#32 Chunk – Uniquely Theo

Our second day was the day that was, for me, the most highly anticipated of all of the adventures awaiting us. We would take a float plane over to Brooks Camp at Katmai National Park and Preserve where we would spend the day bear viewing and photographing some of those notorious Brown Bears (grizzlies) pigging out on salmon in preparation for a winter of hibernation and generally hanging out in their natural environment.

Heading South out of Port Alsworth in our float plane of the day, despite it being a relatively cloudy day, the cloud cover was high enough and we were definitely flying low enough to have excellent vistas . Heading out of Port Alsworth we were soon winging our way over the Newhalen River and Lake Iliamna, the largest lake in Alaska (77 miles long and 22 miles wide). The boreal forest of spruce and birch and the alpine tundra and in this area had a stark beauty with it’s colorful low-lying shrubs, mosses and lichen; areas of marshes, bogs, mossy terrain worthy of championship status , and lakes I would best describe as a waterlogged masterpiece of an earthscape.

Arriving at Brooks camp around 11:00, upon exiting the plane , we were advised to not head to the park headquarters via the beach trail because of a grizzly, loitering on the beach enjoying the lake vista. Once we completed the orientation at the headquarters, used the restroom facilities, and consumed our sack lunches which were prepared per our order the previous evening, we made our way to boardwalk platforms for our first up close and though not too personal encounter with some of ursine residents of of Katmai. Since this is almost the end of the season feeding frenzy, the number of bears was considerably less than in the peak months of July and August. The upside of this is that the number of human non-residents interlopers is quite low and thus no massive lines and long waits to be on the platforms enjoying the bears. Our guide said that at times in the summer there is a 3 hour wait and time-limits to be on the viewing platforms. We thoroughly enjoyed observing the bears swimming, dunking, water-walking, scavenging, submerging, and even doing a little bit of fishing in the area. By this time most of the bears have reached a high enough level of fat stores to see them through the winter hibernation and are heading into the forest to much on berries and other forest delicacies for the minerals and other nutrients they need as well.

Perhaps you have heard of the grizzlies of Katmai. The Fat Bear Week celebration has made the national news and is a fun way to celebrate the end of the season of gorging on salmon. There is high concentration of salmon in the falls area so it draws a large number of bears to it. In direct contrast to the human beauty contests which prize leanness and minimal body fat, we are celebrating these bears success to hopefully ensure their survival over the winter. People get to vote for their favorite chubby bear who has packed on the pounds before their long winter nap. Why do we as humans not celebrate our accomplishment when we pack on the pounds whether on a vacation or just have been enjoying the plentitude of food be it gourmet or fast food.

As I watched these bears such words as cute, adorable, playful came to mind but had of course needed to remind my self of the lethality that they pose if I were to jump down and try to pet or swim with the bears like I swam with the dolphins. By the way, though at times I take significant personal risks, this DID NOT enter my mind as a real possibility. Soon it was time to hike the one mile trail up to Brooks Falls where the iconic picture of bears feeding is Brook Falls is taken.

Here again, at Brooks Falls there were only a few bears but it definitely just as satisfying as if there had been a dozen plus. I have two favorites which both have been winners in the past. Chunk (#32) and #747.

Chunk is a very large adult male and quite the bully. He has a very impressive scar across his muzzle so he is easily recognizable. I had read that Chunk is consistently one of the largest and, definitely from my observation, the most dominant bears at the falls and that was the case on this day. It has been estimated that he tips the scales at 1,200 lbs before the lazy days of winter. He was determined to have sole proprietorship of the falls this day. He would chase off any other bear hoping to join the salmon feast. He frequently occupies probably the best fishing spots mid-stream and occupied the same spot and another one closer to the shore for the extent of time we observed him. Despite his fishing skills, he resolutely challenged any other bear who wished to also enjoy a prime fishing spot.. The uncanny part of this is that he did not seem to be too interested in serious fishing (he did not catch a the salmon during my observation period) despite watching many salmon leaping up the falls to reach their spawning ground, but was playfully performing for the spectator by making a pretense at it all the while playing “I am king of the castle…” He did some spectacular belly flops in his faux fishing regime.

Chunk

#747

#747 is know as the largest bear to inhabit the Brooks River and charmed the masses in 2020 to vote him the winner of chunkiest of the chunky. Thus he is quite stocky and recognizable by his size, more “dainty” short muzzle, ragged ear and a dark brown coat. It has been said that the has quite assertive disposition and he has been at the top of the hierarchy at Brooks Falls.

Bears establish a hierarchy and the most dominant bears get the best fishing spots. But Chunk had the upper hand this day. Like our human counterparts, size alone can be intimidating and bears like 747’s with its size alone will find most bears to yielding their space to a behemoth like 747. I find it curious that on this day Chunk was the heir to the throne at least for today . I definitely will vote for Chunk if he becomes one of the elected contestants in fat bear week.

Though I was dazzled by the star bears, there were many other who were just going on doing what bears do best…fish!!! Of course these bears are quite habituated to having a paying audience . Though there is no entrance fee, to get to Katmai one must shell out considerable dollars as it is only accessible by float planes or boats. At times, I would swear these massive “teddies” were putting on a show but most likely they were just being their cute growly selves swimming, slogging and prancing about.

I definitely hated to depart but but it was time to make the return flight back to Port Elsworth on Lake Clark. We were supposed to flight-see the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes but it was fogged in and the weather was deteriorating so we flew directly back to the Lodge with the landscape below partially shrouded with fog. and hauntingly beautiful.