After feeding on salmon near the shores of Narrow Cove in Kukaklek Lake for several hours the small female brown bear walked up the bank past the hunters and was shot, first by the hunter/client’s arrow, then by the guide’s high power rifle.
This was not the first brown bear I’ve seen killed by a trophy hunter, but certainly the strangest ‘hunt’ I’ve experienced. It was late in the fall of 2007 and I was standing with several friends near our tent camp, we had been dropped off in Narrow Cove by floatplane the day before. The goal of our trip was to document a legally permitted bear hunt that takes place in the Katmai National Preserve in Alaska.
This particular bear hunt has become controversial primarily because the bears being killed are often the very same bears that for many summers have been enjoyed by hundreds, if not thousands, of bear viewers that flock to Katmai. The bears grow comfortable with the presence of both bear viewers and sports fishermen and treat visiting humans with a surprising level of respect. It’s not uncommon to have a brown bear in this area wander within 50ft of a non-disruptive group of visitors. With opening day of the hunting season in Katmai Preserve things are different. Bear viewers with guns. As I personally witnessed, the bears don’t know the difference between bear viewers and bear hunters. This bear walked out of the lake and proceeded to climb up the bank well within 100 yards of the hunters who were moving towards the bear to intersect its path.
Do the bear hunters in Katmai Preserve practice fair chase? That is a question that our documentation efforts were to answer. For some, the issue of fair chase in this hunt is good reason to discontinue it. There is also an argument that the bear population in the surrounding areas are being compromised by the hunt. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game claims the latter is untrue and state that they believe the number of bears killed is sustainable. Some don’t agree with the ADF&G’s claim and point out that the bears migrate long distances to this spot because it is one of (if not the) last places for bears to fatten up on salmon before their winter hibernation
The above photo appeared on the cover of the Anchorage Daily News, and the July issue of National Geographic Magazine contained a short article with the photograph as well. The hunt was was covered by video on KTUU in Alaska as well as a popular YouTube video.
Speaking for myself only, I would like to make it clear that I do not have contempt for the hunters I photographed. The photographs were not taken to demean anyone involved. The discussions and consideration that the video and photos have prompted is good, and will hopefully foster wise decision making.
Below are a few photos from the two days I spent on the shores of Narrow Cove on Kukaklek Lake, Katmai National Preserve, Alaska.
The slideshow / gallery below features more images from the hunt. Click on the images to visit my online image archive.
Please type your intelligent opinion or comment below. Angry comments will be moderated.
Comments
6 responses to “Bear hunt in Alaska’s Katmai National Preserve”
Greetings Sir Scott,
Fantastic posting and a wonderful little entry in Nat. Geo.
Drop me a line sometime would be good to catch up and hear how things paned out in BB.
Warmest wishes,
Nick
I spent a week fishing for trout at the NO See Um lodge and viewed many bears, some as close as 10 feet. I cannot believe that these bears are shot as sport, as they have no fear of humans but also leave us alone. NOt once in the 6 days of fishing and seeing the bears did one bear act in a threating way. UNBELIEVEABLE that these bears are hunted.
Nice photos and congrats on making it in National Geographic.
Beautiful pictures of those magnificent creatures. I am pretty alarmed about this legal hunting. I have heard from many bear biologists in Katmai that the population is healthy and is in no need for evaluation. I am so mad about this. Something needs to be done.
Re: “Angry comments will be moderated.” Has there been angry comments about your participation on the project? After seeing the hunter’s comments on sites like “huntw..olves.com”, who were threatening the life of a female on myspace for posting about them, I’ve been thinking, do you, as a professional and seemingly happy photographer, think there’s anyway in which the hunters, like the two pictured above, could be educated to see that on the other side of their sight, there could be a lens instead of a gun? If there was a way to offer them a choice?
Imagine a website, National Geographic article, or even a book of converted hunters’ photographs! Imagine their amazement when they can still go outside, be in nature, but instead of participating in unneeded suffering, they can, at the minimum, think of each photo as a possible bounty prize. (Hopefully, they realize there’s more to life than money and completely change to someone like you, who obviously respects both ends’ viewpoints, but also has a job, morals, and a mission.)
You decided to pick up the camera, now you get paid for it, see beautiful things most people never will, and are morally sound. Maybe you could try to convince National Geographic to do an article with you (if you’re willing) and hunters who are given a camera instead of a gun and told “now, go shoot”? I’d hate to see something so promising not proposed to you, someone who’d such an incredible asset to our earth (sounds corny, but is very true!).
350 Scotts could stop the Idaho Wolf hunt, 700 could end coal mining (safely, without people loosing jobs or lives), or 30 could stop the Bison hazing! It could totally work, because just look at the difference this one Scott has made.
—I absolutely love your work by the way, but the comment above was not based on that. Actually, I love your work so much it’s astounding, you’ve made me spend over 3 hours browsing your blog, posting about you on my blog, and learning more about your studies. I love every post of yours and am so glad there’s someone like you, you truly made my day and it’s so nice to see someone be able to do what you do! You’re an inspiration, thank you Scott. Cool.
I’d have to agree with comments above that it is hard not be angry with a situation where bears which have been habituated to humans from ecotourism & bear viewing are then subjected to hunting in the same place. Stable population or not, it seem unethical to encourage these two activities in the same areas. Anyone who has hunted will tell you deer know where they can be hunted and where they’re safe. If dumb herbivores get it, so will bears. It is as unethical for hunters to be operating in the areas where bear are both feeding on salmon and habituated to humans, as it is to use salt blocks and corn bait for deer. What these guys are doing is on par with shooting the animals in a petting zoo.