The Bears of Brooks Falls: Wildlife and Survival on Alaska's Brooks River

by Michael Fitz

Overview

A natural history and celebration of the famous bears and salmon of Brooks River.

On the Alaska Peninsula, where exceptional landscapes are commonplace, a small river attracts attention far beyond its scale. Each year, from summer to early fall, brown bears and salmon gather at Brooks River to create one of North America’s greatest wildlife spectacles. As the salmon leap from the cascade, dozens of bears are there to catch them (with as many as forty-three bears sighted in a single day), and thousands of people come to watch in person or on the National Park Service’s popular Brooks Falls Bearcam.

The Bears of Brooks Falls tells the story of this region and the bears that made it famous in three parts. The first forms an ecological history of the region, from its dormancy 30,000 years ago to the volcanic events that transformed it into the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. The central and longest section is a deep dive into the lives of the wildlife along the Brooks River, especially the bears and salmon. Readers will learn about the bears’ winter hibernation, mating season, hunting rituals, migration patterns, and their relationship with Alaska’s changing environment. Finally, the book explores the human impact, both positive and negative, on this special region and its wild population.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682685105
Publisher:	Countryman Press, The
Publication date:	03/09/2021
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	313,463
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Michael Fitz, a former National Park Service ranger, has distinguished himself as an expert in the natural history and ecology of Brooks River, particularly the river's brown bears. He continues to share his love of national parks and nature everywhere on his blog, fitznaturalist.com, and through his work as a Fellow for explore.org. He lives in northern Maine.

Table of Contents

Introduction: A Personal Discovery vii

Part 1 Creation and Discovery 1

Chapter 1 The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes 3

Chapter 2 A New Park 11

Chapter 3 Ramble 16

Part 2 Brown Bears and Salmon 29

Chapter 4 Winter Slumber 31

Chapter 5 Family 43

Chapter 6 Mating Season 55

Chapter 7 Subadulthood 67

Chapter 8 Living Large 78

Chapter 9 Hunger 91

Chapter 10 Odyssey 104

Chapter 11 Spawn 118

Chapter 12 Keystone 133

Chapter 13 Death 145

Part 3 Humanity 155

Chapter 14 Boundaries 157

Chapter 15 In a Crowd 169

Chapter 16 Bear in Camp 185

Chapter 17 Climate 202

Chapter 18 Challenge 215

Epilogue: Future 235

Acknowledgments 241

References 243

Index 269

Editorial Reviews

With this stellar audio production, listeners can journey by ear to south-central Alaska’s little known yet spectacular Katmai National Park. Narrator John Pruden moves briskly through the author’s vivid descriptions of the park’s geology, beginning in 1912 with the largest volcanic eruption of the twentieth century, which occurred in Katmai. The author worked as a park ranger and naturalist in Brooks Falls, located in the park’s marshy interior, and the audiobook pivots to his intimate observations of the brown bears there. As the bears converge for the July salmon run, so do tens of thousands of tourists, and the author adroitly addresses their impact on the bears. Pruden’s narration shines when conveying the author’s passion and respect for Alaska’s largest land predators and the ecosystem that supports them. J.T. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

MAY 2021 - AudioFile

With this stellar audio production, listeners can journey by ear to south-central Alaska’s little known yet spectacular Katmai National Park. Narrator John Pruden moves briskly through the author’s vivid descriptions of the park’s geology, beginning in 1912 with the largest volcanic eruption of the twentieth century, which occurred in Katmai. The author worked as a park ranger and naturalist in Brooks Falls, located in the park’s marshy interior, and the audiobook pivots to his intimate observations of the brown bears there. As the bears converge for the July salmon run, so do tens of thousands of tourists, and the author adroitly addresses their impact on the bears. Pruden’s narration shines when conveying the author’s passion and respect for Alaska’s largest land predators and the ecosystem that supports them. J.T. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

MAY 2021 - AudioFile