16 Cinnamon's NPS photos from the 2012 Bears of Brooks Camp iBook gif created by Xander-Sage
Adult Male - No Longer Seen
Year First Identified: 1988
Year Last Observed: 2011
Known Offspring Of: Not known
Genetics Study Samples Obtained: Add here
Identification:[]
2012 Brown Bears of Brooks Camp iBook: 16 Cinnamon has a cinnamon-brown coat with blonder ears, a drooping lower lip, long white claws, and an old face. This bear has no distinctive scars, but does have scars on the side of his head and shoulders. In 2011, he was extremely thin, with his rib and hip bones clearly visible He walked with stiff, slow movements.
Distinctive Behaviors:[]
2012 Brown Bears of Brooks Camp iBook: He is among the oldest bears, if not the oldest bear in the Brooks River area. Bear biologists classified him as an adult in 1988, placing his age around 30 and well past an adult male brown bear's life expectancy. Until recent years, he held a high position in the hierarchy.
In 2011, he walked with stiff, slow movements. In 2011, he also appeared physically unable to catch salmon and was not observed actively fishing. At the falls he regularly begged other bears for fish scraps, and was often able to obtain leftover fish parts. When not begging he often rested near the Falls Platform or on the small island nearby. Although it appeared other bears would "give" 16 Cinnamon fish, such compassion is believed to lie outside a bear's capacities. It is likely that some bears, notably 747 , learned to tolerate 16 because of his advanced age, poor physical condition, and submissive posture. This increased his chances of scavenging leftover fish from other bears. In some respects 16's advanced age and dramatic fall to the bottom of the hierarchy are sad reminders of the harsh realities wild animals face. Yet 16 Cinnamon's continuing presence at Brooks Falls, when other bears of his age class and status have died or otherwise failed to return, demonstrate his survival skills.
He returned to Brooks River every year from 1998 - 2011.
Life History:[]
16 Cinnamon returned to Brooks River every year from 1998 - 2011.
Year Unknown:[]
1988: 1st Year Observed at Brooks Camp[]
July 1988:[]
2002:[]
July 2002:[]
2002.07.07-07.10: Park visitor Lewie Barber captured this video at Brooks Camp between 7/7-7/10/2002. 16 Cinnamon can be seen fishing the lip at 4:38. The identification of 16 Cinnamon was confirmed by Mike Fitz on 6/8/2020.
Brooks River 2002, video by Lewie Barber-1
2005:[]
2005 Season:[]
16 Cinnamon can be seen in this video by Safari-Nordique R et M-C BUGAULT. 16 Cinnamon is the bear with the droopy lower lip that is sitting above the falls in the beginning of the video and a good close-up view of him can be seen at the 9:04 mark (confirmed by Mike Fitz on April 22, 2019 ).
KATMAI en Alaska le site mondial des grizzlis pêchant le saumon by Safari-Nordique R et M-C BUGAULT-1
2006:[]
2006 Season:[]
September 2006:[]
2007:[]
July 2007:[]
2007.07.10: Lori Agrella captured 7 images of 16 Cinnamon on July 10, 2007, #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6 and #7.
2008: []
July 2008:[]
2008.07.25 : Ranger Roy Wood's photo of 16 Cinnamon:
2009:[]
July 2009:[]
2009.07.??: Brooks camp visitor hahatry captured this July, 2009 video that features 856 in the jacuzzi, 6 Headbob fishing the lip, 480 Otis (near on the left) and 16 Cinnamon (near on the right). Identification of these bears was made by Mike Fitz on 2/22/2021. Mike's comment: "Yes, that is 856 in the jacuzzi, 16 Cinnamon is waiting for 480 Otis's leftovers at center bottom. 6 Headbob is on the lip.
Upper falls at Katmai National Park
Video by hahatry
2010:[]
July 2010:[]
2010.07.??: Phil Schultz shared July 2010 photos of 16 Cinnamon in chat on 6/20/2020. In photo #1, a very thin 16 is seen sitting in front of the falls platform. In photo #2, 16 Cinnamon is observed sitting in the middle of a group of bears and begging for food. Photo #3 shows a close-up of 16 Cinnamon's claws. Phil Schultz commented: "When I visited in 2010, Cinnamon was 28 years old. Once a dominant bear, Cinnamon was in the final couple years of his life. He would walk right up to bears with a catch, just a couple feet away (see photo). Unlike other bears that would react to such an intrusion, the bears seemed to tolerate ole Cinnamon, perhaps remembering an earlier time when they were subordinate to him. They would eat the portions of the salmon they wanted, then seemingly gave the rest to their senior. Very interesting. I inquired about Cinnamon with one of the rangers the first year these cams went live, and was informed within a year or two of my visit Cinnamon was never seen again."
Please request PhilSchultz's permission prior to using his photographs!
_begging_for_fish_July_2010_photo_by_PhilSchultz.jpg "16 Cinnamon (center) begging for fish July 2010 photo by PhilSchultz.jpg (120 KB)")
2010:??.??: Gary Stone captured video of 194 on the lip in "early-mid July", 2010 per a comment below the video. 194 is the bear seen (near) on the lip next to 16 Cinnamon (far) throughout the video. Mike Fitz confirmed the 194 and 16 Cinnamon identifications on 3/12/2021.
Brown Bears fishing at Brooks River Falls, Katmai Nat'l Pk, Alaska (HD)
Video by Gary Stone
2010.07.??: Matt Hirt's July 2010 video titled "Beggar Bears." 16 Cinnamon (right) can be see waiting/begging for scraps from 218 Ugly (left) from 0:19-1:19. The same scenario is noted from 2:05-3:10 where 16 Cinnamon waits for scraps. 438 Flo (blonde) can also be seen in this video with her two 3.5 year old cubs (dark with reddish fur around their heads) One of these cubs is believed to be 274 Overflow. 438 Flo is seen with her cubs from 0:18-0:36 and the 2 cubs are seen from 2:38-2:46. Mike Fitz commented on 5/17/2021 "Cinnamon hung on during a couple years when salmon runs were at the low end of average for the Naknek watershed. While I never knew Cinnamon before he was an old bear, he clearly adjusted his fishing strategy to adapt to his relative immobility and inability to compete for fishing spots. In 2007, for example, he was still fishing successfully on the lip. One interesting thing about it was seeing the tolerance that other bears showed him in his last years. It was basically universal, although Cinnamon didn't beg from 814 or 856 as I recall."
Beggar Bears
July 2010 video by Matt Hirt
2010.07.19: Trouties, Amy and John Davenport, captured a 7/19/2010 photo of 16 Cinnamon resting on the island.
September 2010:[]
2011: Last Season Observed at Brooks Camp[]
In 2011, he walked with stiff, slow movements. In 2011, he also appeared physically unable to catch salmon and was not observed actively fishing. At the falls he regularly begged other bears for fish scraps, and was often able to obtain leftover fish parts. When not begging he often rested near the Falls Platform or on the small island nearby. Although it appeared other bears would "give" 16 Cinnamon fish, such compassion is believed to lie outside a bear's capacities. It is likely that some bears, notably 747 , learned to tolerate 16 because of his advanced age, poor physical condition, and submissive posture. This increased his chances of scavenging leftover fish from other bears. In some respects 16's advanced age and dramatic fall to the bottom of the hierarchy are sad reminders of the harsh realities wild animals face. Yet 16 Cinnamon's continuing presence at Brooks Falls, when other bears of his age class and status have died or otherwise failed to return, demonstrate his survival skills. 16 Cinnamon was believed to be approximately 29 years old when last observed in 2011.
2011 Season:[]
Parks visitor, bridlingtonengland75 captured this video of 16 Cinnamon during the 2011 season:
Brooks Falls - Old brown bear with ivory claws!
July 2011:[]
2011.07.??: Cottage Days and Journeys Blog: Katmai Brown Bears - Old Bear Cinnamon by Donna. Visit Donna's March 15, 2012 blog that includes her July 2011 photos and stories about 16 Cinnamon from her trip to Books Camp. 16 Cinnamon is seen in these 4 photos, #1 left with 218 Ugly,#2, #3 and #4.
2011.07.05: Photo of 16 Cinnamon begging fish from 747 (Mike Fitz? Flickr?)
2011.07.09: Photo of 16 Cinnamon (Mike Fitz? Flickr?)
August 2011:[]
2011.08.01 or PRIOR: On August 1, 2011 bcglaxer published this video of 218 Ugly with 16 Cinnamon
Sharing a salmon in Brooks River August 1, 2011 published date by bcglaxer
2012:[]
16 Cinnamon was included in the NPS ibook.
March 2012:[]
2012.03.15: Cottage Days and Journeys Blog: Katmai Brown Bears - Old Bear Cinnamon by Donna. Visit Donna's blog for her July 2011 photos and stories about 16 Cinnamon from her trip to Books Camp.
How 16 Cinnamon Got His Nickname:[]
16 Cinnamon's nickname was inspired by the cinnamon-brown color of his coat.
Known Courting & Mating:[]
Add here
Known Relatives:[]
Add here
Genetics Study Samples Obtained:[]
Add here
A special thank you to KCanada for providing the individual NPS photos from the 2012 Brown Bears of Brooks Camp iBook, and to Xander-Sage for creating the gif from the NPS photos!