In 2017 there was a subadult bear that fished the lip of the falls. An ID of this bear was not known to cam viewers as of September 23, 2017. This page is an attempt to document the 2017 story of this subadult to assist in determining her ID. When this subadult bear was first observed fishing the lip of the falls, there was speculation that she may be the 2.5 year-old newly emancipated female subadult from 402's 2015 litter of originally 4 spring cubs. After former KNP&P ranger Mike Fitz returned from his 2017 vacation at Brooks Camp, he shared his thoughts about the 2017 little lip fisher in his blog: "MY TRIP TO BROOKS CAMP 2017: DAY FOUR" , stating: "This young subadult has fished Brooks Falls often recently. While bearcam viewers have speculated she might be one of 402's emancipated cubs, this bear looked to big for a 2.5 year-old." Obviously, the news from Mike Fitz sent some cam viewers searching for other possible subadults that could be the 2017 little lip fisher. The possibilities discovered will be shared down a little below.
On October 26, 2017 Ranger Dave shared the news that the 2017 Little Lip Fisher was successfully sampled by Ranger Michael Saxton's genetics (DNA) study. Ranger Tammy, the new bear monitor is calling the Little Lip Fisher "Not-505" until her ID or a newly classified bear number is determined.
First, we attempt to document the actual lip fisher as her story unfolds during the 2017 season with videos and pictures in chorological order:[]
July 2017:[]
2017.07.28: This video by Yulia Napalkova begins with the little lip fishing subadult at the top of the falls, yet not quite out far enough to successfully fish the "edge of the lip". 503 Cubadult is in the jacuzzi. At 2:29 the little lip fisher sits down on the top of the falls, back from the edge. At 3:22 the subadult stands back up, remaining back from the edge but using her paws to attempt capturing fish that make the jump of the falls. By 3:45 she is edging closer to the acutal lip and extending herself outward, but by 4:01 she is retreating back from the edge. Around 4:20 with her rump lowered, she begins that outward extension in the direction of the lip again. At 5:26 she retreats, moving right toward the fish ladder and getting closer to the actual lip, but by 5:39 the jumping fish back to her left draw her attention back to the direction that she came from. By 6:29 she has moved yet closer to the edge. She continues this back and forth...out toward the edge - retreating - out toward the edge - retreating....at 9:11 she catches a salmon that has cleared the falls. She exits the top of the falls with her fish, no longer remaining in the view of the cam. Note the subadult eating the fish below the falls as the video concludes is 503 Cubadult.
August 2017:[]
2017.08.17: In this video by Brenda D the subadult can be observed approaching the river from down river of the Brooks Falls wildlife viewing platform, she walks in front of the platform and eventually makes her way to the top of the falls. When she gets to the top of the falls she appears to scan the area for other bears before approaching closer to the lip. She takes a peek over the edge of the falls and then again scans the area above the falls before continuing to advance toward the edge of the lip. She does not advance completely to the edge, but does extend to get a better look over the edge of the falls. At one point she extends her rear left leg back, continues to look over the edge of the falls and also continues to scan the area above the falls toward the far side. She then backs up, moving away from the lip and departs the top of the falls via the fish ladder. This lip fishing adventure was unsuccessful.
2017.08.26:
This video by Ratna begins with 503 Cubadult and 719 on the far side of the river below the falls and an adult bear fishing in the jacuzzi. At 4:24 into the video another subadult joins 503 and 719 in the river...could this be the female lip fisher? If so, this video provides good views of size comparisions between 503, 719, and the lip fisher.
This video by Ratna zooms to 503 Cubadult and the little lip fisher in the far side of the river at 1:09. At 1:23 719 joins the other two subadults. At 5:37 719 is eating her fish in 410's belly hole on the far side of the falls when little lip fisher enters the view of the cam; little lip fisher wanders in and out of view. At 8:21 503 Cubadult comes back into view with little lip fisher and 719. The 3 subadults head back up river toward the far pool after 719 finishes her fish.
This video by Ratna continues where the one above left off; little lip fisher, 503 Cubadult, and 719 are in the far pool. At 2:16 the view jumps to little lip fisher and 503 just up river of the island; 719 comes into view there shortly after. At 6:50 the three subadults approach a large boar eating a fish above the island.
Ratna video Part 4 Little Lip Fisher, 503, and 719
2017.08.27: This video by Ratna begins with little lip fisher (right), 719 (left nearest to the far pool "rock table"), and 503 Cubadult in the far pool. The three subadults are the focus of this video for the first 7:20 and provides an opportunity to compare the sizes of these three subadults.
2017.08.28:
2017.08.29:
This video by Ratna shows the Little Lip Fisher resting her head on 503 Cubadults back:
This video by Victoria White shows the little lip fisher approaching the fish ladder area and.........standing up below the falls in the far pool (demonstrates size)........
This video by Patricia 65 shows the little lip fisher on the lip.....
This video by Ratna begins with 719 (right) and 755 Scare D. Bear (left) in the far pool. 503 Cubadult then appears from the far side above the falls, briefly followed by the little lip fisher subadult. The little lip fisher subadult returns to the bank on the far side above the falls and approaches closer via the trail, then head back up the hill to the right (down river). When the cam moves right (down river) at 1:03, the little lip fisher subadult is in far side of the river down below and closer to the cam than 719. 719 appraoches the large boar eating fish near the island down river of the falls from the far side of the river at 1:43. The little lip fisher approaches the large boar eating fish from the center of the island at 2:57.
This video by Ratna begins with 503 Cubadult in the jacuzzi, 474 backing 151 Walker up in the far pool, and 755 Scare D. Bear near the office. At 1:03 when the cam pans out, little lip fisher is near the lip of the falls. At 1:38 she begins to back away putting greater distance between her and the lip. At 1:59, she sits down above the falls and the cam continues to focus on a close-up of her. At 3:38 she stands back up. At 3:49 she retreats in the direction of the fish ladder, but the cam view does not provide insight into the reason why.
This video by Patricia65 (Patty65) ............
This video by Ratna ...
2017.08.30:
[http:// https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJuCEML7B5w Video by Ratna to add]
2017.08.31: Video by Victoria White w/ Little Lip Fisher, 503, 719, and another subadult ...708 and cubs displace Little Lip Fisher from the lip.....
September 2017:[]
2017.09.02:
This video by Ratna begins with 503 Cubadult with a fish (near left) and little lip fisher (near right) begging for / scavenging scraps of 503's fish just down river of the jacuzzi. The video focuses on this interaction between these two subadults.
This video by Brenda D shows the little lip fisher successfully fishing on the lip.
This video by Ratna .....
2017.09.03: This video by Ratna shows the little lip fisher catching a salmon in river colors near the bank down river of the Brooks Falls wildlife viewing platform. 708 Amelia's 2.5 year-old dependent cubs quicky approach the subadult with the fish. 708 approaches the area. The subadult drops the fish.
2017.09.04: At 4:14 into this video by Ratna Little Lip Fisher is approaching the lip, at 8:20 Little Lip Fisher climbs down the falls via the rock in the far pool to join 719.
2017.09.05:
17:50: In this video by flyer 7474 little lip fisher is fishing the lip....UNTIL 128 Grazer approaches the falls and also wants to fish the lip (cubs in tow). 128 Grazer grazers little lip fisher over the edge of the falls.
This video by Brenda D 503 jacuzzi, 719 to the right, little lip fisher to the right of 719.........another bear is approaching from the left...LLF heads down river, 503 and 719 stand up on hind legs...503 goes back to fishing the jacuzzi...719 stays in view...1:42 480 Otis enters the river from the bank below the wildlife viewing platform...719 continues to head down river near the island...2:10 480 displaces 503 from the jacuzzi...by 2:11 480 sits down to eat a fish...3:17 480 proceeds toward the jacuzzi...503 remains to the left...3:52 as 480 gets comfortable in the jacuzzi 503 heads down river and catches a fish...5:33 719 is in the far pool near the office...6:25 503 begins to play with a piece of wood / stick in the river...6:26 little lip fisher appears on the lip.
2017.09.07 or prior: In this video by Saurabah Shankar published September 7, 2017 the lip fishing subadult is the star.
2017.09.08-09.11: Park visitor, blogger and cam viewer Cheri is the author of a blog titled Random Currents. She has written an entry titled Katmai National Park: My Favorite Bear. Cheri had observed Little Lip Fisher over the course of her visit and has provided an intimate look and many photos of the subadult bear that has "stolen her heart."
2017.09.08: KNP&P visitor and cam viewer, Melissa Freels captures these two photos of Little Lip Fisher while visiting Brooks Camp. THANK YOU Melissa Freels for allowing your photos of the Little Lip Fisher to be added to the wiki page.
2017.09.10:
[http:// https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIimwBogV6U Video 2 by Ratna to add]
2017.09.12:
2017.09.15: This video by Ratna begins with the subadult being displaced from the lip as the result of another bear approaching from the far side of the top of the falls. She descends the fish ladder and puts some distance between her and the approaching bear, waiting near the shore below the wildlife viewing platform while scanning the bears in the river below the falls. She continues down river a little more, then turns around to observe the bear at the top of the falls. Then she exits the river and pauses again on the shore below the Brooks Falls platform, looking back to observe the approaching bear again. She continues down river on the shore out of view of the cam. 503 is down river of the island not far from the platform side of the river and eventually makes his way onto shore heading in the direction the female lip fisher went. At 1:58 the cam moves to the right and 503 is right near the female subadult. There is a brief interaction of play between 503 and lip fisher before they disappear from clear view as they continue heading down river on the trail. At 2:36 they re-enter the river with 503 in the lead. Little lip fisher stops to enjoy some scratching, 503 looks back as if to see if she is coming along. The two eventually continue down river and have another round of play. At 5:25 the cam moves away from the two subadult to see what the vocaliztions from other bears is about (480 and 151? discussing 480's fish) The remainder of this video is focused on the adult bears fishing below the falls. .
2017.09.17: Cam viewer River-PA observed the Little Lip Fisher during her trip to Brooks Camp. Her photos of this bear can be found at these links:
Little Lip Fisher (left) w/ 503 Cubadult (right) Little Lip Fisher 1 Little Lip Fisher 2
Little Lip Fisher 3 Little Lip Fisher 4 Little Lip Fisher 5 Little Lip Fisher 6
Little Lip Fisher 7 Little Lip Fisher 8 Little Lip Fisher 9 Little Lip Fisher 10
Little Lip Fisher 11 Little Lip Fisher 12 Little Lip Fisher 13 Little Lip Fisher 14
Little Lip Fisher 15 Little Lip Fisher 16 Little Lip Fisher 17 Little Lip Fisher 18
Little Lip Fisher 19 Little Lip Fisher 20 Little Lip Fisher 21
THANK YOU RIVER-PA ( aka Lee ) for allowing your photos of the Little Lip Fisher to be added to the wiki page.
2017.09.19: In this video by Brenda D she is again fishing the lip.......standing directly on the edge of the lip, and also both lifting and extending her right front paw downward. This lip fishing adventure proves successful for this little lip fisher. The video ends with her exiting via the fish ladder with her fish.
2017.09.22:
In this video by Brenda D she is again successful at fishing the lip and she again departs via the fish ladder with her fish.
In this video by Brenda D (at approximately 1:44) she approaches the lip of the falls with 747 in the jacuzzi, 856 near the log back near the far pool, 151 in the far pool near the rock and 480 downriver nearest the far shore.
In this video by Brenda D (at approximately 3:43) she can be observed on the lip with 503 nearest the jacuzzi and at least 5 other larger boars in and near the far pool side of the river (32, 83, and 151 appear to be 3 of those 5 bears). By 7:26 into the video she is still fishing the lip, 503 is departing the jacuzzi as a large boar approaches, and there is now a total of 7 boars at the falls with her still on the lip. The large boar that displaces 503 from the jacuzzi does not stay in there long and 503 is back in the jacuzzi by 9:07 into the video. The little lip fishr keeps an eye on the large boar that departed the jacuzzi as he makes his way over to and occupies the area below the fish ladder. Remaining watchful in the direction of the fish ladder, she continues to glance back to below the falls to attempt to successfully fish. At 11:45 into the video something gets her attention above the falls from her right and she takes off toward the far side of the top of the falls. At 12:16 as she nears the far side, the large boar appears at the top of the fish ladder and makes his way to the top of the falls. This fishing adventure is not successful for the little lip fisher. At 13:27 you can see the large boar making his way to across the river above the falls and you can see the subadult in the brush on the far side of the falls, eventually moving uphill to the right as the large boar continues upriver to the left.
In this video by Ratna the subadult fishes the lip, even with a large boar fishing in the jacuzzi and while two other bears have a vocal discussion near the downed log. At 1:25 she catches a fish, struggles to keep it, and then at 1:53 backs up and heads down the fish ladder with her catch. There is a good close-up of her with her fish walking in front of the Brooks Falls wildlife viewing platform at approximately 2:12.
2017.09.23:
Approximately 17:13: This video by flyer 7474 Little Lip Fisher almost loses her catch
2017.09.24: Videos
Approximately 16:20: This video by Ratna has footage of little lip fisher that begins around 4:00. The cam pans left at 4:07 bear 402 is fishing below the falls near the fish ladder, and 503 Cubadult is fishing in the jacuzzi. The close proximity that 402 allows between her and the little lip fisher is very interesting in this video, especially if little lip fisher is 402's offspring from her 2015 litter. By 8:05 little lip fisher is making her way to the top of the falls via the path on the bank below the wildlife viewing platform.
Approximately 16:30: This video by flyer 7474 is one to watch; a MUST SEE. 402 (at one time suspected to be the mother of little lip fisher) is fishing below the falls near the fish ladder, Little lip fisher is fishing the lip of the falls, and 503 Cubadult (the biological offspring of 402 that was emancipated as a yearling in July 2014 and then adopted by 435 Holly in approximately 2 weeks) is fishing in the jacuzzi. The perfect "family" video? FYI what this video does not show is that just prior to the start of this video 708 Amelia and her two 2.5 year-old dependent cubs approach the falls via the path on the bank below the Brooks Falls wildlife viewing platform, and eventually continue on their journey past the platform up the hill towards the area above the falls (see this video by Ratna @ 1:05 or the snapshots / screen captures below). At 0:21 of this video the first member of the 708 family group can be seen coming into view along the wall at the lip of the falls. At 0:36 the little lip fisher catches a fish on the lip. As little lip fisher makes her way up river of the lip 708's cubs descend the wall in an attempt to pirate little lip fishers fish. 708 Amelia enters the view at 1:07. By 1:12 little lip fisher has dropped her fish, but 708's cubs are not able to capitalize on their pirating attempt. Little lip fisher takes off to the left heading up river briefly. At 1:38 one of 708's cubs learns to lesson of the power of the river as the cub washes over the lip. At 1:46 708 realizes that the cub is out of sight and appears to be jaw popping. At 1:52 vocalization can be heard. (Remember 503 was fishing in the jacuzzi.) When the cam pans out 402 is still fishing below the falls near the fish ladder. Little lip fisher makes her way to the top of the wall. By 2:28 503 is back in the jacuzzi. At 2:52 708's cub is seen in the lower left corner of the screen making their way back up toward the top of the falls via that path on the bank below the falls platform. A bear jam that impacted some of the bears? This video by Ratna includes similar footage, and provides a slow motion view of the action from the time the little lip fisher catches the fish on the lip going forward until after 708's 2.5 year old cub washes over the falls. This video by st mango begins as the little lip fisher is trying to protect her fish from 708's 2.5 year old cubs.
Approximately 19:44: This video by flyer 7474 .....402 503 & Little Lip Fisher.......
2017.09.24: Snapshots / Screen captures
2017.09.26:
Video 1 (Little Lip Fisher on lip, 503 jacuzzi, and another subadult that is trying out a new fishing style from the hill leading up to the wall.)
Video 2 (Little Lip Fisher having her catch stolen by another subadult)
Video 3 (Little Lip Fisher and 503 fishing the lip together) 2017.09.27:
Video 1 LLF & 2 Subadults (600? 602?)
Video 2 LLF bluff charges who (602?)
Video 4 Little Lip Fisher & 2 other subadults - In this video one of the subadults below the falls (600?) catches their own fish, Little Lip Fisher then catches a fish on the lip. The two subadults below the falls (600? w/fish & 602?) chase the Little Lip Fisher for her fish...the one subadult (600?) taking their self-caught fish with them to chase the Little Lip Fisher for her fish.
Video 6 Little Lip Fisher and larger, darker subadult (602?) are fishing the lip together. The larger, darker subadult (602?) catches their own fish. Little Lip Fisher does not attempt to pirate the other subadult's fish and continues to fish the lip. The 3rd subadult (600?) does approach the larger, darker subadult (602?) as the subadult is eating the fish, but does not attempt to pirate it.
Video 7 Little Lip Fisher & 2 other subadults (600? 602?)
2017.09.27:
17:15: This video by flyer 7474 shows little lip fisher successfully fishing the lip, however two other subadults attempt to pirate her catches causing her to lose them. Could they be little lip fisher's siblings? Could all three subadults be 132's newly emancipated 3.5 year-old offspring? Is the larger, darker subadult that attempted to pirate the first fish little lip fisher caught 602?
2017.09.28:
Video 1 Subadult sitting on hill near lip / fish ladder (not believed to be Little Lip Fisher but one of the subadults that would pirate fish from Little Lip Fisher and then was observed attempting to fish the lip (600? or 602?))
2017.09.29:
Video 1(4:54 into video Little Lip Fisher on bank below BF platform) 7:21 into this video Little Lip Fisher goes pee, she is a female. This is also the video where she sits above the fish ladder area on the path going up toward the top of the falls where 402's spring cubs spent a great deal of time. She eventually makes her way to the lip of the falls.
Video 2 Little Lip Fisher successfully fishing on the lip, 83 Wayne Brother in the jacuzzi, 474 in the far pool.
2017.09.30:
17:20: This video by flyer 7474 provides a close-up view of little lip fisher successfully fishing the lip.
October 2017:[]
2017.10.xx (before 2017.10.09 ): Green River's comparison pic of Little Lip Fisher in early October 2017 with 132's cub in Fall of 2016.
2017.10.26:
[]
Other photos and videos that may prove helpful:[]
2017:[]
2017.07.11 708 Amelia's 2.5 year old cub attempting to fish the lip. While this is not the little lip fisher we are focusing on for this wiki page, it may be helpful for comparison aspects. 708 Amelia has not been observed fishing the lip of Brooks Falls (at least that I know of in recent years since the cams went live in 2012, and if she does fish the lip, it is not something that is / has been frequently observed. On July 11, 2017 this video by Pitchey shows 708 Amelia's 2.5 year old dependent cub attempting to fish the lip of the falls as 708 watches from the river below the falls.
2017.07.12: Erum Chad video of 402's newly emancipated 2.5 year-old subadult near the lower river platform, one successfully fishing above the bridge and taking their catch to the grassy point where both subadults consume the fish. This video does provide some clear close-up footage of 402's subadults.
2017.07.14: Erum Chad video of 402's newly emancipated 2.5 year-old subadults observed on the lower river on and between the spit and the gravel bar.
2017.07.21 Subadults grassy point lower river: Could these four subadults in this video by BirdNerd57 be 402's newly emancipated subadults (in view at the beginning of the video), 719 (the first bear to approach from the right), and 503 Cubadult (the second bear to approach from the right)? If so, this may help us determine if the 2017 little lip fisher is 402's offspring.
2017.09.23:
CamOp Scout captured these screen shot of 402 using the cam controls snapshot feature . These may be good pics to compare to the 2017 little lip fisher: CamOp Scout pic #1 , CamOp Scout pic #2 , CamOp Scout pic #3 .
2016:[]
2016.09.xx: The 2017 Bears of Brooks River book contains a September 2016 photo of 132 and one of her at the time 2.5 year-old offspring (this subadult would be 3.5 years old in 2017 when Little Lip Fisher was first observed).
2016.09.12: At 16:47 into this video by Melissa Freels 132's cub on the left has a similar appearance to Little Lip Fisher.
2016.09.15: KNP&P visitor and cam viewer, Larinor captured this photo of 132's cub while visiting Brooks Camp. Please do not use or alter Lisa R. / Larinor's photo without her permission.
2016.09.16: KNP&P visitor and cam viewer, Larinor captured these two photos of 720 while visiting Brooks Camp. Please do not use or alter Lisa R. / Larinor's photos without her permission.:
2016.09.24: In this video by Melissa Freels 132's cub that appears to be the bolder of the 3 cubs is the one that resembles Little Lip Fisher. The 402 family group and 719 are also in this video.
2016.10.04: 132 family group video by Jusywh o...could this be Little Lip Fisher?
2016.10.09: Could this be Little Lip Fisher back in 2016 captured in this video by Victoria White of a subadult in the lower Brooks River.
2016.10.14: This video by Melissa Freels provides views of 402's yearlings for comparison to Little Lip Fisher and other subadults from the 2017 season.
2016.10.16: This video by Melissa Freels shows 708 Amelia and her two yearlings meeting up with 402 and her two yearlings with 719 (435 Holly's biological female subadult) at the falls. This is a great video to compare to both Little Lip Fisher and her "lip fishing students" that started out as the subadults that pirated her fish at the top of the falls in September of 2017. It also shows the size of Little Lip Fisher in comparison to 708's cubs from late last season. 708's cubs also attempted to pirate Little Lip Fisher's fish at the top of the falls in September 2017.
2016.10.25 Live chat with Ranger David Kopshever, Ranger Leslie Skora (bear monitor), and Ranger Michael Saxton: At approximately 20:45 into the live chat (video here) Ranger Leslie Skora discusses the newly identified subadults, first discussing 717 and then 720. Could 720 be the 2017 little lip fisher? KNP&P provides five fall of 2016 photos of 720 at these links: 720 photo 2016 #1 , 720 photo 2016 #2 , 720 photo 2016 #3 , 720 photo 2016 #4 , and 720 photo 2016 #5 .
2018: The Salmon Quest:[]
Cam viewer, GreenRiver created this video "trailer" for the upcoming 2018 Bearcam Season:
