ljclay0130 Posted July 13, 2017 #1 Share Posted July 13, 2017 I flew to Anan Bear Observatory on July 5th with Island Wings. I hadn't seen any previous posts with bear sightings this year. July 5th was the first day of "peak" bear viewing and the bears didn't disappoint. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljclay0130 Posted July 13, 2017 Author #2 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljclay0130 Posted July 13, 2017 Author #3 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aloanldy Posted July 14, 2017 #4 Share Posted July 14, 2017 how awesome, thank you for sharing those great pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ski ww Posted July 14, 2017 #5 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Great pictures. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCalicoCat Posted July 14, 2017 #6 Share Posted July 14, 2017 YIPPEE! Assuming the weather cooperates (partly cloudy is the current forecast) we will be hoping for a similar experience on July 19th! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saffy12 Posted July 14, 2017 #7 Share Posted July 14, 2017 So excited to see this! We will be there in exactly 1 month and ive been worried we'll be too late in the season. I hope the bears stick around! Sent from my XT1254 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoedokey Posted July 14, 2017 #8 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Wow, these are great. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljclay0130 Posted July 14, 2017 Author #9 Share Posted July 14, 2017 We saw 9 bears in total-- 5 brown bears and 4 black. Only one caught a fish. They stay underwater for a long time!! There was a Park Ranger marking down which bears come out. They log each sighting and they know which bear is which. The bears come and go a lot-- especially from the path behind the viewing decks. One bear jumped up on the gate to the top deck! Be sure to sign up in the Viewing blind area to get down closer to the bears. My husband and I signed up at different time so we could experience 2 different viewpoints. I will post a few videos later:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljclay0130 Posted July 15, 2017 Author #10 Share Posted July 15, 2017 (edited) Edited July 15, 2017 by ljclay0130 wrong page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljclay0130 Posted July 15, 2017 Author #11 Share Posted July 15, 2017 (edited) Edited July 15, 2017 by ljclay0130 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljclay0130 Posted July 15, 2017 Author #12 Share Posted July 15, 2017 Didn't know the correct way to post videos--- but click on link and will bring you to my Youtube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donaldsc Posted July 15, 2017 #13 Share Posted July 15, 2017 Try posting pictures w reduced file sizes. Yours take forever to load. Then when someone responds as an attachment instead of just a response, you have to wait again. DON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mskaufman Posted July 15, 2017 #14 Share Posted July 15, 2017 These are great pictures. How close were you to the bears? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEtue Posted July 16, 2017 #15 Share Posted July 16, 2017 Great pics! I am hoping to do this trip next year and it may be early July like you. I would love to see some brown and black bears :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judyf Posted July 17, 2017 #16 Share Posted July 17, 2017 How do you book this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Hag Posted July 17, 2017 #17 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Nice! Thanks for the great pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljclay0130 Posted July 18, 2017 Author #18 Share Posted July 18, 2017 We were very close at times to the bears-- maybe 5 feet away. We booked with Island Wings well in advance---- 11 months. My favorite thing we did the whole trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judyf Posted July 19, 2017 #19 Share Posted July 19, 2017 Sounds wonderful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearvet Posted August 14, 2017 #20 Share Posted August 14, 2017 Thank you for posting! We have a trip booked July 4, 2018, which is 1 day before permits are needed and because of the July 4th festivities, we've only found 1 operator who will fly that day. Hoping the bears are out early next year too! Very exciting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
14cruisegirl Posted February 2, 2018 #21 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Has anyone gone that early in the season e are contemplating 7/5/18.. We are afraid it is too early in the season. It is as you know expensive and I don't want to spend that kind of money ifthe bear sightings are very limited. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks you Hannah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
land lover Posted February 2, 2018 #22 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Old thread, but OP if u are around beautiful shots... I am returning to Alaska in May..after 20 years I went in late July the first time and it rained most of our cruise...we did a excursion with the ship a sea plane and bear watch...we saw dozens across a river catching salmon and shaking the fish in their mouths to see if they had eggs, if not they tossed them back, if they did they sliced them opened and ate the eggs. This was a fun excursion and I was telling a local we met how much i enjoyed it...and with a straight face they said to me...I see bears every day, they search thru my trash cans..and ripped my plants.......their a pain..;p all relative isn't it..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
14cruisegirl Posted February 2, 2018 #23 Share Posted February 2, 2018 land lover- Thank you for your response. Very funny! I appreciate your feedback. I can relate with living in New York city and seeing the buildings everyday. Tourists are amazed when they see them! Your are exactly right when you say its all relative. Have a great night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
land lover Posted February 2, 2018 #24 Share Posted February 2, 2018 (edited) land lover- Thank you for your response. Very funny! I appreciate your feedback. I can relate with living in New York city and seeing the buildings everyday. Tourists are amazed when they see them! Your are exactly right when you say its all relative. Have a great night. Hannah.... I live have lived in Southern California, beach girl...my whole life...but 2 of my sons went to school and lived in NYC most recently last year....so I got to see sun bathers in central park more than once...LOL...just could not relate...also they were lying out on that strip of grass near the Intrepid. still cannot grasp it...:D........ BTW have they started charging for the SIF, yet? But back to the expense of Alaska excursions.....Even 20 years ago we paid $2-400 for excursions with about 1/8 the choices. We picked the "supposit" perfect time, when we cruised end of July and like I mentioned in the other post...terrible weather... .We were the first helicopter in the morn to land on a Glacier, after a few minutes we were called back to base, due to inclement weather coming in.... we flew in a complete white out....no other heli excursions left for the remainder of that day. So I guess is what i am saying is it's a crap shot.... There are several reasons why I have picked Alaska during May this year..but probably the biggest deciding factor is that everyone I have talked to said what beautiful weather they have had when traveling in May......I would like to just have one sunny day to see the snow covered mountains.....and a glacier or two with a blue sky behind it.....I am not asking for much....... So far we have purchased a sea plane flight in Juneau...and snorkeling in Ketchikan... If you are looking at the 5th ....and it works better in your schedule or pricing is better go for it..... Wildlife and Weather is unpredictable.....and often when traveling unplanned experiences are the most memorable of all....like when going to see the bears you might see some other part of nature that you find far more interesting than the bears. Enjoy..... Edited February 2, 2018 by land lover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyful34 Posted February 25, 2018 #25 Share Posted February 25, 2018 ljclay0130 - If you see this post can you share some information with me? We will be on the Princess Island from 10am-6pm in Ketchikan. Do you remember how quickly you were able to get off the ship? Do you remember the "back on board time"? We are also hoping to go to Anan but wondering if the 5 hour "tour" works with the ships time. Thanks for any info you can pass along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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