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Punteney Wildlife Photography

Alaska · July 2026

Katmai National Park

Alaska's bear country. Salmon push up the creeks of Katmai National Park through the short summer, and the brown bears gather to meet them — fishing, sparring, and sprawling on the tundra between meals.

32 photographs

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It was amazing watching a bear this size match the salmon turn for turn.
This Brown Bear was running away from a larger brown bear, to keep his freshly caught salmon, when he passed by a few feet in front.
This mother bear was trying to get some rest as her cubs kept playing around her.
A Brown Bear walking the cliff edge in thick fog as the sun rises.
Two sub adult Brown Bears sparring in the water of a small lake.
More interested in playing with the salmon than eating it, this young Brown Bear kept rising onto its hind legs while holding what remained of the salmon.
A young Brown Bear paused for a brief look before following his mom down the river.
Head snapped around, water going everywhere, as the Brown Bear shakes itself dry after a failed fishing attempt.
A Brown Bear running along a gravel bar chasing after some salmon.
A Brown Bear charging through the shallows trying to catch some salmon.
These sub-adult Brown Bears were sparring on the tundra in the late evening light.
Fishing the shallows paid off for this Brown Bear, which came up with a sockeye.
An early morning with heavy fog gifted us this image with the bear walking atop the cliff as the sun was rose above the mountains.
A Brown Bear standing up in the river to get a better view of the swimming salmon.
This Brown Bear shook after catching a salmon throwing roe across the water.
Cresting the cliff a few feet away this brown bear slowly ambled by.
A Brown Bear surfacing after diving, unsuccessfully, for salmon.
A Brown Bear looking out from the brush after he had finished eating the salmon.
A windy day left this Brown Bear mother restless, often sitting to scan her surroundings and ensure her cubs stayed safe.
A patient momma Brown Bear, with her two cubs climbing onto her back to rest and play.
This Brown Bear ran the salmon into the shallows, where it had nowhere left to escape.
A Brown Bear rolling on its back on the open tundra in Alaska, one foreleg raised, with mountains behind.
A close-up portrait of a Brown Bear as it walked by.
A Brown Bear sow bedded down in the tundra as her three cubs snuggle up against her.
A Brown Bear lunges after a sockeye salmon in an Alaskan river, with a second bear and a passing gull looking on.
This big Brown Bear came straight towards us as he hunted for salmon.
Rain that had soaked through my jacket seemed not to register on this Brown Bear cub, which rose from its nap on the open tundra and followed its mother and siblings to the river.
A Brown Bear pauses between casts, fishing for salmon in Alaska.
A Brown Bear on a cliff face, backlit by the setting sun.
Two Brown Bear cubs wrestling on the open tundra in Alaska.
Two Brown Bears standing in the shallows, watching for salmon.
A Brown Bear wading upstream in the shade of the bank.

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