Our Alaska Trip, Part 7; Silver Salmon Creek Lodge, Bears!

[Kenj8246]

Trip of a lifetime. Wonderufl job, Sid. Alaska is on my 'bucket list'.

[labmansid]

Originally Posted by MichaelW

Great shots Sid. PS, having a great time with the 300mm.

Thanks, Michael. Yeah, I thought I saw some of your postings using it on occasion. Glad it landed in the hands of someone who gets good use out of it.

Originally Posted by Tim T

Another amazing series Sid. Thanks again for sharing. That had to be quite and experience.

Originally Posted by Kenj8246

Trip of a lifetime. Wonderful job, Sid. Alaska is on my 'bucket list'.

You are correct about the trip of a lifetime and quite the experience, can't say enough good things about the country up there. At least for the summertime, that is! Can't say I might want to spend a winter there!

Originally Posted by parrotmomma

Amazing photos! But, I just can not imagine being that close to bears! We were in Yellowstone just a week or two after a man was killed on a well traveled path by a grizzly, and it was all the talk at the park. I was a little bit uneasy sleeping in a pop-up camper. We saw grizzlies on 2 occasions, but nowhere near as close as that.

We heard stories like that I think right before and after our trip there. I would not think of doing something like we did any other place but in the places like SSCL. They truly have taken great pains to cultivate that relationship, plus the food is so plentiful there, the bears have little reason to look to other sources. They and others that provide similar services, such as K Bay Air, are quick to point out their safety records.
That subject does remind me of something that happened as we were returning from our puffin rookery excursion. As the boat was pulling up to the beach for us to unload, we noticed a bear that had been foraging down the beach, probably about a half mile away from us. When he saw the boat, he started running like full bore in our direction. We naturally commented, with maybe a hint of concern, about it to our guides and the owner. They replied, "Oh, that's Pavlov". Apparently 3-5 years ago the boat had returned from a fishing trip, and somehow a salmon got left behind where the boat landed. This bear witnessed this event and found the salmon. To this day he still equates the boat landing with the possibility of a quick meal, and his reaction is jokingly referred to as a Pavlovian response, hence the nickname of Pavlov. He did not come that close to us, just checking I guess if there might be some food left behind. That is why it is so important to not let the bears think you may have food for them, they have great memories!

Here is a shot of "Pavlov" as he was running down the beach.

[Marhowie]

Would love to able to get this close..looks like the bear really "hammed" it up for ya in many of your set, well done

[Marhowie]

Well done!!

[Maxis Gamez]

Awesome!!

How many bears did you guys see??

[labmansid]

Originally Posted by Maxis Gamez

Awesome!!

How many bears did you guys see??

Hmmm.... That's a good question! Let me see if I can remember what we came up with.... I think the owner said there are something like 23 bears that are known to live in the area. I'm pretty sure counting boars, sows, and cubs, we personally saw close to 20 individual bears while there, I know it was at least 17-18.