2007-07-11__1188__500mm__EOS-1D Mark II N

2007-07-11__1035__500mm__EOS-1D Mark II N

This bear was nicknamed Whiteclaws, and he was the alpha male at the falls (feeding anywhere he pleased) until he was dethroned by another big mail during one night (witnessed by a ranger doing research that night) in a fight that sent both bears crashing over the falls, and ended after the other bear held Whiteclaws under water. From that point on, Whiteclaws was considerably more "humble," although most other bears still fled anytime he approached.

This big male doesn't look like he needs another 10-pound salmon, but he and the other bears are driven to gorge themselves over an over again while the sockeye run lasts. These big males at the falls caught and ate a salmon like this every 5 minutes or so... hour after hour!

Another big male considering climbing down to the pools below the falls. Notice how "well-fed" he looks; these bears pack on hundreds of pounds during the few weeks when salmon are running.

I was surprised at how sure-footed the bears were on rocks that had to be slippery. Seldom did we see one slip.

About half of the bears at the falls stayed where they were and ate each fish on the spot. The other half would carry each fish they caught into the shallows or onto land to eat it.

The big males (at the falls) concentrated on the most nutritionally valuable/potent part of the salmon: the fatty skin and the head/brain. After catching a salmon, they would systematically strip and eat the skin, then the head, and only occasionally the rest of the fish. Younger bears downstream, on the other hand, who were much less proficient at catching fish, ate the entire fish, as well as any skinless carcasses that washed downstream uneaten from the big males at the falls.

What's left after the prime bits are gone. Note how this fish is headless and mostly skinless, either the remains of this bear's catch after he has eaten the best parts, or a carcass he has picked up after a bigger male has eaten the most nutritionally valuable parts.

Another big male peels the skin from a freshly caught salmon.