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| The Kodiak Bear |
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| Bear Viewing and Photo
Opportunities at Larsen Bay Lodge |
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 If you come to
Larsen Bay to fresh water fish, you will see bears. It is that simple.
It is a wonderful opportunity to see these magnificent bears in the wild.
At the fish weir below the falls on the Dog Salmon River is an excellent
place to safely observe Kodiak Bears catching salmon! For this same
reason, National Geographic favors the same site for their productions.
Rafting down the Karluk is another great opportunity to
see and photograph bears.
Bring more film than you think you need!
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Bear
Safety |
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Personal Safety:
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Don’t let fear take away from your vacation. There has
only been one death on Kodiak Island in the last 70 years attributed to
bears. The salmon taste a lot better than you do! The bears are far less
interested in eating you.
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But, respect all bears - they can be dangerous.
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Try not to surprise bears. Make noise - talk loud to
announce your presence. If you meet a bear, yield the right-of-way by moving
slowly away.
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Do not run. First of all, running stimulates
their instinct to attack fleeing prey. Secondly, you cannot out run them.
They are deceptively fast and can attain speeds of 35 mph!
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Moving towards a bear is aggressive behavior—it forces
the bear to react. If you inadvertently approach a bear and feel the bear is
not aware of your presence, take advantage of the situation and slowly move
away. Carefully watch to make sure the bear is not following.
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Photographs should be taken from a safe distance with a
telephoto lens.
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Deer Hunter Safety:
- If you are deer hunting and encounter a bear, follow
the same guidelines as above. If you shoot a deer and a bear comes along
and wants it, let him have it. Although, the idea of a rifle shot on Kodiak
being a “dinner bell” for Kodiak Bears is way over played.
- Give yourself ample time to butcher and remove meat to
safety before dark. If you shoot a deer late and do not have time to get
it out, try to leave it in an open spot so you can observe it from a safe
distance before you approach.
- Move the meat 100 yards or so away from the gut pile
and kill site. Don’t drag meat from the kill site to your meat cache. This
leaves a scent trail. By doing this, the bears have the opportunity to feed
on the gut pile instead of your meat, and makes it safer for your return
trips. Flag the gut pile with biodegradable material so you know where it
is. Do not approach your cache until you are positive there are no bears
there.
- Make lots of noise when you pack your meat out and let the bears know where
and who you are.
- If you return and the bear has your meat, do not try to
drive it away. The meat is likely ruined and it is against the law to kill a
bear to retrieve hunter-killed game.
- Just use common sense.
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