Brooks Falls, Alaska: Brown bears fish for sockeye salmon on August 11, 2023 at Brooks Falls, Alaska within the Katmai National Park and Preserve.
The bears feast in large numbers at the falls between July and September, as millions of salmon swim upstream to spawn.
Many of the same bears return to the falls annually, gorging on salmon to fatten up before hibernating for winter.
The bears have become something of an internet sensation, as “bearcams" livestream bear activity at and around the falls to viewers worldwide.
Commercial salmon fishing in Alaskan waters has often pitted business interests against wildlife conservationists in Alaska, which has more national park and wilderness land than anywhere in the United States.
Pictures: John Moore Getty Images via AFP
5 interesting facts about brown bears
The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is known as the Kodiak bear.
Generally brown bears weigh anywhere from 80 to 600kg, with males outweighing females.
Brown bears have very large and curved claws, those present on the forelimbs being longer than those on the hind limbs. They may reach 5 to 6cm and may measure 7 to 10cm along the curve.
The brown bear is one of the most omnivorous animals in the world and has been recorded as consuming the greatest variety of foods of any bear.
Bears have one of the best noses in the animal kingdom.
Source: Wikipedia