Fishing Behavior of Alaska Brown Bear

Luque, Michael

Each summer 60-80 brown bears congregate at the McNeil River Falls, located 320 km southwest of Anchorage on the Alaska Peninsula, to fish for migrating chum salmon, Onchorhynchus keta. The falls impede upstream movement making salmon vulnerable to bears. As many as 25 bears may fish simultaneously, many only a few meters apart. May bears stay at the falls over 30 days each summer and return yearly. Because we can observe so many bears throughout a fishing season and during subsequent seasons, McNeil Falls proviedes an excellent opportunity to study prey catching behavior and its development in a natural situation. The purpose of our study was to describe brown bear fishing behavior, its development, and its relation to environmental and social factors. This paper describes fishing behavior and its relation to salmon abundance. Elsewhere in this volume (paper 4) Egbert and Stokes report on other factors influencing fishing success, notably time of day and status of the bears.