fabulous season it has been! We thought about doing a Bear Cam Year in Review issue or a Favorite Moments issue, but then decided that it would run a hundred pages and basically include everything in every one of our weekly blogs! So we’ll let you review those at your leisure by going to this link and scrolling back through all the blogs done on the bears – including those by Mike Fitz.
Then we started thinking about what we’ll miss while the bears are hibernating, and decided to do a What I’ll Miss Over the Winter issue… or if your glass is half full…. What I’ll Look Forward to Next Spring! 😉 So here goes in no particular order; sort of a slide show format!
Sunrise on River Watch
Snapshot by LaniH
Squirrels on Dumpling
Snapshot by LaniH
Sub adults playing
Snapshot by Cam Op Jules
Snapshot by Cam Op Aspire
And playing some more
Snapshot by LaniH
subadult plays with tree root Snapshot by LaniH
subadult plays with salmon Snapshot by Bearz61
Lets not forget the Keystone species, without the salmon we wouldn’t have the bears
Snapshot by Bookmom
And more salmon
Snapshot by LaniH
Snapshot by LaniH
Other wildlife – eagles, mergansers, beavers and gulls
Juvenile bald eagle Snapshot by SandraTaylor66
Mergansers Snapshot by LaniH
Gulls snapshot by LaniH
beaver swimming Snapshot by LaniH
Cubs, cubs, cubs
94’s coy Snapshot by Larinor
132 and coy Snapshot by Cam Op HG Wells
402’s coy Snapshot by Tiny Julz <><
482 Brett’s blonde coy Snapshot by LaniH
505 and coy Snapshot by samanthabear
813 Nostril Bear Picture by Ranger Russ
Bears on the falls
128 Grazer Cam Op Scout
409 Beadnose Snapshot by bearlyworkin
775 Lefty Snapshot by LaniH
Bears over the falls
274 Overflow Snapshot by LaniH
409 Beadnose slips off the lip Snapshot by LaniH
New bears learning the falls
subadult finally catches a salmon in the jacuzzi Snapshot by Cam Op Scout
Bears in the Jacuzzi
Snapshot by LaniH
503 doing his back float Snapshot by lynnshultz
Otis grumbling
480 Otis arguing with 68 over the jacuzzi Snapshot by squirrely
Holding our breath at every dominance encounter
856 takes down 747 Snapshot by LaniH
856 and 32 Chunk kerfuffle Snapshot by Cam Op Scout
Smiling with “Awww’s” at more “peaceful” encounters
151 Walker cuddles with 708 Amelia
151 Walker and 755 Scare D Bear nuzzle Snapshot by Cam Op Maisie
755 Scare D Bear Snapshot by LaniH
480 Otis napping Snapshot by Cam Op Arya
Cheering when all our cubs returned in the fall
402’s coy Snapshot by LaniH
451 and her yearlings Snapshot by Cam Op Nan
Diving bears
Diving subadult Snapshot by LaniH
Bears making us laugh
Goofy 503 Snapshot by Cam Op Melissa
Bears making us cry – both with sadness and happiness
132 coy up tree Picture by Ranger Russ
132 and coy reunited picture by Ranger Russ
subadult plays with grass Snapshot by Shutterclicker
View of our eldest bear
410 Snapshot by LaniH
Wolves
Snapshot by Cam Op Kathy
Snapshot by Cam Op Kelly
Fat Bears
The wind and waves and last looks at the old Bridge
Bridge and falls colors Snapshot by LaniH
bridge on a windy day Snapshot by Krayonz
PBP’s (play-by-plays), Live Chats, Periscopes; view them here and here.
Ranger Russ and Ranger Andrew
Mike Fitz and Ranger Russ Snapshot by Larinor
Even the bears showed up for the Live Chats
Snapshot by LaniH
Ranger Andrew’s superb communication and wit, a couple examples from this years fat bear contest:
“This round is a face-off between current and former Fat Bear Week champs! 480 Otis is the reigning champion… does this mammoth mass of meat still have what it takes?”
“Bear 409, who won the contest in 2015, seems like she could misplace salmon in some of those rolls. Whose bulging bear booty is biggest?”
“In this round: metabolic magician 409 Beadnose goes up against no stranger to the gallery of calories, 854 Divot. Whose salmon-sourced cellulite supersedes?”
Ranger Russ’s photos:
Ranger Russ pic of subadult
Mike Fitz’s meticulous dissemination of knowledge; his comments here
Mike showing vegetation on Dumpling Mtn Snapshot by ColoradoCarol
And Bears…. Just Bears! Sleep Well Brooks Bears! See you in the Spring!
Snapshot by LaniH
Snapshot by LaniH
Snapshot by Bumpy
We’d like to Thank all the Rangers, especially Russ and Andrew, and Explore Fellow Mike Fitz for sharing their time effort and knowledge this season. A thank you to all our great bear cam chatters for their great pictures and comments.
Snapshot by LaniH
