Bear Watching in May???

[HALNEWBY]

Any good Bear sightings in May. My ports will be sitka, juneau, ketchikan, and Victoria. Any good tour recommendations??

[Yukon]

Any good Bear sightings in May? My ports will be sitka, juneau, ketchikan, and Victoria.

 

You could get lucky, but you're too early to plan on sightings anywhere. The best in May is the Klondike Highway north of Skagway, but that takes luck. http://www.explorenorth.com/library/nature/alaska_bear_viewing.html lists the good spots and dates.

 

Murray

[kingsgirl]

Mom and I are a bit anxious about running into bears in Juneau @ Mendenhall.

 

Are they black bears or black bears and grizzly? We've never seen bears in the wild, but don't want to miss out on experiencing the forests and trails.

[Budget Queen]

Mom and I are a bit anxious about running into bears in Juneau @ Mendenhall.

 

Are they black bears or black bears and grizzly? We've never seen bears in the wild, but don't want to miss out on experiencing the forests and trails.

 

I've seen blacks at Mendenhall, they had no interest in sticking around humans. One time, came upon some "steaming bear scat" on the Trail of time. And got a glimpse of that bear just ahead. :)

[qiangf2]

I've seen blacks at Mendenhall, they had no interest in sticking around humans. One time, came upon some "steaming bear scat" on the Trail of time. And got a glimpse of that bear just ahead. :)

 

I bet the bears are also wondering how many human encountering they will experience in this May. :D

[Dream Fish]

The majority of bear right now can be seen along the beaches, so keep your bino's handy! My husband saw 6 the other day along beaches from the boat.

 

At the Mendenhall Glacier you will mostly see black bear, and that depends on fish being in the river, it's pretty rare for a brown to come into Juneau. The new trails and small lookouts over the streams at the Mendenhall are still worth the walk around them, really pretty, and you never know what you will see besides bear, pocupines, herons, etc.

[HALNEWBY]

So I guess I shouldn't pour out the dough for any of the "bear watching"' tours in may. Thanks for all the responses!!

[TeeBuccs]

DH and I saw several bears late May 2006. I too was concerned about spending big bucks for tours and striking out based upon what I was reading online. We worked with Alaska Fly-N-Fish (Butch & Sara) who were very informative about the possibilities of spotting bears. We opted to pay the $ and take float plane out. We spotted several bears from the air, landed and went ashore. Once there we sat and observed at least 3 bears for at least an hour. Butch and Sara fly everyday and are well versed on the best spots for bear sightings - but of course there are no guarantees. Call them yourself and talk to them - in my experience they will tell you the truth and work with you.

[HALNEWBY]

DH and I saw several bears late May 2006. I too was concerned about spending big bucks for tours and striking out based upon what I was reading online. We worked with Alaska Fly-N-Fish (Butch & Sara) who were very informative about the possibilities of spotting bears. We opted to pay the $ and take float plane out. We spotted several bears from the air, landed and went ashore. Once there we sat and observed at least 3 bears for at least an hour. Butch and Sara fly everyday and are well versed on the best spots for bear sightings - but of course there are no guarantees. Call them yourself and talk to them - in my experience they will tell you the truth and work with you.

 

thanks for the info i will check it out

[SoCalGal]

On both of our May trips to Misty Fjords we spotted brown bear (grizzlies)from the boat on the floatplane/boat excursion. The bears were feeding where streams came down into the waters edge. We saw black bear at Mendenhall Glacier, but way off in the distance. Be sure to bring a good pair of binoculars. We also saw a gray wolf on our drive to Carcross and got some great photos as he was just a few feet from our car.