This scene is inside the picture taking "blind" over the water at Anan Creek
Here is a moma black bear who turned out to be the best "fisherbear" of all
Just as we got to the platform an agitated black bear went running past me about 10 feet away which accounts for the poor focus in the picture
This is the jet boat we took from Wrangell to Anan BayWe were successful in finding a tour operator who could add us to his group of guests headed for the bear sanctuary at Anan Bay. We will post pictures when we can but it was an incredible experience. The bear sanctuary is maintained by the US forest service who control entry in a very tight manner. They only allow about 60 people a day to come in and stagger the entry times to ensure that there are only around 10 to 15 people on the observation platforms at any given time.
The observatory is on the banks of a very productive salmon spawning stream mainly pinks, but really all species. The platform is reached by a 3/4 mile hike on a boardwalk trail where you just might meet a bear. Our guide carried a 12 gauge shotgun but said he had only been charged once from far away but the sound of his knees knocking scared the bear away.
We arrived at the platform on a partially sunny day which was perfect for viewing the bears. Over the space of several hours we watched the bears try to catch the salmon coming upstream and generally interact with each other in the wild from perhaps 20 to 30 feet away. It was spectacular. We saw many black bears and a couple of grizzlies, called brown bears in Alaska. One female black bear was particularly adept at fishing so I have one picture of her with a salmon protruding from her mouth. Quite a sight.
There actually was a picture taking-blind built right down on the creek and camouflaged with netting and bush like material. We were able to go down to the blind for a half hour and see the bears from perhaps 10' away, fishing for salmon. This was amazing. Also from the blind we could watch eagles fly close to the water as they tried to get in on the feast as well.
We were transported to the bay by a twin diesel jet boat which was large and comfortable so this turned out to be a really stress free way to see the bears compared to try and anchor in the bay ourselves and plead with the somewhat humourless forest service offices to let us in without permits. We even saw a big humpback whale sound on the return trip which was quite cool.
Annan Bay has to be right up there with our Alaska highlights. We would recommend it to anyone.
We returned to Wrangell for the night and will leave tomorrow for the famous Wrangell Narrows with over 60 navigation buoys in the narrow passage. However, if the Alaska state ferries can get through, then I guess Bojangles can make it.
The observatory is on the banks of a very productive salmon spawning stream mainly pinks, but really all species. The platform is reached by a 3/4 mile hike on a boardwalk trail where you just might meet a bear. Our guide carried a 12 gauge shotgun but said he had only been charged once from far away but the sound of his knees knocking scared the bear away.
We arrived at the platform on a partially sunny day which was perfect for viewing the bears. Over the space of several hours we watched the bears try to catch the salmon coming upstream and generally interact with each other in the wild from perhaps 20 to 30 feet away. It was spectacular. We saw many black bears and a couple of grizzlies, called brown bears in Alaska. One female black bear was particularly adept at fishing so I have one picture of her with a salmon protruding from her mouth. Quite a sight.
There actually was a picture taking-blind built right down on the creek and camouflaged with netting and bush like material. We were able to go down to the blind for a half hour and see the bears from perhaps 10' away, fishing for salmon. This was amazing. Also from the blind we could watch eagles fly close to the water as they tried to get in on the feast as well.
We were transported to the bay by a twin diesel jet boat which was large and comfortable so this turned out to be a really stress free way to see the bears compared to try and anchor in the bay ourselves and plead with the somewhat humourless forest service offices to let us in without permits. We even saw a big humpback whale sound on the return trip which was quite cool.
Annan Bay has to be right up there with our Alaska highlights. We would recommend it to anyone.
We returned to Wrangell for the night and will leave tomorrow for the famous Wrangell Narrows with over 60 navigation buoys in the narrow passage. However, if the Alaska state ferries can get through, then I guess Bojangles can make it.
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