Alaska Bear Viewing Tours

Alaska Bear Viewing Tours

Since 1981 we have offered Alaska Bear Viewing Tours as part of our Cruises in Alaska. As one of southeast Alaska's first Bear Viewing Guides and eco tour operators we offer Guided Alaska Bear Viewing Trips to both Pack an Anan Creek Bear Observatories during our summer cruising schedule both limited entry Bear Observatories. As part of your cruise aboard the yacht Discovery you will have the opportunity to see bears in their natural habitat. The coastal mainland regions of Southeast Alaska support large populations of both coastal Grizzlies ( Brown Bears ) and Black Bears. Southeast Alaska has two of Alaska's four designated Bear Observatories Anan and Pack Creek. Both of the Bear Observatories are limited entry and require Forest Service special use permits to go ashore. The bears here are habituated to humans and allow visitors close encounters. We also hike many remote areas in Alaska to view these magnificent animals. We see many charter vessels on the internet offering bear viewing trips and tours but I don't think anyone can provide the experience we do to our clients.

THE BLACK BEAR:

Alaska Bear Viewing at : Anan Creek Bear Observatory located in the Bradfield Canal of Southeast Alaska is home to both resident Grizzlies ( Ursus arctos) and Black Bears ( Ursus americanus ) it is one the few areas in North America where it is possible to see these animals together on the same stream, however short lived. Although this is primarily a Black Bear stream in the Spring and Fall it is fairly common to see both species together. The Black bear will give way to his cousin the Brown bear without hesitation. During the main salmon spawning run the Brown Bears move up stream and yield the lower portion of the stream to some 30 resident black bears. Other excellent viewing areas for Black bears include Prince of Wales Island and other mainland coastal streams in S.E. Alaska.. Best viewing May - September.

THE BROWN BEAR:

Brown, grizzlies and Kodiaks were once thought to be separate sub-species however it is generally agreed now that they are the same species. The Brown bear so named because he lives within 50 miles of the sea and usually supplements his diet with salmon is much larger than the inland grizzly. The Brown Bear is the largest land carnivore on earth. Although there is some dispute over his cousin the Polar Bear which spends the bulk of his life on ice flows.

Admiralty, Baranof and Chichagof Islands in Southeast Alaska are home to large populations of the Brown Bear. Admiralty Island is said to have the densest population on earth at almost one bear per square mile.

Alaska Bear Viewing at : Pack Creek Bear Observatory ( Stan Price Wildlife Sanctuary ) located on Admiralty Island is the other designated bear observatory in Southeast Alaska. The former residence of the late Stan Price. In 1945 Mr. Price found an orphan female cub on the beach and brought it to his cabin. He ended up raising the bear and in turn had a reported 82 ( until his death 1989 ) bears born at Pack Creek. Pack Creek is one of the few areas in the world today where the Brown Bear is habituated to people and reasonably close encounters are possible. I was fortunate enough to have known Stan for many years and consider him one of my great mentors in life. His attitude towards all life is something to be cherished. The best viewing times are May until early September.

I've included a few pictures of these magnificent animals. Please click on the images to enlarge them.