Hellooo there! A small Kodiak bear digging for roots on the hillside behind my cabin looks down at the dogs and I. The single bears (without cubs) and males have been out for a little while, now as this has been a very mild winter. We went on our way and she decided to take a nap on the hill. The bear hunt, open on the entire Kodiak archipelago, has started April 1st; hopefully, she won’t be mistaken for a “trophy” by an inexperienced hunter. #bears #kodiak #islandlife #brownbears #wildlifeonear

Looking ahead. A large male brown bear stands to get a better look for salmon downstream in Katmai National Park. I have a lot of people ask me to take them to see the “giant” Kodiak bears- “they’re the biggest ones, right?”. Unfortunately, that’s not so easy. Bears on Kodiak Island are hunted during two seasons, spring and fall, making them generally fearful of humans. The huge males are the target of sport hunters. By the time they are 15 years old, when they have reached their maximum size (