402 July 2021 NPS photo
Adult Female
Year First Identified: 2001 as 3.5 year-old subadult
Year Last Observed: 2023
Offspring Of: 209 Beauty is 402's mother, 24 BB (aka Bald Butt) is 402's father
Known Litters of Cubs: 8, including 2 litters of 4 spring cubs!!!
Genetics Study Samples Obtained: 402 was successfully sampled in 2005 and 2006 when both hair (via hair snare) and tissue (via darting) samples were obtained by former wildlife biologist Tamara Olson. 402 was successfully darted by Ranger Michael Saxton in 2016.
Identification:[]
A large female, 402 has a short, dark blonde or brown coat of fur. Her face is crescent shaped with a straight profile and her ears are oval or slightly triangular in shape and erect. In July, she often has long fur under her muzzle that resembles a goatee. During the fall months, her fur is brown and grizzled.
Watch this Meet Bear 402 video by Mike Fitz, Resident Naturalist with Explore.org to learn identification and distinctive behaviors that will help you identify 402.
Meet Bear 402 - Bears of Brooks Falls by Mike Fitz, Resident Naturalist with Explore
Meet 402 Explore video by Mike Fitz
Distinctive Behaviors:[]
402 is often seen at Brooks Falls in July where she fishes the lip of the falls and will sometimes dive for salmon in the jacuzzi. She is among the few females who will fish at Brooks Falls with spring cubs. In the fall, she often fishes the lower Brooks River and in the lake.
Life History:[]
Late 1990's: Dependent Offspring[]
402 first came to the Brooks River with her mother, 209 Beauty, in the late 1990's and has returned to the river every year since.
2001: 3.5 Year-Old Subadult, 1st Year Identified[]
402 was first identified as an independent subadult at the age of 3.5 years-old in 2001.
2002: 4.5 Year-Old Subadult[]
June 2002:[]
2002.06: 402 June 2002 NPS photographs from 2014 Bears of Brooks River book page 35:
July 2002:[]
2002.07.07-07.10: Park visitor Lewie Barber captured this video at Brooks Camp between 7/7-7/10/2002. A 4.5 year old 402 can be seen in the riffles entering the frame from the left at 3:27. The identification of 402 was confirmed by Mike Fitz on 6/8/2020.
2003: 5.5 Year-Old Single Adult Female[]
402 mated with 24 BB (aka Bald Butt). DNA confirmation has been obtained that 24 BB (aka Bald Butt) is also 402's father.
2004: Adult Female with 2 Spring Cubs, 1st Known Litter, 858 Artie & 859 Stella[]
402 returned to Brooks River with 2 spring cubs , 1 male and 1 female, her 1st known litter. These offspring were identified and classified as independent subadults in 2006. The male was 858 Artie and the female was 859 Stella.
DNA confirmed that 24 BB is the father of 858 Artie and 859. 24 BB is also 402's father, making 24 BB also the grandfather of 858 Artie & 859.
858 Artie was recorded using the Brooks River 2006-2010. 859 Stella was recorded during 2006 only.
July 2004:[]
2004:07: 402 July 2004 nursing her spring cubs NPS photograph from 2014 Bears of Brooks River book page 35:
Park visitor and cam viewer, Cog shared these two photos from his trip to Brooks Camp: Photo #1 402 (?) with 2 spring cubs and Photo #2 of the two spring cubs only . Cog shared a 2004 photo of 402 on 4/14/2020.
Please request Cog's permission prior to using his photographs!
2005: Adult Female with 2 Yearlings, 858 Artie & 859 Stella[]
402 returned to the Brooks River with her two yearlings from her 2004 litter. 402's two yearlings (independently identified in the future post emancipation as 858 Artie and 859 Stella) during the 2005 season can be seen in the NPS photograph below.:
2005 Season:[]
402 and her two yearlings (858 Artie and 859 Stella) can be seen fishing the lip of Brooks Falls in this video by Safari-Nordique R et M-C BUGAULT:
KATMAI en Alaska le site mondial des grizzlis pêchant le saumon by Safari-Nordique R et M-C BUGAULT
video by Safari-Nordique R et M-C BUGAULT
July 2005:[]
2005.07.03: Fitzroy Barrett captured this photo of 402 with her two yearlings, and these photos of just the two yearlings, 858 Artie and 859 Stella: Photo #1 , Photo #2 , & Photo #3, Photo #4 .
2005.07.14: This 7/14/2005 photo by George Georgiou appears to be 402 and her 2 yearlings 858 Artie and 859 Stella.
2005.07.16: DaceF captured photos of a sow with 2 yearlings on the lip on 7/16/2005. In photo #1, 402 is seen on the lip by herself. In photo #2, 402 is observed with her 2 yearlings 858 Artie and 859 Stella. On 8/29/2019, Mike Fitz confirmed the identifications.
2006: []
2006.05.27: 402 was observed on May 27, 2006 with her two 2.5 year old cubs from her 2004 litter, but was then observed without them later in the season. These cubs were given the numbers 858 Artie and 859 Stella. 858 was recorded using the Brooks River from 2006-2010 and 859 was recorded in 2006 only. Former Ranger Jeanne supplied this information in a chat comment in 2018. This 7/19/2008 photo by Ranger Jeanne is identified as "Artie (standing) and 218 Ugly."
2007: Adult Female with 1 Spring Cub[]
In 2007, 402 arrived at Brooks River with a single spring cub, her 2nd known litter, but soon lost it. 402 was observed on July 8, 2007 without the spring cub. 402 went back into estrus soon after the loss of this cub, and was observed being pursued by several male bears, most prominently 218 Ugly.
July 2007:[]
2007.07.08 or prior: This video by Hwaing Hsu from early July 2007 appears to be 402 catching a fish with her spring cub nearby.:
Brown bear mom with a new-born cub caught a fish, video by Hwaing Hsu
video by Hwaing Hsu
A 2nd video by Hwaing Hsu shows 402 catching a fish by the lower river bridge during a salmon boil. Mike Fitz commented on the video on 6/25/2019 and said "Yeah, that could be 402. That is an impressive fish boil.":
Brown bear with a new born cub caught a fish, video by Hwaing Hsu
video by Hwaing Hsu
2007.07.10: Steve Agrella captured 2 photos, #1 and #2, of a bear that appears to be 402 on 7/10/2007. If this is 402, it was after she had lost her spring cub. 402 went back into estrus soon after the loss of this cub, and was observed being pursued by several male bears, most prominently 218 Ugly.
September 2007:[]
2007.09: 402 September 2007 NPS photograph from 2014 Bears of Brooks River book page 35:
2008: Adult Female with 3 Spring Cubs, 3rd known Litter[]
If females lose their cubs early in the year as 402 did in 2007, they may mate and produce cubs the next summer. This happened to 402, in 2008 she returned to Brooks River with three spring cubs, her 3rd known litter.
2008 season:[]
In a 2008 video by Mark Emery, 402 is near the Brooks Falls platform and her 3 cubs are treed. The cubs climb down and the family leaves the falls area. The footage can be viewed from 2:33-3:04.
July 2008:[]
2008.07.??: 402 and her 3 cubs can be seen by the platform at Brooks Falls in this July, 2008 video by ebrewer333.
2008.07.18: Scott Michaels captured 2 photos of 402 and her spring cubs on 7/18/2008. In photo #1, 402 can be seen with 2 of her 3 spring cubs. In photo #2, 402 is seen protecting her cubs.
2008.07.26-07.29: Park visitor Jim Chagares photographed 402 and her 3 spring cubs between 7/26-7/29/2008, photo #'s 102-117, 169-180 and 191-199. Mike Fitz confirmed the identification from photos on a now inactive Flickr site . They can now be seen on Jim Chagare's website .
2008.07.27: Ranger Jeanne's photos of the 402 family group, the cubs are treed near Brooks Falls: Photo #1 402 below with her 3 spring cubs treed, and Photo #2 402's 3 spring cubs treed.
2009:[]
402 returned to Brooks River with three yearlings from her 2008 litter.
2009 season:[]
Park visitor Kathy Watkins (kathy90265) shared 2 Instagram photos of 402 and her 3 yearlings as they fished the lip.
June 2009:[]
2009.06.26: Park visitor, foreseit, captured 402 and her 3 yearlings in this video:
2009.06.28 - 2009.06.29: Michael shared this photo of 402's three yearlings. Michael ~ M. B. Crawley Photography shared this June 2009 photo of 402 with her 3 yearlings.:
Please request Michael's / M. B Crawley Photography's permission prior to using his photograph!
2009.06.26: Park visitor foreseit captured 402 and her 3 yearlings from 0:00-5:05 in this 7/26/2009 video. Note: 402 and her yearlings were not known to be called "The Stanleys" by NPS.
2009.06.28: Bocaflip captured many photos of 402 and her 3 yearlings in 2009. On 6/28/2009 there are 11 photos: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10 and #11.
Park visitor bocaflip captured 3 photos of 402 and her 3 yearlings on 6/29/2009: #1, #2 and #3.
July 2009:[]
2009.07.??: Casey Anderson was at Brooks Camp in July of 2009 to film for National Geographic when he captured this video where 402 with her 3 yearlings and 438 Flo with her two 2.5 year old cubs appear in the beginning of it. (Note: the names used in the National Geographic video are not the official nicknames used by the park).
2009.07.??: July 2009 video of 402 nursing her yearlings by Peter Thiemann:
2009.07.??: At about the 30 second mark into this flickr video by Peter Thiemann 402 and 409 are both on the lip with 402's 2008 litter. You can see how much bigger 402 is than 409, who is herself a large sow. 409 Beadnose can be heard growling at 402 in this video.
2009.07.19: Ranger Jeanne's photo of 402's yearlings.
2009.07.25: Park visitor, ConstantineD, captured these photos of the 402 family group: Photo #1 402 with her 3 yearlings and Photo #2 402's 3 yearlings.
August 2009:[]
2009.08.07: Park visitor, Peter Thiemann, captured this video of 402 nursing her 3 yearlings. (Note the video is on Peter's flickr which is not able to be linked to play on 402's wiki page)
September 2009:[]
2009.09.18: Wholeworldgonecrazy captured this 9/18/2009 video with 402 and her large yearlings seen from 0:00-1:21 and 2:07-2:31.
2010:[]
July 2010:[]
2010.07: 402 in July 2010 NPS photograph from 2012 Bears of Brooks Camp iBook:
2010.07.08: 402 mated with 218 Ugly and 856 on the evening of July 8, 2010. Brooks Camp's July 9, 2010 tweet .:
2011: Adult Female with 3 Spring Cubs, 4th Known Litter[]
402 returned to Brooks River with 3 spring cubs
Summer 2011:[]
Park visitor Dan Leffel captured some fantastic Summer 2011 images of 402 with her 3 spring cubs beginning at approximately 8:24-9:07 in this video:
2011 Season:[]
402 with her 3 spring cubs can be seen in this 2011 video by IndianaStateU from 0:51-1:12.
Katmai National Park 2011 by IndianaStateU
video by IndianaStateU
402 and her 3 spring cubs are seen in an early season video by Ruebeena Bokhari.
Alaska 2011, video by Rubeena Bokhari
video by Ruebeena Bokhari
July 2011:[]
2011.07.12: Park visitor Mark Nicholas captured this video during his trip to Brooks Camp. 402 and her 3 spring cubs can be seen from 0:07-0:24 and 0:47-2:48.
Brooks Lodge, Katmai - Grizzly (Brown) Bears Fishing and Bear with Cubs July 12, 2011 by Mark Nicholas-0
video by Mark Nicholas
2011.07.??:
Sometime after Mark Nicholas' video above, in July 2011, after a prolonged confrontation with 856, 402 and her smallest cub became separated. During this time, the cub was completely defenseless. 856 later returned to the falls and killed the cub. (The video below does not show 856 killing the cub.)
Mike Fitz commented on July 20, 2018 at 10:55 and 11:30 about this incident:
This July 31, 2011 blog post: My Adventures in Alaska documents this story. Curiously, 856 was seen mating with 402 in 2010. Therefore, he could have potentially killed his own offspring.
2011.07.?? Oliviayhu captured 2 videos of 402 fishing at Brooks Falls after the loss of her smallest spring cub. In the first video, 402 is seen fishing the lip while her 2 spring cubs sit on the bank.:
In the 2nd video, 402 has caught a fish which she is eating in front of the platform. The cubs rush over to try to get some fish. 402 appears quite thin.:
2011.09.08: Ranger Jeanne observed 402 with her 2 remaining spring cubs on 9/8/2011, photo by Ranger Jeanne.
2011.09.25: By September 25, 2011 402 had lost another spring cub from this litter. Ranger Jeanne captured this 9/25/2011 photo of the remaining spring cub outside of the Brooks Camp visitor center.
2012:[]
402 was included in the 2012 Bears of Brooks Camp iBook:
402 lost her only remaining cub from her 2011 litter by spring of 2012, and returned to the Brooks River area as a single female in 2012.
July 2012:[]
2012.07.??: 402 can be seen fishing the lip and fishing and diving in the jacuzzi in this July, 2012 video by Derg8170. 402 is observed from 0:20-2:24 and 2:30-2:55. Mike Fitz confirmed 402's identification on 2/16/2021. 274 Overflow is the bear seen in the beginning of the video. 854 Divot is briefly seen at 2:25.
2012.07.??: 402 (near) and 744 Dent (far) are seen fishing the lip in this July, 2012 video by 72chevelle454.
2012.07.06: 402 can be seen diving in the jacuzzi and successfully catching fish in this 7/6/2012 video by endoplasmic1357.
Alaska 20120706 09 Bear gets fish
402 diving in the jacuzzi and catching fish, 7/6/2012 video by endoplasmic1357
September 2012:[]
2012.09.04 or prior: Park visitor rebeccabas captured video of 402 fishing the lip on 9/4/2012 or prior.
2013: Adult Female with 3 Spring Cubs, 5th known litter[]
2013 Season:[]
402 and her three spring cubs (503 Cubadult is believed to be one of them) can be seen in this video by Kara Stenberg. 409 Beadnose and her 3 yearlings (500 Indy and 717 are believed to be two of them) are the 1st sow and cubs seen in the video. Footage of 402 and her 3 spring cubs (503 Cubadult) begins at 1:39 and continues at 2:18. 89 Backpack and 32 Chunk can be seen beginning at 3:08.
402 and her 3 spring cubs can be seen near the falls in this 2013 season video by Matt Hirt. Matt Hirt shared this information about his video .:
"Hi SnowCrane, glad you were enjoying it...what an amazing place! I'm fortunate to have visited twice and the footage here is a combination of both years. The first half was shot in 2010 and shows (I believe) bear 608 (with 2 small spring cubs) and 438 Flo (on sand spit with two very large cubs). The second half (change of music) was shot in 2013 and you are absolutely correct, that is 402 with her 3 spring cubs. As you probably know, 2 of these little guys didn't return from hibernation in 2014 and the remaining one (503) became a "bear celebrity" of sorts after 402 abandoned him as a yearling and he was later adopted by 435 Holly."
Theresa Bielawski shared 2013 photos of 402 and her 3 spring cubs on 1/10/2021. One of these cubs is 503. Theresa commented "Here is 503 his first year in 2013 - not sure which one is him. One pic looks like a 4th cub, but just mom's back leg." Photo #1 is 402 with her 3 spring cubs, photos #2 and #3 are the 3 spring cubs, photo #4 is one spring cub. Please request Theresa Bielawski's permission prior to using her photographs!
July 2013:[]
2013.07.09: Rebecca Latson , Where the Trails Take you Photography , captured multiple photos of 402 and her 3 spring cubs on 7/9/2013. Photos #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15 and #16.
2013.07.10: GCphotoproductions captured 3 photos of 402 and her 3 spring cubs on 7/10/2013, #1 402 with 3 spring cubs,#2 402 with 2 of 3 spring cubs and #3 402 with 3 spring cubs on the point. GCphotoproductions also filmed a 7/10/2013 video where 402 and her 3 spring cubs can be viewed from 1:16-1:33.
SandyK29 captured a 7/10/2019 photo of 402 and her 3 spring cubs in camp.
2013.07.13: SandyK29 photographed 402 and her 3 spring cubs on 7/13/2013, photos #1 and #2. Sandy noted that "This sow and her three cubs liked to hang out near our cabin at Brook's Lodge. They would go down to the beach and then head up through the grassy area right in front of our cabin."
2013.07.16 Approximately 18:40: Two of 402's spring cubs wash over Brooks Falls video by MsDebbiB. Adult female, 813 Nostril Bear is the bear below the falls that 402 has the interaction with:
402r has a real scare when 2 of her cubs fall in the water at the fall July 16, 2013 video by MsDebbiB
video by MsDebbiB
Explore also provided this highlight video of the event:
Cub Drama at Brooks Falls - Mother 402 Protects Her Cubs July 16, 2013 video by Explore
Explore Highlights Video
Wild Nature Videos provided this footage:
Katmai National Park Bears Mother Protects Her Cubs at Brooks Falls. by Wild Nature Videos
video by Wild Nature Videos
402 and her 3 spring cubs after the 2 cubs wash over the falls. Video by Gusty Stambaugh:
Bear cubs are a handful. 402 with her spring cubs July 2013 video by Gusty Stambaugh
Video by Gusty Stambaugh
On July 17, 2013 Ranger Mike Fitz was able to watch the video footage of 402's spring cubs going over the falls and shared the following comment:
"I just got a chance to watch the video of 402’s cubs getting swept over the falls. These cams really give great insight into the dramas of nature.
402 will regularly fish the lip of the falls, even when she is caring for cubs. She is unconsciously weighing the risks of fishing at Brooks Falls versus the reward of food. There may be many other places along Brooks River to fish, but at this time of year none are typically as rewarding as Brooks Falls.
As many of you know, cubs do face many risks in their young lives. In the video, the cubs are swept over the falls as they attempt to follow their mother into the river. Spring cubs (also called cubs of the year) cannot swim nearly as well as an adult bear. The current was too strong for them and they were swept over.
One bear standing below the falls noticeably reacts to the cubs in the water. Just before the cubs were swept over, the bear was facing away from them. It appears that the other bear reacted to the objects washing over the falls. Bears are adapted to take advantage of situations where food is provided to them. If, for example, a beaver had washed over the falls then the bear might also have attacked it.
All of the bears at the falls were once small cubs like 402’s current litter and they all faced the same risks. 402’s protectiveness may have saved one or more of her offspring last night. When you are watching nature’s drama unfold at the falls, be prepared to witness some harsh realities."
2013.07.19: Juergen created these gifs of 402 and her spring cubs: Gif #1 & Gif #2:
2013.07.20: 402 with her 3 spring cubs (503 Cubadult is one of them) video by MsDebbiB.:
2013.07.21: 402 is seen with 1 of her 3 spring cubs in this 7/21/2013 photo by Andrew Hall.
Ranger Jeanne captured this 7/21/2013 photo of one of 402's spring cubs.
2013.07.23: 402 with her 3 spring cubs video by Live Video & Webcams of the World:
2013.07.25 or prior: Jen Moorman posted this video on 7/25/2013. 402 is seen with her 3 spring cubs one of whom is 503 Cubadult. In a 2nd video also posted on 7/25/2013, 402 is seen fishing the lip.
2013.07.26 - 2013.07.27: Footage of 402 and her 3 spring cubs begins at approximately the 0:12 mark into this video by Alaska. The family can be seen through 2:09. 503 Cubadult is one of these offspring.:
Juergen created this gif of 402 and her spring cubs.
2013.07.27: 402 and her 3 spring cubs are seen walking under the viewing platform in this 7/27/2013 video by Eiji Takeshima.
August 2013:[]
2013.08.04 or prior: In a Justin Gibson video published on 8/4/2013, 402 is seen walking under the platform with all 3 spring cubs, 0:57-1:04.
A 2nd video by Justin Gibson published on 1/4/2016, shows 402 playing in a grassy area with 2 of her spring cubs. It is assumed that this video is also from the same 2013 trip to Brooks Falls.
September 2013:[]
2013.09.?? 402 lost one of these spring cubs in September 2013 when the cub was fatally injured up near Lake Brooks.
2013.09.15: This 9/15/2013 photo by Tony and Manal appears to show 402 with all 3 of her spring cubs.
2013.09.25: Ranger Roy Wood & Ranger Mike Fitz discuss the cub that was killed near Lake Brooks, possibly 402's missing spring cub, in this September 25, 2013 live chat beginning at approximately 07:00 into this video . At approximately 15:25 into the video they state that the deceased cub weighed 63.5 pounds.:
October 2013:[]
2013.10.02: Linda R. Jett captured this 10/2/2013 video of 402 and her remaining 2 spring cubs feeding in the riffles.
Katmai National Park & Preserve, Brooks Bear Camp, Alaska - 402 & cubs Part 1 , 10 2 2013 video by Linda R. Jett
In a 2nd 10/2/2013 video by Linda R. Jett, 402 and 1 of her 2 spring cubs are seen fishing at the falls. 402 is observed diving in the jacuzzi multiple times but only catching a fish on the 2nd attempt. The dives are at 1:36, 2:05 🐟, 2:59, 3:23 and 3:35.
Katmai National Park & Preserve, Brooks Bear Camp, Alaska - 402 and Cubs Part 1, 10 2 2013 video by Linda R. Jett
2013.10.11: In this 10/11/2013 video by Linda R. Jett, 402 and her remaining 2 spring cubs are seen in the riffles area, scavenging salmon before going to den.
2013.10.31: 402 with her two remaining spring cubs video by Linda Jett:
November 2013:[]
2013.11.03: Possibly 402 with her two remaining spring cubs video by Linda Jett:
Sow and 2 Cubs Cut Bank 1 11 3 2013 342 PM by Linda Jett (possibly 402 with 2 remaining spring cubs)
2013.11.05 or prior: One of 402's remaining spring cubs can be seen sliding off the falls in the beginning of this Explore video posted on 11/5/2013 or earlier. 402 rushes out to the cub and can be seen jaw popping or possibly calling her 2nd cub.
402 lost a second cub prior to returning to the Brooks River area in 2014. 503 Cubadult was the surviving spring cub from this litter.
2014:[]
402 was included in the 2014 Bears of Brooks River book on page 35:
2014 Season:[]
2014.??.??: Explore's video "503 Finds a New Family | Memorable Moments in Bearcam History" published on August 22, 2022. Mike Fitz narrates the story of yearling 503 Cubadult finding his new family, 435 Holly and her spring cub 719.
June 2014:[]
In June 2014, 402 returned to Brooks River with one cub remaining from her 2013 litter. That cub became known as 503 Cubadult in 2014.
2014.06.22: 402 returned to Brooks Camp with 503, her one remaining yearling from her 2013 litter of three spring cubs. The family group was captured in this video by Various Videos1 (aka LucyB-MA):
2014.06.24:
402 and yearling (now known as 503 Cubadult) gifs by Juergen:
2014.06.26: 402 returning to Brooks Camp with one remaining yearling prompted Michael Fitz, Visual Information Specialist in Katmai, to elaborate on the dangers cubs face: “Cubs in Katmai have a high mortality rate, especially in their first year. As many as 2/3 of cubs may not survive their first summer. As you can imagine, cubs face many risks in their young lives and while we do not know how #402 lost two of her three cubs it could be any number of natural risks: drowning, falling out of trees, undernourishment, getting lost or other bears. These are just some of the risks these young bears face.”
2014.06.27 - 2014.06.29: Ranger Jeanne observed 402 with her remaining male yearling at Brooks Camp. Ranger Jeanne has the following photos of 503 when he was 402's dependent yearling on her flicker: 402's dependent yearling 06/29/2014 and 402's dependent yearlings 06/29/2014
2014.06.29: 402 NPS photo from Katmai Terrane Blog: Previously On Bearcam published June 23, 2015:
July 2014:[]
2014.07.??: 402 and her remaining yearling (now known as 503 Cubadult), still bonded as a family group, can be seen in this video by 117jmg from the 3:27 - 3:45 and 4:31 - 4:50 marks:
2014.07.??: 503 was photographed shaking off water by Alexey Tishchenko in July 2014. Alexey's photos can be seen in: Wild Thing! The grizzly bear that likes to boogie by Benjamin Russell
and
FUR-iller: boogying bear practices iconic dance routine by Caters News Agency
2014.07.??: Jimmie Robinson captured video of 402 and her remaining yearling (now known as 503 Cubadult) fishing the lip at Brooks Falls. In the beginning of the footage (6:33-, the yearling can be seen clinging to the wall as he is struggling not to wash over the falls.
2014.07.??: In a July photo by Laura Lyn Photography 402 is seen with her yearling on top of the fish ladder by Brooks Falls.
2014.07.??: 402 and her yearling were photographed on the beach by photographer Vanshion. The exact dates are not known, photo #1, photo #2 and photo #3.
402's remaining cub from her 2013 litter, now a yearling, was separated from 402 for extended periods of time and was eventually abandoned while 856 courted and mated with 402 in July 2014.
2014.07.??: Joan Wallner captured 2 photos of 402 when she still had 503 with her, #1 and #2.
Joan Wallner also recorded a July, 2014 video of 402 with 503.
Joan Wallner's July, 2014 photo of 503 treed. It is unclear which separation this was. Joan Wallner's comment "This yearling cub became separated from his mom, so climbed a tree for safety in the middle of Brooks Camp at Katmai National Park. This is the cub that was adopted by the famous grizzly mom, Holly, in 2014."
2014.07.01: 402 and yearling are seen at the mouth of Brooks River on July 1, 2014.
_near_the_mouth_of_the_Brooks_River_July_1,_2014_.01.jpg "402 and yearling (503) near the mouth of the Brooks River July 1, 2014 .01.jpg (131 KB)")
_near_the_mouth_of_the_Brooks_River_July_1,_2014_.02.jpg "402 and yearling (503) near the mouth of the Brooks River July 1, 2014 .02.jpg (142 KB)")
_near_the_mouth_of_the_Brooks_River_July_1,_2014_.03.jpg "402 and yearling (503) near the mouth of the Brooks River July 1, 2014 .03.jpg (152 KB)")
402's yearling (503 Cubadult) rests in a tree near Brooks Lodge for nearly 10 hours. NPS photo by Mike Fitz July 1, 2014
"July 1, 2014 was a stressful day for rangers and one yearling cub at Brooks Camp. Around 10 AM bear #402 became separated from her cub near the mouth of the Brooks River. The yearling walked and ran to Brooks Lodge and climbed a tree just outside of the lodge. The cub was not reunited with its mother until 8:15 PM.
Several rangers and I had the fortune (or misfortune after several hours) of watching the cub in the tree. The cub was so close to the buildings at Brooks Lodge that people could not use the lodge bathhouse or access several cabins. The cub was less than 50 yards from the back door of the lodge kitchen and dining hall.
What happened? Where was the cub’s mother? Bear 402 and her yearling cub were at the mouth of the Brooks River fishing around 10 AM. The yearling cub swam across the river as 402 fished downstream. 402 lost track of the cub and did not know where it was. The cub didn’t seem to know where its mother was either. 402 began searching for the cub on the opposite side of the river. Shortly after the family was separated, 402 disappeared into the forest at the mouth of the Brooks River. By this time, the yearling cub had wandering to Brooks Lodge and climbed a tree. With 402 nowhere in sight and her cub treed in camp, rangers were in a bit of jam.
Contrary to popular belief brown bears can climb trees. I have seen cubs and adult bears do it. Brown bears are not likely to climb trees when threatened, but they can and sometimes do. When a bear climbs a tree, it won’t climb down until it no longer feels threatened. With a few hundred people moving by Brooks Lodge, the cub was likely not coming down anytime soon.
Bears have climbed trees at Brooks Lodge before, but those situations are usually short in duration. Typically, rangers have to keep people away from the bear and it will climb down and depart in short order. Having a lone cub treed in camp with no mother to be found was unprecedented. Our initial hope was that 402 would catch the cub’s scent and track it into camp. Mother bears will call their cubs down out of trees with a huff. This time, 402 was missing in action.
The cub was very high in the tree. We knew it was stressed. There is no way to get it out of the tree. It had to come down on its own. However, people still want to walk around the lodge and they still want to eat lunch. Brooks Lodge staff still has to meet airplanes on the beach only 100 yards (91 m) away and move luggage to the lodge with a vehicle less than 50 yards (46 m) from the treed cub. Unfortunately, it was not feasible to shut the camp down for the cub. All the noise and people likely kept the cub in the tree—for hours.
Around 5:30 PM, the cub decided to climb down the tree. Rangers instructed people to enter buildings, stay out of the cub’s line of sight, and give it space to go on it’s way. Any noise could startle the cub and cause it climb to the tree again. Spreading that message is hard though. As the cub got to the base of the tree, a plane started its engine and spooked the cub. It climbed back up the tree and stayed there. Remember, the cub climbed the tree around 10 AM.
Around 6 PM, the cub climbed down the tree again. This time it was not startled by people or engines and left the lodge area on it’s own. Its mother was still nowhere to be found. The cub walked along the beach away from the lodge and toward the campground. Perhaps uncomfortable without its mother, it soon returned to the lodge and climbed a tree.
I felt sympathy for the cub, but I was frustrated by the situation. There was essentially nothing we could do to coax the cub down and away from the buildings. This was clearly a place where it felt some comfort and safety. Otherwise it would not have returned. We couldn’t do anything more than watch and wait.
People walking by Brooks Lodge could easily see the yearling cub in the tree (yellow circle). July 1, 2014 NPS photo by Mike Fitz
Finally around 8 PM, the cub came out of the tree. 402 whereabouts were still unknown. Several rangers worked hard to keep people inside of buildings. No planes were on the beach and the cub had free reign. Still, it was alone. It wanted its mother. It tried to return to the lodge, but eventually left that area and walked back to the river.
Shortly after it reached the river it began to bawl. Cubs bawl when they are hungry or otherwise trying to get mother’s attention. This was something it rarely did in the tree. The bawling clearly got the attention of one bear that swam across the river towards it. When I heard that another bear was approaching the cub, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The other bear could ignore it, kill it, or scare it back to the lodge.
To my amazement, the bear that was approaching the cub was 402, his mother. She must have been near the mouth of the river and heard the cub’s bawling. After 10 hours of separation, they were finally back together. The family was last seen moving upriver into the forest.
402 reunited with her yearling cub at Brooks River, not far from Brooks Lodge July 1, 2014 Explore Live Cam snapshot
This was a happy ending for the family, but it highlights the challenges of managing people and bears at Brooks Camp. The facilities at Brooks Camp—lodge, employee housing, and visitor center—are located in perfect bear habitat. It is difficult to reconcile the different needs of people and bears. The situation may have resolved itself sooner if we were not around. At minimum, the bear would have been able to move freely without our interference.
But, Brooks Camp is a place for people too. A cub in a tree near the lodge is not a simple matter to deal with and the camp can’t shut down for the sake of the cub. When you watch the bearcams or visit Katmai, think about our relationship with the animals as well as how a park should be used and managed. Parks are for people and well as wildlife and ecosystems. For generations, people have been debating how to balance the needs of people and animals. In a place like Brooks Camp, the needs of people and wildlife are bared for all to see. How do you provide for the needs of people at a place like Brooks Camp and give bears the space they need to survive?"
19:55: Watch 402 and her yearling cub being reunited on the bank of Brooks River in this Explore Documentary Film .
Explore also created this video that is similar to the version above...except this version also includes snips of Ranger Roy's and cam viewer's comments as they were watching this amazing event unfold. I doubt you will be sorry if you invest the time to watch both.:
2014.07.02: The challenges NPS staff and park visitors faced on 07/01/2014 when 402's yearling treed himself for nearly ten hours less than 50 yards from the back door of the lodge kitchen and dining hall in close proximity to many Brooks Lodge buildings prompted Ranger Mike Fitz to share this KNP&P Terrane blog: The Challenges of Managing Bears and People at Brooks Camp by Ranger Mike Fitz .
2014.07.04: Ranger Jeanne's photo of 402 with yearling
2014.07.08: Stmango's video of 402 and 503 together at the falls on 07/08/2014:
Cam viewer Janie Nook captured this video of 402's male yearling as he learns from 402 while she fishes the lip of the falls on 7/8/2014.
Bud Marschner captured these photos (#1 & #2 ) of 402 and her remaining yearling (503) on July 8, 2014. Bud Marschner describes the first as a family portrait, of course not realizing they would be some of the last portraits of the family group. Bud also captured this photo of 435 Holly and her spring cub (719) the day before the photos of 402 and yearling 503.
Between 2014.07.01 and 2014.07.09: Theresa Bielawski photographed 402 with her yearling cub 503 during her July 2014 trip to Brooks Camp, photos #1, #2, #3, #4 and #5. Theresa shared these photos on 1/10/2021. Theresa explained that the photos were taken after the first separation of 503 from 402, so these photos were taken between 7/1/2014 and 7/9/2014. "Here is 503 in 2014. Mom had left him in camp a few days, reunited with him, then abandoned him for good. These were taken the week 402 was reunited with him before she abandoned him for good."
Please request Theresa Bielawski's permission prior to using her photographs!
2014.07.09: On the night of 07/09/2014, 402's remaining male yearling (503) was observed in a spruce tree approximately 100 meters behind the Brooks Falls wildlife viewing platform. (see Ranger Mike's 07/11/2014 12:28 comments snips below)
It is possible that this video captured by park visitors, laddnshirl is footage from the last time that 856 separated 402 from her 1.5 year-old yearling (now known as 503).
Mother and cub grizzly with big male - Brooks Falls, Katmai National Park, Alaska, video by laddnshirl
2014.07.10: On the morning of 07/10/2014, 402's remaining male yearling (503) was observed in the same tree approximately 100 meteres behind the Brooks Falls wildlife viewing platform that he was observed in on the night of 07/09/2014. The yearling was still in the tree at 21:00 on 07/10/2014 (see Ranger Mike;s 07/11/2014 12:28 comments snips below). When Ranger Mike walked by the area of the tree around 22:00 on 07/10/2014, he did hear the cub bawling a little.
2014.07.11: On the morning of 07/11/2014, 402's remaining male yearling (503) was no longer in the tree 100 meters behind the Brooks Falls wildlife viewing platform. 856 is still following 402 and the whereabouts of 402's remaining male yearling is not known.
Ranger Mike Fitz comments on 07/11/2014 at 12:28 about what has been observed of 402, her remaining male yearling (503), and 856 from 07/09/2014 - 07/11/2014:
Ranger Mike also shared this 07/11/2014 KNP&P blog: Surprises of the Bear World.
2014.07.13: Ranger Jeanne comments that she has no new information on 402's remaining yearling (503), but she has observed 402 twice this morning being pursued by 856. Ranger Jeanne said that 402 is ranging about half mile down river from the falls since she observed 856 pursuing 402 in the oxbow area. When asked if in her experience she would say that 402's remaining yearling was on his own to survive, Ranger Jeanne replied that she has never seen a sow without one of her cubs for such a long period of time and then experienced them reuniting. Ranger Jeanne said she has also never observed a male bear pursue a female in the way that resembles courting while she still had a dependent cub. She said she observed 402 quite a bit this weekend, but never with her cub. She said it does not necessarily mean that the cub is definitely on its own, but Ranger Jeanne did not personally see them together.
2014.07.14:
Ranger Mike updates the Surprises of the Bear World KNP&P blog from 07/11/2014.
"856 was still following 402 on Sunday (07/13/2014). Reports of 856 following a different female may have been erroneous.
I watched 402’s former yearling cub wander through Brooks Camp alone at 8 AM this morning. A ranger also reported seeing it alone on Saturday morning (07/12/2014). 402 appears to have abandoned this cub. Why? I don’t know. Bears might abandon their cubs if the cubs are too weak to keep up or if the mother can’t devote the energy needed to support the cubs. I also don’t know if this cub is truly abandoned. Although very rare, mother bears have been separated from their cubs for over 2 weeks before reuniting. We haven’t observed 402 abandon a cub before, but this behavior is not unprecedented amongst brown bears.
It’s also important to note that 856 showed no interest in the yearling during the past week. His actions indicate that he is interested in mating with 402. He was never seen chasing the yearling or even investigating the yearling when it was treed near Brooks Falls. His consistent pursuit of 402 certainly didn’t help the yearling, but he may not have been the reason for its abandonment. 402 may have gone into estrus and abandoned the yearling anyway.
Is 402 a “bad” mother for abandoning her yearling? It would seem so from a human perspective, but we cannot define or label bears with our system of cultural norms, ethics, and morals. Bears and wild animals exist in a world outside of these things. 402 doesn’t have the ability to control her estrus cycle, no more so than a woman can. If she went back into estrus (which appears likely now), then 856 or any other adult male would be looking to mate with her. She would be unable to care for a cub while being closely pursued by a dominant adult male.
402’s former yearling cub should now be called a subadult bear since it is now appears to be on its own.It faces an uphill battle to survive this summer."
2014.07.16 Approximately 16:00: Ranger Sheri Anderson, KNP&P Wildlife Biologist observes 503 eating a fish on the trail to the campground that he caught himself and captured this photo:
_eating_a_fish_he_caught_himself_July_16,_2014_photo_by_Ranger_Sheri_Anderson.jpg "402's yearling (503) eating a fish he caught himself July 16, 2014 photo by Ranger Sheri Anderson.jpg (60 KB)")
You can see Ranger Roy show the photo from Ranger Sheri's phone at approximately 38:00 into this live chat video from 07/16/2014:
2014.07.17: 435 Holly and her spring cub (719) were observed on the lower river cam alone (503 was not with them at this time), gif by Juergen can be viewed here .
2014.07.18: 503, now an independent subadult bear, is treed near Brooks Lodge again. Ranger Mike goes live from near Brooks Lodge where 503 is treed. Video by Various Videos1 (aka LucyB-MA):
2014.07.20 (Sunday):
402 and 856 were observed mating per Ranger Mike's 07/22/2014 comment:
"Last night (07/21/2014) Ranger Jeanne hinted that I had some news to share. I’d like to watch the speculation run wild, but you don’t need to be on the edge any longer than necessary.
First of all, it is not about 489 Ted. We still haven’t seen him. The news that I have isn’t that earth shattering. In fact, for those of you following the bears closely over the past two weeks, it might be an expected event.
Last Sunday (07/20/2014), 856 and 402 mated near Brooks Falls. This confirms what many of us suspected – that 402 was in estrus. Like I’d written about previously, this is odd because she still had a yearling cub to attend to until it was left to fend for itself around July 9. Bears are full of surprises though.
I would be even more surprised if 402 reunites with her former cub, now a 1.5-year-old subadult bear, since she has mated. For now, I’m going to assume she’ll follow the “typical” pattern for a single adult female and go her own way. The 1.5-year-old will have to fend for itself (by the way, we haven’t seen that bear in a few days to the best of my knowledge)."
Let’s not forget about 856 and his need either. He followed 402 for about 11 days waiting for the opportunity to mate. As a very dominant bear, he can take advantage of these situations because no other bear has challenged him for females this summer. He’s much thinner, however, than other large males like 747 and 814 Lurch, so 856 was sacrificing weight for the opportunity to sire more offspring."
Park visitor, Tim Auer was in the perfect place at the perfect time (just like CalliopeJane always seems to be) and not only observed 402 and 856 mating, but he also captured some incredible photographs of the mating pair . After returning from his trip to Brooks Camp, Tim Auer posted in the bearcam comments to share the experience You can see more of Tim Auer's photos (here) , and read his blog about his observations of 402 and 856 mating on his blog at this link: After Hours: The Story of 856 and 402 by Tim Auer Katmai After Hours: The Story of 856 and 402 by Tim Auer . Tim's friend and fellow wildlife photographer, Meril, was also with him when 402 and 856 were observed mating. You can view Meril's photos here .
In a 7/20/2018 Explore blog titled "How does a bear family break up", Mike Fitz reflects back on the events surrounding 503 Cubadult's separation from 402. He writes "At the time, and until somewhat recently, I stated that 402 had “abandoned” her yearling (now known as 503). While this might be true in a sense, I no longer think that this is an accurate way of describing the event. After reading more about the emancipation process, I’ve come to believe 402 didn’t abandon her yearling in 2014. She emancipated him."
KNP&P visitor and bearcam viewer CalliopeJane (aka Tina Crowe) visited Margot Creek on 07/25/2014 on guided tour with Naknek River Camp and took photos of a sow with 2 cubs. The sow appears to be 435 Holly with 1 small, dark spring cub and 1 blond yearling. 435 Holly was seen earlier this summer on the Brooks River with 1 spring cub. The blond yearling may be bear 402's emancipated yearling, known informally as the "Cubadult".
CalliopeJane reported observing the sow and cubs for an hour before they ran off into the woods. At this point it is not clear if 435 Holly is merely tolerating the presence of the yearling or if she has "adopted" it and will continue to allow it to stay with her and her spring cub. Tina captured these photos:
Please request Tina Crowe's permission prior to using her photos!
_with_her_spring_cub_(719_left))_and_adopted_yearling_(503_right)_July_25,_2014_photo_by_Tina_Crowe_(aka_CalliopeJane)_at_Margot_Creek.jpg "435 Holly (center) with her spring cub (719 left)) and adopted yearling (503 right) July 25, 2014 photo by Tina Crowe (aka CalliopeJane) at Margot Creek.jpg (75 KB)")
_with_her_spring_cub_(719_foreground,_right)_and_adopted_yearling_(503_foreground,_left)_July_25,_2014_photo_by_Tina_Crowe_(aka_CalliopeJane)_at_Margot_Creek.jpg "435 Holly (background) with her spring cub (719 foreground, right) and adopted yearling (503 foreground, left) July 25, 2014 photo by Tina Crowe (aka CalliopeJane) at Margot Creek.jpg (50 KB)")
_with_her_spring_cub_(719_background,_left)_and_adopted_yearling_(503_foreground,_right)_July_25,_2014_photo_by_Tina_Crowe_(aka_CalliopeJane_at_Margot_Creek.jpg "435 Holly (background, center) with her spring cub (719 background, left) and adopted yearling (503 foreground, right) July 25, 2014 photo by Tina Crowe (aka CalliopeJane at Margot Creek.jpg (283 KB)")
_with_her_spring_cub_(719_background,_center)_and_adopted_yearling_(503_foreground,_right)_July_25,_2014_photo_by_Tina_Crowe_(aka_CalliopeJane)_at_Margot_Creek.jpg "435 Holly (left) with her spring cub (719 background, center) and adopted yearling (503 foreground, right) July 25, 2014 photo by Tina Crowe (aka CalliopeJane) at Margot Creek.jpg (249 KB)")
_and_adopted_yearling_(503_right)_July_25,_2014_photo_by_Tina_Crowe_(aka_CalliopeJane_at_Margot_Creek.jpg "435 Holly's spring cub (719 left) and adopted yearling (503 right) July 25, 2014 photo by Tina Crowe (aka CalliopeJane at Margot Creek.jpg (340 KB)")
_and_adopted_yearling_(503_left)_July_25,_2014_photo_by_Tina_Crowe_(aka_CalliopeJane)_at_Margot_Creek.jpg "435 Holly's spring cub (719 right) and adopted yearling (503 left) July 25, 2014 photo by Tina Crowe (aka CalliopeJane) at Margot Creek.jpg (184 KB)")
2014.07.27:
Ranger Jeanne and Ranger Roy have a behind the scenes conversation about Tina Crowe's (aka CalliopeJane) photos of a sow with two cubs (one smaller spring cub and one larger yearling) Tina posted from her time at Margot Creek:
[7/27/14 10:08:54 PM] Jeanne: Are you still there? If so, look at my account and check out the pictures CalliopeJane posted from her trip to Margot. It looks like 435 Holly with a spring cub and a yearling.
[7/27/14 10:21:40 PM] Roy: Your Flickr account?
[7/27/14 10:23:59 PM] Jeanne: No, sorry, my Disqus account
[7/27/14 10:35:54 PM] Roy: Ummm. That looks like Holly, Gregory, and Cubadult
[7/27/14 10:35:59 PM] Jeanne: yup
[7/27/14 10:36:02 PM] Jeanne: that's what I was thinking
[7/27/14 10:36:11 PM] Jeanne: Now I am really wishing we had gone to Margot this weekend
[7/27/14 10:36:15 PM] Roy: Has Mike seen it?
[7/27/14 10:36:22 PM] Jeanne: Emailed them to Fitz but he won't see until the morning
[7/27/14 10:36:24 PM] Roy: We need some DNA, stat!
(Note: "Gregory" was a nickname Ranger Roy was using for 435 Holly's spring cub ~ before we knew 719 was a female ~ think type of Backpack , when Ranger Roy learned that 719 was a female....well, Kelty would work!)
2014.07.28 at 15:44: Calliope Jane's comment in bear chat on 7/28/2014: "Ranger Jeanne is awesome! I posted a pic of a mother and 2 cubs at Margot Creek and she says they appear to be a spring cub and a yearling from different mothers. So awesome that the mom was taking good care of both cubs. When a large male appeared on the river the mom herded both cubs into a run down the beach and took them both to safety in trees. This was right before they disappeared."
Ranger Roy's reply to CalliopeJane (aka Tina Crowe) in bearcam comments re: her photos of 435 Holly and 503 from Margot Creek and possible adoption: "While we are cautious by nature, a few of us believe you may have captured a shot of Holly, her spring cub, and 402’s “Cubadult”. Keep in mind, that adoptions are extremely rare, and this may simply be that Holly is tolerant, not fully accepting of the older cub. We intend to take a trip to Margot and investigate, and we reserve the right to completely change our minds later. Congrats on a really cool series of shots, CalliopeJane!"
2014.09.05: 435 Holly returned to the mouth of Brooks River with her spring cub (719) and yearling, 503 Cubadult.
503 and 435 Holly nuzzle in this 9/5/2014 video by JoeBear. 435 Holly's spring cub approaches from the right.
Ranger Mike goes live from the beach of Naknek Lake to discuss 435 Holly returning with both her spring cub and yearling, 503 Cubadult. Cam viewer, Tronwolverine captured Ranger Mike's impromptu live chat on video
435 Holly returns to Brooks River with her biological spring cub 719 and adopted yearling 503 Subadult, Ranger Mike Fitz goes live from the beach of Naknek Lake, 9 5 2014 video by Tronwolverine
15:52: Ranger Mike's 09/05/2014 15:52 comment re: 435 Holly's adoption of 503 Cubadult:
"If you're just tuning in, 435 Holly appears to have adopted 402's abandoned yearling. Holly is now caring for a spring cub (which is hers) and a yearling (which is 402's). Adoption has been documented in brown bears, but it is rare. I've never had the chance to observe it myself so this is a novel situation for me to see -- and a fascinating one at that. I have not seen the yearling nurse, but I have seen it take fish from Holly and she didn't seem to care. I wonder what other stories will unfold this summer?
Enjoy the weekend. I'm off for the next couple of days, but I'll be back in chat soon."
Note: For purposes of maintaining this page as 402's, the fact that she is now a single sow and her abandoned yearling (503 Cubadult) has been adopted, please refer to 503 Cubadult's page and 435 Holly's page for additional 2014 information.
September 2014:[]
October 2014:[]
2015:[]
402 was included in the 2015 Bears of Brooks River book on page 37:
2015: Adult female with 4 spring cubs, 6th known litter[]
2015 Season:[]
2015.??.??:
Park visitor Ross Baldwin captured this video of 132 and her 3 yearling and 402 and her 4 spring cubs. Vocalizations abound in this video; be sure to have your sound turned up for this one! 132 can be seen and heard jaw popping and huffing for her two wayward yearlings after her interaction with 402.
Katmai NP Bear Fight 2015 Season by Ross Baldwin (132 with her 3 yearlings & 402 with her 4 spring cubs)-0
402 and her 4 spring cubs video by Ross Baldwin:
402 and her cubs can also be seen in this video by Ross Baldwin:
2015.??.??: 402 and her 4 spring cubs can be seen at the 1:48 mark into this video by Donna Archer:
2015.??.??: Madeleine Rose captured video of 402 and her 4 spring cubs at Brooks Falls at multiple points in this 2015 video. The family is seen at 0:41, 0:53, 1:22, 2:17, 2:56 and 3:41.
2015.??.??: Anonyo67 captured 402 and her 4 spring cubs in this July 2015 video (2:56-3:57). 402 is seen fishing by the Brooks Falls platform while the cubs rest and play on the shore.
In a second video by anonyo67, 402 is seen attacking 480 Otis at 0:32 as she deems him to be a threat to her cubs.
2015.??.??: 402 and her 4 spring cubs were photographed at Margot Creek in 2015. The instagram photo by frb71photo is titled "Family breakfast at Margot Creek, Katmai."
July 2015: []
2015.07.??: July, 2015 video by Anna-Marie_AZ, KNP&P volunteer and cam viewer, of 402 and her 4 spring cubs at the falls.
Anna-Marie_AZ also captured a July, 2015 video of 402's 4 spring cubs sitting near the falls platform and climbing a tree by the falls.
2015.07.??: Theresa Bielawski shared 12 photos of 402 and her 4 spring cubs on 5/19/2020, #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11 and #12. "Here are shots of 402 & the quads July 2015 - so 811 is one of them but which one???" 811 and 812 are Believed to be 2 of these spring cubs.
Please request Theresa Bielawski's permission prior to using her photographs!
2015.07.08: 402 with 3 of her 4 spring cubs NPS photo by Ranger Roy Wood from Katmai Terrane blog: 402 Returns with Four Cubs by Ranger Michael Fitz July 9, 2015. 402 is looking back toward her fourth cub which is still in the grass.:
In a 7/9/2015 highlight video by Explore titled "Baby Bear Backpack", 402 can be observed guiding her 4 cubs across the lower river, as seen in the photos above.
Ed MacKerrow of InLightOfNature shared this July 8, 2016 08:19 AKDT photograph of 402 with one of her four spring cubs (p 08/04/2023 08:49). Additional photographs of 402 and her cubs can be seen in this article Ed wrote.:
Please request Ed MacKerrow's permission PRIOR to using his photographs!
2015.07.09: Katmai Terrane blog: 402 Returns with Four Cubs by Ranger Michael Fitz. NPS photo of 402 with 4 spring cubs by T. Hostetter.:
2015.07.10: 402 and her 4 spring cubs, 7/10/2015 photo by Anna-Marie_AZ.
Please request Anna-Marie's permission prior to using her photos!
2015.07.14: KNP&P volunteer and cam viewer Rockatte captured this video of 402's four spring cubs, one of the cubs is vocalizing:
2015.07.16: Park visitor and cam viewer, Carla Farris captured these photos of 402 with her 4 spring cubs during her trip to Brooks Camp: Photo #1 , #2 , #3 , #4 , #5 , #6 , #7 , #8 , #9 , #10 , #11 , #12 , #13 , #14 , #15 , #16 , #17 , & #18 . Carla also captured this photo of two of 402's spring cubs .
2015.07.24: 402's 4 spring cubs can be seen playing on the bank while 402 is fishing in this 7/24/2015 video by Nancy Clark.
2015.07.26: 402 is observed nursing her 4 spring cubs at Brooks Falls in this 7/26/2015 video by Nancy Clark.
2015.07.27: Explore published a highlight video on 7/27/2015 of 402 nursing her 4 spring cubs under the Brooks Falls platform.
Anna-Marie_AZ , KNP&P volunteer and cam viewer captured this 7/27/2020 photo of 402.
Please request Anna-Marie's permission prior to using her photos!
2015.07.28: Anna-Marie, KNP&P volunteer, park visitor, cam viewer, and cam op captured these photos of 402 with her 4 spring cubs.
Please request Anna-Marie's permission prior to using her photos!
September 2015:[]
2015.08.11:
402 was observed on the Explore live cam nursing her spring cubs:
Cam viewer, Larinor captured part of these precious moments in this snapshot :
September 2015:[]
2015.09.22: In a video published by ytb53151 on 9/22/2015, the 402 family is viewed in the oxbow area of the lower river. This video appears to be from September.
October 2015:[]
2015.10.05: On 10/5/2015 402 and her plump quads were filmed by the grassy area and lower river viewing platform, video by Victoria White.
Explore posted a video on 10/5/2015 in which 3 of 402's 4 spring cubs would not follow her under the lower river bridge. One of the larger spring cubs from this litter is a male.
2015.10.06: 402 and her 4 spring cubs are seen fishing at the falls in this 10/6/2015 video by Cog Collins.
2015.10.15: Mickey Williams 10/15/2015 video of 402 and her 4 spring cubs on the lower river.
402 and spring quads along the lower river and spit road, 10/15/2015 video by Mickey Williams.
2015.10.19: 402 and quads at the falls, 10/19/2015 video by Mickey Williams.
10/19/2015 Mickey Williams video of 402 fishing on the lower river while her 4 cubs play.
402 and cubs are cautious on the lower river, 10/19/2015 Mickey Williams video.
2015.10.21: Cog Collins captured a 10/21/2015 video of 402 and her 4 spring cubs on the lower river.
402 and her 4 spring cubs take a long nap on the lower river, 10/21/2015 video by Mickey Williams.
2016:[]
2016 Season:[]
402 and her 2 yearlings were frequently shadowed by 435 Holly's newly emancipated subadult 719 in the 2016 season. For the most part, 402 tolerated the presence of 719 and at different times was seen both protecting her from a charge and charging her when she thought her own cub's fish was being stolen. 719 could often be seen playing with one of 402's yearlings. She continued to follow 402 and her cubs all summer and into the fall when they were last seen together. Note: from the 2017 Bears of Brooks River profile of 719, "Ironically, 402 is the biological mother of 503, 719's adopted sibling. We cannot know how cognizant 719 was of the events surrounding her development, but brown bears are intelligent. 719 appears to have learned from 503's adoption and applied that knowledge to her own situation. She seems to have identified the risks and rewards of approaching an unknown bear and used that knowledge to give herself the best chance at survival."
402 is included in the 2016 Bears of Brooks River book on page 44:
Cam viewer, GreenRiver, created this "effects" picture of 402 and her two yearlings from a 2016 snapshot :
June 2016:[]
2016.06.??: Ranger Anela's Facebook photo of 402 with her 3 yearlings on the beach.
2016.06.14: On June 14, 2016 402 was observed with 3 remaining yearlings from her 2015 litter of 4 spring cubs.
2016.06.16 17:57: 402 with her 3 remaining yearlings in this video by Mickey Williams:
2016.06.17: Park visitor, Ned Awty captured photographs of 402 and her 3 remaining yearlings: 402's 3 remaining yearlings , 402 with her 3 remaining yearlings, 402 with her 3 remaining yearlings, 402 with her 3 remaining yearlings , 402 with her 3 remaining yearlings , 402 , 402 with her 3 remaining yearlings , 402 with 1 of 3 remaining yearlings , and 402 with 3 remaining yearlings .
Jusywho filmed 402 and her 3 cubs crossing the Brooks River in a 6/17/2016 video.
2016.06.19: On June 19, 2016 402 was observed with 2 remaining yearlings from her 2015 litter of 4 spring cubs. 402 lost the largest one of her 3 remaining yearlings sometime between June 17. 2016 and June 19, 2016. During a Ranger chat, Ranger Dave mentioned that prior to seeing 402 with only 2 yearlings, there was some sort of commotion or ruckus at which point a sow and 2 yearlings went running through camp. Ranger Dave expressed that the sow may have been 402, but whether or not this was the event that caused the disappearance of the 3rd cub is unknown.
2016.06.26: 402 and her 2 remaining yearlings at the falls, 6/26/2016 video by Martina.
Johnny Chen's 6/26/2016 photo of 402 with her yearlings 811 (right) and 812 (left) below the Brooks Falls platform.
2016.06.30: 402 with her 2 yearlings (811 & 812) being followed (shadowed) by 719 (435 Holly's recently emancipated 2.5 year-old) video by Erum Chad (aka Erie). In the video it appears as if 719 was “sizing up” the 402s. She rests by them then follows them up river a bit and lays down and rests maybe 20 feet away from the 402s. 402 eventually charges 719, but she was undeterred.:
July 2016:[]
2016.07.??: KNP volunteer Amalia Garduno (aka chatter Mocha) captured 2 videos of 402 and her 2 yearlings under the Brooks Falls platform in July 2016. In the first video the family walks under the platform. In the 2nd video they are resting. You can hear the cubs vocalizing in the beginning of this video.
2016.07.??: Park visitor Theresa Bielawski shared two July 2016 photos of 812 and 811 on 5/19/2021, #1 and #2. "Here are a couple of shots of 812 & 811 waiting for mom (402) fishing the lip July 2016." Theresa Bielawski shared 2 additional photos of the 402 family on 2/13/2022, #1 and #2.
Please request Theresa Bielawski's permission prior to using her photographs!
_and_811_(right)_July_2016_photo_by_%C2%A9Theresa_Bielawski_.01.jpg "812 (left) and 811 (right) July 2016 photo by ©Theresa Bielawski .01.jpg (664 KB)")
_and_811_(right)_July_2016_photo_by_%C2%A9Theresa_Bielawski_.02.jpg "812 (left) and 811 (right) July 2016 photo by ©Theresa Bielawski .02.jpg (135 KB)")
2016.07.??: 402 goes over the falls but manages to hold on to the fish. You can see the cubs on the edge of the fish ladder and 719 looking very thin lurking below and watching 402. Video by Melissa Freels:
2016.07.?? vs 2020.07.??: 402 with yearling, 812, in July 2016 vs 402 with 5.5 year-old (older subadult or young adult) 812 in July 2020 Swiftly Fly The Years comparison created by Green River (p 02/12/23 08:16). It is common to see sows fishing in close proximity to their dependent cubs (402 & 812 when he was a yearling in 2016), it is less common to observe sows fishing in close proximity once those cubs become independent (402 and 812 in 2020). Another example of this less common behavior of a sow tolerating close proximity of an independent offspring is 435 Holly and 89 Backpack after 89 was emancipated. Mother bears will often bluff charge or chase off their offspring in the years following emancipation to reinforce emancipation. What causes a sow to no longer reinforce emancipation and tolerate close proximity of independent offspring? Do a number of years have to pass before a sow permits this? Does a sow's independent offspring becoming an adult (mating bears are considered adults) play a part in this? 812 was observed mating in 2021, but was he also mating in 2020? We have so much more to learn by following the lives of these bears.:
402 & yearling (812) on the lip in July 2016 vs 402 & 5.5 year-old 812 on the lip in July 2020 Swiftly Fly The Years created by Green River (p 02/12/23 08:16)
2016.07.04: 402 and 2 yearlings video by Rob Rager:
2016.07.05: Ed MacKerrow of In Light of Nature Fine Art Photography captured this photograph of 402 with her two yearlings (811 & 812) above the cutbank taken with a 840 mm lens and cropped in close. Ed commented: "I was lucky to capture this moment of love between the cub and mother." (p 07/02/2023 10:44):
Please request Ed MacKerrow's permission PRIOR to using his photographs!
2016.07.06: Park visitor and cam viewer, Bryan Link (aka PhotoBearsBry), captured this video of 402 with her yearlings (811 & 812) from the Brooks Falls wildlife viewing platform during his trip to Brooks Camp.
PhotoBearsBry (aka Bryan) also has this video on youTube of 402 with her two yearlings (811 & 812). This is from July 6, 2016 not July 6, 2017 as it states in the information on youTube.:
2016.07.10: 402's cub washes over the falls video by Erum Chad:
2016.07.11: 719 following 402 and her 2 yearlings (811 & 812) at the falls video by Erum Chad (aka Erie). 402 eventually charges 719, but she was undeterred.:
402 with 2 yearlings - 719 "Princess" following 402 - 409 Beadose at falls 2016 07 11 by Erum Chad (aka Erie)-0
2016.07.22: Melissa Freels captured 7/22/2016 video of 402 and her 2 yearlings being followed by 856 after leaving the Brooks Falls area. When this was observed on the cams, viewers were quite anxious about the welfare of 402 and her cubs. 856 seemed to have picked up on their scent and followed their path.
Green River created this 2016 slideshow video and dated the 402/cubs and 856 sequence from 7/22/2016. 402, her cubs and 856 can be seen from 0:00-1:16.
September 2016:[]
2016.09.??: September, 2016 photo by Kara Stenberg of 402 and her 2 yearlings resting on the lower river. The photo was posted on Brooks Lodge Facebook on 9/21/2016. 2.5 year old subadult 719 can be seen in the background still shadowing the family.
September, 2016 photo by Kara Stenberg of 402's 2 yearlings that was posted on Brooks Lodge Facebook on 9/23/2016.
September, 2016 photo by Kara Stenberg of 402 and her 2 yearlings that was posted on Brooks Lodge Facebook on 9/26/2016.
2016.09.13: 402 and cubs, 719 (435's biological independent offspring) dispute with 435 Holly video by Lyn Gulbransen. Cam viewer kcanada shared these thoughts about Lyn's video:
"Yet another 2016 interaction involving 402 and 719 but this time featuring Holly. There was much discussion about how to interpret what transpired.
At the start of the video, 402 and her yearlings are out on the spit, along with 719. Holly (who was known to charge Backpack after he was emancipated if they came into too close contact) spots 719 on the spit, and comes out of the water heading towards 719. In doing this she gets between 402s cubs and 402. 402 charges forward and pushes 719 back. 402 then briefly confronts 435 who backs down. 402 turns away, and then Holly charges 719. 402 then confronts 435 again. Holly retreats to the water but doesn't leave; she continues to watch intently.
Things seem to calm for a moment until around 3:15, 402 then charges 719 who retreats. At that point Holly comes out of the water which draws 402 back away from 719."
2016.09.16: 402 left of bridge deck on shore with 719 in river left of bridge snapshot by GreenRiver :
402 and two yearlings standoff with 273 and yearling video by Melissa Freels:
Standoff on Spit Road - 402 and Cubs vs. 273 and Velcro September 16, 2016 video by Melissa Freels-0
Sunny captured this snapshot of 402 and her two yearlings with 273 and her yearling.
Taha Raja's 9/16/2016 photo of 402 and her 2 yearlings 811 and 812 resting by on the lower river.
Cam viewer and Brooks Camp visitor Lisa Robertson (aka Larinor) shared a 9/16/2016 photo of 402 and her 2 yearlings 811 and 812 by the lower river platform. "811 and 812, with mom 402. This was taken on 9/16/16 during a 4 hour bear jam on the lower river, which also involved 719, 273 and Velcro, 94 and yearling, and 435 Holly. Brooks Lodge kept dinner waiting for the several dozen of us stuck on the platform, but this jam was worth possibly missing a meal! Photo is my own."
Please request Lisa Robertson's (aka Larinor) permission prior to using her photographs!
.jpg "812, 811 and 402 September 16, 2016 photo by Lisa Robertson (aka Larinor).jpg (589 KB)")
2016.09.20: Mickey William's 9/20/16 video shows 402 and her cubs at Brooks Falls. 719 can be seen following the family at 4:31.
2016.09.27: 402 with her cubs and 719 (435's biological independent 2014 offspring) video by Brenda D. Note: Video unavailable as of 2021. Thumbnail left for context.
October 2016:[]
2016.10.15: 402 with her 2 yearlings and 719 on the spit, 10/16/2016 video by Ratna Narayan.
2016.10.16: 402 with her cubs, 719 (435's biological independent 2014 offspring), and 708 Amelia with her cubs video by Flyer 7474. Kcanada describes her observations of this video "The 708s and the 402s with 719 in tow meet by the Falls. Turn up the volume for the off-screen roaring between 708 and 402. You can see the differing mothering styles between 708 and 402. 708 is offering regular reassurance to her cubs once the shouting is over. 402 seeming to have made her point carries on with looking for fish seemingly unconcerned that Amelia might pose any threat to her cubs. Of course, 402 is twice the size of 708, so that's not nothing.":
2016.10.23: 402 is seen fishing in the riffles with her 2 yearlings (now 811 and 812) on 10/23/2016, video by flyer 7474. 719 is seen at the beginning of the video sitting on a rock and is close by the 402 family throughout.
719 shadowing 402 and her 2 yearlings in this part 2 video by Flyer 7474 (aka SteveCA). This is part 2 from Oct 23 2016. There is a scary moment towards the end between 402 and 719. 719 did seem to come out of it ok. :
2017:[]
402 was included in the 2017 Bears of Brooks River book on page 49.
June 2017:[]
2017.06.11: 402 was observed by someone at Brooks Camp on 6/11/2017 with her now two, 2.5 year old cubs. KNP Facebook posted this Ranger Tammy Carmack photo when 402 still had her two 2.5 year old cubs.
2017.06.17: 402 emancipated both her cubs approximately on 6/17/17. She was observed driving her cubs away by KNP staff.
July 2017:[]
402 is listed on the unofficial July 2017 Bears Observed During Official Bear Monitoring Sessions List .
2017.07.04: 402 fishing the lip and 503 fishing in the jacuzzi snapshots by GreenRiver :
2017.07.04: Reweaver33's 7/4/2017 photo of 801 courting 402.
2017.07.17: 32 greets 402 and 856 video by Flyer 7474 (aka SteveCA):
2017.07.19: 402 fishes the lip in this 7/19/2017 video by Brenda D. Note: Video unavailable as of 2021.
2017.07.21: 402 fishing the lip of the falls, she catches a fish, then slips off the falls into the jacuzzi where 32 Chunk is fishing. 402 comes up from the fall with the fish. 32 Chunk steals the fish from 402. 402 dives in the jacuzzi and comes up with another fish. Video by Linda Jett:
ElaineDE shared a 7/21/2017 photo of 402 in chat on 5/3/2020.
Please request ElaineDE's permission prior to using her photographs!
August 2017:[]
2017.08.05: 402 fishing in close proximity to her 2013 biological offspring, 503 Cubadult video by Brenda D. Note: Video unavailable as of 2021. Thumbnail left for context.
402 fishing in the jacuzzi and 503 Cubadult (her only surviving 2013 biological offspring) fishing the lip of Brooks Falls video by Brenda D. Note: Video unavailable as of 2021. Thumbnail left for context.
September 2017:[]
2017.09.18: 902 on the spit road, 9/18/2017 video by Birgitt.
2017.09.22: 402 fishing the lip snapshot by DogMom . The notch in 402's ear is visible in this snapshot:
402 fishing the lip, 9/22/2017 video by Brenda D. Note: Video unavailable as of 2021.
2017.09.23: 402 really packed on the pounds as a single female in 2017 and seemed like a guaranteed contestant as a contender for the 2017 Fat Bear Week contest. Goldilocks even created a meme in preparation to campaign for 402. Goldilocks was not the only cam viewer that was shocked to learn that 402 was not a contestant in the 2017 Fat Bear Week contest.
Rangers later explained that 402 did not cooperate with their efforts to obtain fall 2017 photos of 402 to be used in comparison to early season photos of 402 for her to be included in the 2017 Fat Bear Week Contest.
Stmango also captured this snapshot of 402 on September 23, 2017 that shows a different side (if round has sides) of the pounds 402 packed on in fall of 2017:
Brenda D 9/23/2017 video of 402 sitting by the fish ladder. Note: Video unavailable as of 2021.
9/23/2017 Brenda D video of 402 on Backpack's rock. Note: Video unavailable as of 2021.
2017.09.24: 806? approaches 402 who is eating by the fish ladder, 9/24/2017 video by Brenda D. Note: Video unavailable as of 2021.
2017.09.25: Brenda D 9/25/2017 video of 402 diving and snorkeling in the jacuzzi. Note: Video unavailable as of 2021.
402 by the fish ladder, 503 (402's son) in the jacuzzi and 480 behind him, 9/25/2017 video by Brenda D. Note: Video unavailable as of 2021.
2017.09.26: 806 is fishing the lip with 503 in the jacuzzi below. 402 (503's speculated Mom) wants to dive for fish but 503 is in her way, a minor squabble ensues, video by 12gizmo16.
Brenda D captured this 9/26/2017 video of 402 close-up at the island. Note: Video unavailable as of 2021.
October 2017:[]
2017.10.05: 402 dives in the jacuzzi, 10/5/2017 video by Brenda D. Note: Video unavailable as of 2021.
2017.10.07: 402 walks downstream, 10/7/2017 video by Brenda D. Note: Video unavailable as of 2021.
Fall 2017:[]
402 appears on the unofficial Fall 2017 Bears Observed During Official Bear Monitoring Sessions List .
2018: Adult Female with 4 Spring Cubs, 7th Known Litter, Blondest Spring Cub is Female[]
2018 Season:[]
Deanna Dittloff (aka Deelynnd) captured this footage of 402 and her 4 spring cubs during the 2018 season:
Bookmom captured these snapshots of the 402 family group during the 2018 season. Sunny captured this snapshot of the 402 family group during the 2018 season.:
Cruiser created this collage of 2018 season snapshots taken of the 402 family group:
Cruiser created this gif of 402's fluffy spring cubs and this gif of 402 fishing and diving in the river with her spring cubs on the bank during the 2018 season.
Cam viewer, JG captured these snapshots of 402 and 402 with her spring cubs during the 2018 season. Cam viewer, Olddude captured this snapshot of 402 with her 4 spring cubs . Cam viewer, CarolineB captured these snapshots of the 402 family group during the 2018 season.:
Cam viewer, JG captured these snapshots of 402's four spring cubs during the 2018 season. Cam viewer, Sunny captured this snapshot of 3 of 402's spring cubs. Sunny also captured this snapshot of 402's four spring cubs. Cam viewer, Olddude captured this snapshot of 402's four spring cubs. Olddude also captured this snapshot of 402's spring cubs. Cam viewer, dkdogs captured this snapshot of 402's spring cubs.:
Photographer and park visitor, Valerie Van Griethuysen captured many photos of 402 and her 4 spring cubs during her 2018 trip to Brooks Camp. Many of Valarie's photos and some stories have been shared in many ways.:
Natural Habitat Adventures & WWF article: Traveler's Story: Finding a Personal Connection With the Brown Bears of Brooks Falls has a few photos of 402 and her 4 spring cubs.
Natural Habitat Adventures & WWF Wildlife Photo of the Day on January 5, 2019: Mama Brown Bear has a photo of 402 with her 4 spring cubs.
dailywildlifephotos January 6, 2019 Instagram post has a photo of 402 with her 4 spring cubs by Valarie.
Natural Habitat Adventures & WWF Wildlife Photo of the Day on February 21, 2019: Phew, Safe on Mom has a photo of 402 with one of her spring cubs on her back.
Summer 2018:[]
2018.0?.??: Laura Lyn Photography shared this summer 2018 video of 402's four spring cubs on the wall of the fish ladder in their May 5, 2019 Facebook post.
July 2018:[]
2018.07.??: July, 2018 Instagram video by Craig Kutella, 402 walks her 4 spring cubs through camp.
2018.07.13 14:55: On July 13, 2018 at approximately 14:55 , 402 was observed wtih 4 spring cubs. Ranger Russ commented at 15:14 to share the BREAKING NEWS! At 15:39 Ranger Russ posted a photo of 402 with her 4 spring cubs taken by volunteer Maurice Whalen (per Ranger Russ at 15:43). At 15:47 Ranger Russ posted a second photo of the family group.
KNP&P's July 13, 2018 tweet re: 402 returning to Brooks River with 4 spring cubs. Their tweet included a NPS photo of 402 with her four spring cubs and a NPS photo of 402 with two of the four spring cubs . These photos of 402 and her 4 spring cubs were taken by KNP&P volunteer in park, Maurice Whalen:
2018.07.14: Ranger Russ photographed 402 with her 4 spring cubs on July 14, 2018 . Ranger Russ shared two photos with his July 15, 2018 13:56 comment : photo # 1 & photo #2
2018.07.15: On July 18, 2018 at 09:54 Ranger Andrew (@Katmai Ranger) commented to inform cam viewers that on Sunday, July 15th 402 and one of her spring cubs was separated. The two were later reunited and the family was back to a full litter of four.
Cam viewer and KNP volunteer Stacey shared a 3 part story and epilogue of her 7/15/2018 experience when hearing that 402 had lost one spring cub, posted in chat on 5/3/2020.
Hi, everyone!
I have a loooong 402 story , so I'm breaking it into pieces. Here is Part 1.
“Spring cub in camp!”
The announcement crackled over the radio with unusual urgency.
It was noon on Sunday, July 15, 2018. My housemate and I both had the day off from our volunteer duties; as always, we’d left our radios on as we worked around the yurt—doing laundry and cleaning up.
It wasn’t unusual to hear a radio announcement of a bear in camp. Whenever a bear entered camp (that is, the populated area around Brooks Lodge), a ranger would announce on the radio, “Bear in camp,” alerting rangers and volunteers to the need to mobilize to keep the bear separate from any people in the area.
But this announcement came with unusual urgency.
“Spring cub in camp!”
What was a spring cub doing in camp, I wondered. Where was the mom? And why were we hearing the announcement on the radio at the same time we heard the ranger saying it right outside our front door?
My housemate and I dropped our lunch and jumped to open the front door—just in time to see a tiny spring cub bounce off the electric fence outside our building and bound into the woods and tall grass between our yurt and Naknek Beach.
One of the bear techs—the one who’d made the radio announcement—stood on the path outside the yurt, his hand still on his radio button.
Another bear tech hurried quickly around the corner.
Spring cub in camp?
“He went that way,” my housemate and I said, right away, pointing to the adjacent woods.
The two bear techs on duty—along with my housemate, a bear tech volunteer—immediately developed a plan. The senior ranger walked quietly into the woods, while the first ranger shadowed him in parallel on the path. The third tech went down to the beach. From these three vantage points, one of these techs might be able to spot the wandering cub. They’d also be able to keep an eye on human traffic that might influence the bear’s behavior.
I’d heard the cub huffing when he first ran into the woods, but the noise stopped almost immediately. For several minutes, it was agonizingly quiet as the bear techs slowly and cautiously watched for the cub.
I stood on the path outside the yurt, talking with a photographer who’d spotted the lone cub, and keeping her from getting any closer to the searching rangers.
Then a visitor hurried up a back trail. “There’s a cub in the campground!" he reported, breathlessly.
Well, we knew where the cub had gone, and we knew why we weren’t finding him in the woods.
But this new information posed new challenges.
At this point, we needed not only to find the cub, but to help control the foot traffic created by the presence of an animal in the campground.
A note about geography: The campground is about .2 miles (I think) away from the Visitor Center and the yurt—it’s the opposite direction from Brooks Lodge and Brooks Falls. (I’ll try to post a map in comments below.)
When visitors check in to the campground, they receive instructions about what to do if an animal gets into the campground. (“If a moose or a bear gets into camp, what you want to do is get out.”) They’re advised to exit calmly and give the animal space, and, as always, to follow the directions of rangers on duty.
So when we heard word of the cub in the campground, staff mobilized quickly to manage bear-human interactions. Rangers and volunteers take station at predetermined key points, waiting with visitors (to keep them from wandering into a bear), and communicating by radio as to the whereabouts of bears. If you’re working at Brooks Camp, you have a “map” of the area in your head; the radio reports help you visualize what’s happening against that map.
The bear techs focus on finding the bears. But if you’re an interpretive ranger or volunteer (as I have been), you try to educate and inform your guests while you’re waiting together.
-- “Why is that spring cub out on its own?” “It must’ve been separated from its mother.”
-- “How old is that cub?” “That’s a spring cub, born in the den in January or February, so it’s about 6 months old.”
-- “How often does an animal get into the campground?” “Oh, about once a year. But this is the second time it’s happened this year; I’m told there was a moose in camp earlier.”
Time passed, and the visitors—many with cameras—waited for a glimpse of the lost bear.
But no luck. After about 15 minutes, my radio crackled again, “Spring cub heading down the beach, away from the campground.”
So the cub had been spotted. But he was still alone. The good news, in my mind, was that the cub was heading away from camp, to an area that he was likely familiar with and where he was less likely to encounter the stress of human encounters.
We breathed a sigh of relief mixed with anxiety. We knew, generally, where the cub was—but what would happen next?
Here is Part 2 of the 402 story. Part 3 to come shortly!
Part 2
Later that afternoon, we heard a radio report: 402 had been spotted at Brooks River with only three cubs.
So a piece of the puzzle fell into place: 402 had been separated from one of her four cubs.
I recalled that when I first started watching the cams—in 2013—402 had sometimes been branded as a “bad mother.” A large, strong bear, she frequently came to Brooks Camp with large litters of three or four cubs—but raising large litters to emancipation is difficult, and some saw her low emancipation rate as a sign of bad parenting.
Ranger Roy was always quick to point out that if you looked at raw numbers, rather than percentages, 402 had probably emancipated as many individual cubs as 409 Beadnose or 435 Holly.
And eventually 402’s reputation changed. In 2015 , when 402 became separated from her yearling, now 503 Cubadult, many of us (me included) said that she “abandoned” him -- making it sound like she willingly left her cub in order to mate with 856. Over time, though, with the help of ranger reports and visitor videos (I’ll try to post one in the comments), we came to see that she worked hard to protect that yearling from an aggressive 856—ultimately only separating from him in order to protect him from the persistent older bear.
So in 2018, I would defend 402 as a very good mother! But what had happened to this spring cub, on this July 2018 day? How did 402 become separated from one of her four yearlings?
It seemed that no one knew. In my experience, when you’re at Brooks Camp, you learn things by piecing together reports from various sources: There’s a spring cub loose in camp; 402 is seen w/three yearlings at the river; we saw a mom with four yearlings at this time, and then the same mom with three yearlings at this time, and no one saw anything in between.
The wandering cub appeared at noon on Sunday, July 15.
Later that night, when it was time for bed, the last reports were that 402 had left the river with three yearlings and not been seen since.
My housemate, the bear tech, was up early the next morning, as always. His first radio report came around 7 a.m. “Spring cub at the gravel pile.”
So we knew that the spring cub had come back from the quiet beach he’d gone to the previous day—he was still alive, and he was still on his own.
When a spring cub is on its own, you can worry about a lot of things. How would the cub defend himself from larger, hungry bears? How would he avoid the stress of being in an area with lots of people, many of them eager for pictures of an adorable little cub? “How long could a cub live without food?” I finally asked. This was a spring cub, still nursing in July, I was told; the hope was that he’d be reunited with his mom within three days.
Over the course of that Monday, we heard several radio reports. “Spring cub on the Cultural Trail.” “Spring cub on Park Avenue.” “402 near the Campground with three cubs.” “402 at the Riffles with three cubs.”
It seemed that the cub and the family group were following an established loop, sniffing for each other, but never connecting.
None of this happened in view of the cams, and experiencing it live was fascinating. If I’d been watching this unfold on the cams, I’d have been obsessing about the fate of the wandering cub—and of course, I (and everyone else) thought about this constantly. But in camp, this was one of several fascinating stories all playing out at the same time. Bear 132 had lost one of her two spring cubs just two weeks earlier; we were still watching that story develop. 435 Holly’s blonde yearling was developing a bold streak. And so on.
Anytime I saw a ranger arriving from another part of camp, I’d ask, “Any news on the spring cub?” At the end of Monday, the cub was still alive, and still on his own.
Here is Part 3 of my 402 story.
Over the next few days, rangers kept careful track of the cub and of the 402 family group.
We received frequent reports on their whereabouts—and while the bears seemed to be looking for each other, they weren’t finding each other.
At times, the cub seemed tantalizing close to his mom and siblings. One of the bear techs would report, “Spring cub at the gravel pile,” while another would report “Sow with three spring cubs on the Cultural Trail.” But at the end of Monday, and the end of Tuesday, the final reports on 402 always seemed to indicate that she’d ended the day with three spring cubs.
Then, on Wednesday, July 18, I was working inside at the Visitors Center. Around 3 p.m., I was sweeping the floor, when a guest came in to do some shopping before catching her evening plane.
“How was your visit?” I asked, as I always did. (I like hearing people’s stories.)
“Oh, it was amazing!” she said. “I saw the mom with four cubs on the trail to the falls.”
“Wait,” I said. “How many cubs did she have?”
“She had four,” the guest said.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Oh, yes,” she said calmly. “I told the ranger on the platform that the mom had four cubs, and she was really excited.”
And that’s the story of how 402 found her cub!
Or at least, that’s how I heard it the first time.
Later that day, I heard from one of the rangers that the cub had actually been reunited with the family the night before—Tuesday, July 17—near the campground. Apparently, 402 and her three spring cubs had been hanging out near the campground fence, when all of a sudden, several guests saw her stand up and start sniffing the air kind of frantically. Then she started huffing quickly—and the fourth cub appeared, first quietly, and then bawling. 402 laid down where she was, and the cub began nursing. (Apparently, lots of people in the campground took pictures.)
And that’s how they reunited.
Over the course of the next several days, 402 was seen repeatedly with varying numbers of cubs—first four, then two (!), then three, and then four again. Was it the same cub that kept separating? We never knew.
And I learned a valuable lesson from the Wednesday guest at the Visitors Center. When I told her that 402 had been without one of her cubs for several days, the guest remarked, “Well, that mom has a big job on her hands! She’s got four cubs—and one of them’s a wanderer. She’s going to have to keep an eye on that one. He has a mind of his own.”
Thanks to this visitor, I learned that the parenting stories aren’t always just about the mom—they can be about cubs, too. These stories have multiple players—and that’s what makes them interesting.
And here is an Epilogue to my 402 story.
A few days after 402 and her lost cub were reunited, I was outside the yurt with my bear tech housemate.
We looked up, and saw 402 and her cubs walking toward us, on the path near the Ranger Station.
"How many cubs does she have," I asked.
We saw that she had four.
As she approached, my bear tech housemate suggested that we duck into the laundry room to give her space.
This surprised me, because this was not a required step--most protocols would've suggested that we could stand on the stairs in front of the laundry room to watch as the bears went past.
But I took it as a sign of utmost respect that we gave this remarkable family group extra space.
And it was a privilege to peek through the crack of the laundry room door and watch 402 and her four spring cubs walk past, all four cubs clustered close to their mother's legs.
Stacey also shared this story in her blog: Spring Cub In Camp .
2018.07.16 or PRIOR: Video of 402 with 4 spring cubs moving through Brooks Camp video by craig_kuetella on instagram, posted 2018.07.16. On July 17, 2018 at 09:51 Mike Fitz commented : "The person speaking sounds like one of the Katmai's bear technicians."
2018.07.17 or PRIOR: 402 with 4 spring cubs by Taylor Thomas Albright on instagram, posted 2018.07.17 at approximately 08:30.
2018.07.17: Peter Thiemann's 7/17/2018 photo of 482 Brett with her 3 spring cubs along with 402 and her 4 spring cubs on the beach.
On July 18, 2018 at 09:54 Ranger Andrew (@Katmai Ranger) commented to inform cam viewers that on Tuesday, July 17th the family (402 family group) walked by the Ranger Station in Brooks Camp with only two cubs.
One of the employees of Brooks Lodge posted a video from the morning of July 17, 2018 of 402 and her cubs, one of the cubs was lagging far behind per Rockatte's July 19, 2018 07:50 comment :
""One of the lodge employees posted a video from July 17th morning, and one cub was lagging far behind. I'll never forget how Chris Morgan answered my question about cub survival: he said, "It's up to the cub to keep up and fight for survival - the sow will not do it any special favors.""
2018.07.18: On July 18, 2018 at 09:54 Ranger Andrew (@Katmai Ranger) commented to inform cam viewers that on the morning of Wednesday, July 18th 402 was seen again with three of her four spring cubs.
On July 18, 2018, Explore.org released their latest blog by Mike Fitz: Four Cubs for 402 Again :
Four Cubs for 402 Again by Mike Fitz
402 with 4 spring cubs July 14, 2018 from Explore blog: Four Cubs for 402 Again by Mike Fitz. Photo courtesy of KNP&P Ranger Russ Taylor.
"The sight of spring cubs elicits an air of excitement. Baby animals in general, and spring cubs in particular, represent the promise of the future and their playfulness and curiosity remind us of our own childhood or children. Raising cubs though, isn’t an easy task. Cubs face considerable risk in their young lives and mother bears are challenged to raise and provide for their cubs until they are mature enough to survive on their own.
On July 13 one of Brooks River’s well-known bears, 402, arrived at the river mouth with four spring cubs. 402 is an experienced mother who has had six litters prior to 2018. Her fecundity is partly a result of her age (402 is about twenty years old and had her first litter as 6.5 year-old bear in 2004) and partly the result of a high turnover rate between some of her previous litters. For example, the loss of her entire 2007 litter stimulated her to enter estrous and mate. When she returned in 2008, she was caring for another litter of spring cubs. In 2014, she entered estrous and weaned a yearling cub (now known as 503). She then returned to Brooks River in July 2015 with 4 cubs .
402 can now apply years of experience and skill to help her current cubs reach independence. However, no mother bear at Brooks River is known to have successfully weaned four cubs from a single litter.
Since 2000, mother bears have returned to Brooks River six times with four-cub litters (including 402’s current litter). Most cubs from the pre-2018 litters did not survive. In 2004, 236 Milkshake returned with only two yearlings from her 2003 four-cub litter. In 2006, 216 Marilyn returned with three yearlings from her 2005 four-cub litter, but only two yearlings survived by the end of summer.
402 and her four-cub litter in July 2015
In 2010, two bears (236 Milkshake and 875) returned to Brooks River with four-cub litters. By 2011, however, both mothers had lost their entire litters. The last four-cub litter seen at Brooks River was also the product of 402. When last seen the fall of 2015, she still had all four cubs, but by the time she returned to Brooks River in 2016 she only had two yearlings. (One of the many subadult bears at Brooks River currently could be her former cub from 2015.)
402 with 4 spring cubs July 13, 2018 from Explore blog: Four Cubs for 402 Again by Mike Fitz. Photo courtesy of KNP&P VIP Maurice Whalen
The risks to cubs are real . Protecting, teaching, and feeding cubs is a difficult task, one that is made even more so for 402 this time by her four-cub litter. Just recently, rangers reported “402…lost a cub, was reunited with it, then seen with two cubs, and most recently, back with three.” No matter this family’s fate, we can marvel at 402’s determination to follow her maternal instincts in an attempt raise another generation of Brooks River’s bears."
Prior to 2018.07.20: Kenneth Kearney's July 20, 2018 17:29 facebook post with a video of 402 nursing her 4 spring cubs:
"Back from Brooks with plenty of photos. Here's a video of a brown bear nursing her four spring cubs. I was happy to see this family reunited after one of the cubs was lost. The panicked cub ran into the campground calling for its mother and spent over a day running around the river and lake looking for her. This was taken shortly after they were reunited.
Several years ago I saw this bear with her previous set of four spring cubs. She's a prolific mother since not many have or bring four cubs to the river. Everyone around camp was glad this lost cub survived one of the many challenges that bears face when growing up.
I'll have more video and many pictures from Brooks/Katmai and my Great Bear Rainforest trip coming soon."
2018.07.19: Cindy Tucker's July 19, 2018 video of 402 and her 4 spring cubs walking by the lower river platform.
2018.07.20:
Brenda D captured this video of 402 and her 4 spring cubs. Note: Video unavailable as of 2021. Thumbnail left for context.
Kerstin59 captured these snapshots of 402 and her 4 spring cubs:
Valerie Van Griethuysen captured these photographs (#1 , #2 , #3 & #4 of 402 and her 4 spring cubs on July 20, 2018.:
.JPG "DSCN2905 (3).JPG (2.19 MB)")
.JPG "DSCN2986 (3).JPG (2.43 MB)")
These photographs (#1 , #2 , #3 & #4 ) were originally added to 402's wiki page by wiki contributor Vvanbikes2 under July 13, 2018 and appeared like appears below. LTC relocated them on 06/28/2020 to the area of 07/20/2018.:
23:07: 402 and her 4 spring cubs can be seen at approximately 37:40 into this Explore Recorder video. The four spring cubs can be seen riding on 402's back.
Xander-Sage-2 created this gif .
LaniH captured this video :
Mark Kaufman (worked at Brooks Camp in 2014 ) at Mashable wrote an article about 402 and her four spring cubs on July 20, 2018.: A bear cam mom showed up at the river with four cubs. How many will survive? Check out his article for lots of information (complete with remarks by Mike Fitz) and photos of 402's 2018 litter.
2018.07.25: 402 and her 4 spring cubs at the falls video by Ruxandra Nicolae (aka Rux ):
Bear 402 and her 4 spring cubs on Explore.org Brooks Falls Brown Bears camera, July 25, 2018 by Ruxandra Nicolae
2018.07.26: Photographer and Brooks Camp visitor Mark Kostich photographed 402 and her 4 spring cubs on 7/26/2018. The photo appears to have been taken at the top of the cutbank. Mark stopped in chat for identification help.
"First of all I want to sincerely thank everyone who has helped me identify Brooks Falls bears in the past! I greatly appreciate it!"
"I need help with another one! I photographed this Mother with 4 cubs with a park ranger while walking up Brooks River, between the River Cam and Riffles area. It was taken in July of 2018. I don't know of many mothers who had 4 cubs, so I am hoping someone can ID this bear for me. Thanks again! I greatly appreciate it!."
Please request Mark Kostich's permission prior to using his photos!
Permission to post any photos he posts in chat on the Wiki, must say "copyright © Mark Kostich on the photo."
2018.07.30: 402 and her 4 spring cubs video by Ruxandra Nicolae (aka Rux ):
2018.07.31: Bearz61 captured this snapshot of 402 and her 4 spring cubs:
Bearwatcher, McKate captured this video of 402 and her 4 spring cubs:
August 2018:[]
2018.08.??: KNP&P captured video of 402 and her cubs up close and personal with the Brooks Falls Cam in August, 2018.
2018.08.05: 402 brings her 4 spring cubs to the lip to fish, 8/5/2018 video by Birgitt.
2018.08.06: Shel captured this snapshot of 402's spring cubs. Shel also captured these snapshots of 402's spring cubs, Snapshot #1 , #2 , #3 , #4 , & #5 :
KNP volunteer Maurice Whalen captured two 8/6/2018 videos of 402 snorkeling in the jacuzzi, #1 and #2. 402's 4 spring cubs were probably sitting on the bank.
Bear 402 snorkeling in the J at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park
Video by Maurice Whalen, 8/6/2018
2018.08.07: Shel captured these snapshots of 402 near the fish ladder: Snapshot #1 , #2 , & #3 :
Xander-Sage-2 captured this gif of 402 near the fish ladder.
Shel captured this snapshot of 402's spring cubs. Shel also captured this snapshot of 402's spring cubs :
Martina captured these snapshots of 402 and her 4 spring cubs:
September 2018:[]
2018.09.?? In September, 2018 Tommy Hays Photography captured video of 402 walking and snorkeling beside her 4 spring cubs who are floating downstream in the riffles.
2018.09.08: LuvBears captured this snapshot of 402 and her 4 spring cubs:
2018.09.17: Shel captured this snapshot of 402 and her spring cubs. Shel also captured this snapshot of 402 with her spring cubs. Shel also captured these snapshots of 402 (snapshot #1 , #2 , #3 , #4 , & #5 ) and this snapshot of 402 and one of her four spring cubs. Cam viewer, Sunny captured these snapshots (#1 & #2 ) of 402 with her spring cubs. Olddude shared these snapshots of 402 and her spring cubs on 5/3/2020, #1, #2 and #3.
2018.09.18: 402 with her 4 spring cubs snapshot by Sunny .:
402 and her 4 spring cubs are seen in this 9/18/2018 Explore Recorder video, 10:54-12:38.
2018.09.20: 402 with her 4 spring cubs snapshot by Sunny :
2018.09.20: 402 and her 4 spring cubs on the lower river, 9/20/2018 video by Birgitt.
2018.09.21: 402 and her spring cubs video by Birgitt:
2018.09.24: 402 and her 4 spring cubs video by Birgitt:
2018.09.25:
Scooch captured this snapshot of 402:
402 and her 4 spring cubs in close proximity to 402's offspring from her 2015 and 2013 litters video by Birgitt:
One of 402's cubs is a female video by Birgitt:
Bear watcher, mckate captured this video of 402 diving in the jacuzzi:
2018.09.27: 402's four spring cubs crossing the lower Brooks River video by Birgitt:
October 2018:[]
2018.10.01: Shel captured this snapshot of 402 and her 4 spring cubs:
2018.10.05: Cam viewer, Sunny captured this snapshot of 402 with her 4 spring cubs.:
2018.10.08:
Shel captured this snapshot of 402 with her spring cubs. Jegrabau captured these snapshots (#1 & #2 ) of 402's four spring cubs, note the sunglasses.:
Arlene Beech captured this video of 402 and her 4 spring cubs:
402's 4 spring cubs swim to the bridge and play at dusk while 402 fishes, 10/8/2018 video by Birgitt.
2018.10.09: 402's four spring cubs and the dead gull video by Birgitt Evans:
402 charges 32 Chunk to protect her cubs, 10/9/2018 video by Birgitt.
10/9/18 video by Ratna Narayan, 402 grazers 32 Chunk.
2019: Adult Female with 3 Remaining Yearlings, Smallest Dark Yearling is Male, Medium-sized Yearling is Female[]
402 returned to the Brooks River with 3 yearlings from her 2018 litter.
2019 Season:[]
402's smallest dark yearling is a male. 402's medium-sized yearling is a female. Mazey's October 16, 2019 11:23 comment .:
CarolineB shared shared 2019 snapshots of 402 and her 3 yearlings on 5/3/2020, #1, #2 and #3. Phillydude shared 2019 snapshots of 402 and her 3 yearlings on 5/3/2020, #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10 and #11.
2019.??.?? (2019.07.09 or Prior): Angel Wallis (aka onebusyangel) posted this video of 402 and her 3 yearlings to her instagram on July 9, 2019. 402 can be heard jaw popping. Note: this video has been made private.
June 2019:[]
Deanna Dittloff (aka deelynnd) created a June-July 2019 video of 402 and her 3 yearlings.
2019.06.??: Melissa Freels shared four June 2019 photos of 402 and her 3 yearlings on 4/16/2023, #1, #2, #3 and #4. "In celebration of 402 and her trio born in 2018, here are some pics from my June 2019 trip. It was a highlight to see this family on the lip--and a little nerve-racking, as 856 was there that evening as well!" Melissa Freels shared three June 2019 photos of 402 and her 3 yearlings on 4/16/2023, #1, #2 and #3.
Please request Melissa Freel's permission prior to using her photographs!
2019.06.21: On June 21, 2019 at 13:18 AKDT, Courtney at Explore posted a photo of 402 with 3 yearlings.:
2019.06.28: 402 and her 3 yearlings in the riffles, 6/28/2019 video by Ratna Narayan.
2019.06.29: 402 was observed with her 3 remaining yealrings.
Sometime between June 29, 2019 and early morning June 30, 2019. 402 was separated from one of her 3 remaining yearlings, and was observed with only 2 remaining yearlings.
2019.06.30: 402 was observed with only 2 remaining yearlings when 1st observed on June 30, 2019.
402 with her 2 remaining yearlings in the riffles video by Lani H.:
402 at the falls on 6/30/2019 with only 2 yearlings, video by Lani H.
Later in the day on June 30, 2019, 402 was reunited with her 3rd remaining yearling.
402 with 3 yearlings on the lip video by Flyer 7474 (aka SteveCA):
Video by Arlene Beech (aka Homebird):
402 gives lip fishing lessons video by mckate. 402 was not afraid to fish above 856, but leaves quickly when she sees 747 and drops her fish. Her quick thinking yearling retrieves it.:
909 gets between 402 and 402's desired fishing spot, the lip of the falls. 402 gives 909 a lesson of the sow hierarchy, 402 charges 909 and goes around 909 on the fish ladder to reclaim the lip. 909 does not heed 402's warning in that lesson and 909 proceeds to climb toward the lip after 402 is up there. 402 descends the lip and hands 909 a much more stern lesson. It may also be important to know that 402 had spent a stressful day searching for one of her misplaced yearlings prior to this agressive interaction with 909.
402, 503 Cubadult, 909 video by Ratna Narayan:
Truman Everts captured a 6/30/2019 photo of 402's interaction with 909 and shared it in chat on 5/6/2020. "Sow (402) lays into subadult (909) who was "social distancing" at a rookie level... " Truman's photo can be seen at 0:43 into mckate's video below. Mckate commented on Truman's photo, I make notes to go with my videos. Here's what the note for this incident said, "402 had spent a stressful day searching for one of her misplaced yearlings. She and 909 had words about who would be using the lip and 909 was quite persistent about it. 402 finally lost all patience." It takes more than a thumping to get 909 down though. I'm pretty sure she headed right back to the lip!
Please request Truman Everts' permission prior to using his photographs!
_909_(near)_and_402%27s_3_yearlings_(right)_June_30,_2019_photo_by_Truman_Everts.jpg "402 (far) 909 (near) and 402's 3 yearlings (right) June 30, 2019 photo by Truman Everts.jpg (962 KB)")
402 thumps 909 video by mckate.
402 attacks 909 video by tm saneda.
July 2019:[]
2019.07.??: 402 leads her yearlings trough camp in this July, 2019 video by onebusyangel. You can hear 402 jaw popping.
2019.07.01: 402 and yearlings near the bridge, 7/1/2019 video by Lani H.
2019.07.02: 402 and yearlings fish the lip, 7/2/2019 video by Lani H.
2019.07.05: Truman Everts captured this photograph of 402's 3 yearlings at 18:13 (p 12/07/19 04:38 ). Truman Everts captured this photograph of 402 with her 3 yearlings at 19:04 (p 12/09/19 03:08 ).: Truman shared this 7/5/2019 photo of 402 and her 3 yearlings on the lip on 4/28/2020. Truman Everts shared this 7/5/2019 photo of 402 in the riffles on 5/3/2020. Truman Everts shared 7/5/2019 photos of 402 and her 3 yearlings on 5/3/2020, #1, #2 and #3. Truman Everts shared this 7/5/2019 photo of 402 and her 3 yearlings on the lip on 5/15/2020. Truman Everts shared this 7/5/2019 photo of 402's 3 yearlings in the riffles on 6/10/2020.
Please request Truman Everts' permission prior to using his photographs!
2019.07.06: Truman Everts captured this photograph of 402 with her 3 yearlings at 20:28 (p 12/09/19 16:10 ).: Truman Everts shared this 7/6/2019 photo of 402 with 1 of her 3 yearlings on 5/8/2020. Truman Everts shared this 7/6/2019 photo of 402 with her 3 yearlings on 5/30/2020.
Please request Truman Everts' permission prior to using his photographs!
Naomi Boak shared this 7/6/2019 photo of 402 and her 3 yearlings on the lip, 5/3/2020.
Permission to use her NPS photos posted on the bearcam comments
747 shows his displeasure with 402 fishing the lip above him in the jacuzzi video by Ratna Narayan.:
747 chases 89 Backpack across the top of the falls where 402 and her 3 yearlings and 806 are fishing. 402 and her cubs scatter while 806 backs away, 7/6/2019 video by mckate.
Ratna Narayan also captured video of 747 chasing 89 Backpack on 7/6/2019. 402 and her cubs run off the lip.
Park visitor Jaysea C filmed the same event in this 7/6/2019 video. 89 Backpack can be seen being chased by 747 at 3:48. 402 and her yearlings make a hasty exit.
402's yearlings fight for a fish on the lip, 7/6/2019 video by Birgitt.
2019.07.07: NWBearLove92 shared 7/7/2019 photos of 402 and her 3 yearlings on 5/3/2020, #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 and #6. NWBearLove shared this 7/7/2019 photo of 402's 3 yearlings on the lip on 6/9/2020.
Please request NWBearLove92's permission prior to using any of their photographs!
Olatz Azcona Munárriz shared four 7/7/2019 photos of 402 and her 3 yearlings on 4/16/2023, #1, #2, #3 and #4. "402 and her yearlings, 101, 102 and 103, at the falls the evening of my first day in Brooks back in 2019. July 7, 2019."
Please request Olatz Azcona Munárriz's (aka Olatz) permission prior to using their photographs!
Cruiser shared this 7/7/2019 GIF of 402 and her 3 yearlings fishing the lip on 5/3/2020.
2019.07.08: NWBearLove92 shared 7/8/2019 photos of 402 and her 3 yearlings on 5/3/2020, #1, #2 and #3.
Please request NWBearLove92's permission prior to using any of their photographs!
2019.07.09-07.12: Lori Hocking (aka Lovethebears) shared 7/9-7/12/2019 photos of 402 and her 3 yearlings on 6/17/2020, #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 and #6.
Please request Lori's (aka Lovethebears) permission prior to using her photographs!
_.01.jpg "402 with 3 yearlings July 9, 2019-July 12, 2019 photo by Lori Hocking (aka Lovethebears) .01.jpg (1.79 MB)")
_.jpg "402's 3 yearlings July 9, 2019-July 12, 2019 photo by Lori Hocking (aka Lovethebears) .jpg (1.16 MB)")
.01.jpg "2 of 402's 3 yearlings July 9, 2019-July 12, 2019 photo by Lori Hocking (aka Lovethebears).01.jpg (1.37 MB)")
.jpg "1 of 402's 3 yearlings July9, 2019-July 12, 2019 photo by Lori Hocking (aka Lovethebears).jpg (1.15 MB)")
_.02.jpg "2 of 402's 3 yearlings July 9, 2019-July 12, 2019 photo by Lori Hocking (aka Lovethebears) .02.jpg (1.36 MB)")
_.02.jpg "402 with 3 yearlings July 9, 2019-July 12, 2019 photo by Lori Hocking (aka Lovethebears) .02.jpg (1.89 MB)")
2019.07.10: NWBearLove92 shared some 7/10/2019 action shots of 402 fishing on 5/3/2020, #1, #2 and #3. NWBearLove92 commented: "She left the cubs near the riffles and went up to the falls to do some fishing...then came running back to check on the babies 7/10/19."
Please request NWBearLove92's permission prior to using any of their photographs!
_July_10,_2019_photo_by_NWBearLove92_.01.jpg "402 (right) July 10, 2019 photo by NWBearLove92 .01.jpg (2.55 MB)")
2019.07.11: NWBearLove shared this 7/11/2019 photo of 402's 3 yearlings in the riffles on 5/3/2020.
Please request NWBearLove92's permission prior to using any of their photographs!
2019.07.12: DogMom captured this snapshot of 402 and her 3 remaining yearlings.
NWBearLove92 shared photos of 775 Lefty and 402 with her 3 yearlings on 3/29/2020, #1, #2 and #3. NWBearLove explained the sequence of photos: "During my 2019 trip to Brooks Lefty was very active at the falls. It was hot and there were less salmon around. He pirated fish from some boars including 801 and also from several different subs. However, on 7/12/19 he messed with the wrong sow. 402 and her 3 yearlings were fishing together in the riffles. She caught a fish and was sharing it with the cubs. One of the cubs grabbed a big chunk and ran towards the platform. Lefty was watching and decided to try and go after the cub to steal it’s fish. 402 immediately went after him and gave him some good thwacks. He departed quickly. She then rounded up the cubs to make sure they were all ok and the family went back to fishing. It all happened so fast and it was amazing to see in person. I have a few pics of the event, but they are not great. The light was not good and the fight happened so fast I couldn’t get a good shot. I wish I had caught it on video." NWBearLove92 shared a 7/12/2019 photo of 68 (left) with 775 Lefty (right) on 3/29/2020. NWBearLove 92 shared 7/12/2019 photos of 402's yearlings on 5/3/2020, #1 and #2. NWBearLove92 shared 7/12/2019 photos of 402 and her 3 yearlings on 5/3/2020, #1 and #2. NWBearLove92 commented: "Eating salmon on rocks and being messy must run in the family...definitely related to 812. The 2nd picture came out blurry, but you can still see what happens when you try to steal a bite from a sibling."
Please request NWBearLove92's permission prior to using any of their photographs!
2019.07.13: 402 July 13, 2019 NPS photo by Ranger Tammy Carmack KNP&P Flickr.
2019.07.31: 402 and her 3 yearlings make an early visit to the falls, 7/31/2019 video by Lani H.
Note: The 402 family was not observed from 7/31-9/18/2019, an absence of about 7 weeks. Many bears leave Brooks Camp in August when the salmon run has slowed down. 402 has been known to travel to Margot Creek during those times. 402 returned to Brooks Camp with all 3 yearlings on 9/18/2019.
September 2019:[]
Deanna Dittloff (aka deelynnd) created a September 2019 video of 402 and her 3 yearlings.
2019.09.18: 402 and her 3 yearlings return to Brooks Falls after an almost 7 week hiatus, 9/18/2019 video by mckate.
Birgitt's 9/18/2019 video of 402 and her 3 yearlings return to Brooks Camp.
Birgitt captured 9/18/2019 video of 402's three yearlings waiting for mom to catch a fish at the falls.
Cam viewer and Brooks Camp visitor scooch captured 8 photos of 402 and her 3 yearlings on the last day of her visit, #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7 and #8. Scooch shared the photos in chat on 3/6/2020. "On our last day at Brooks we had to assemble on Naknek Lake beach to catch our float plane back to King Salmon. When we arrived early on that rainy afternoon we were so happy to see 402 and her cubs resting on the beach near the mouth of the river. Mama and two of her babes were sleeping while the third cub rolled around and played with rocks and sticks, favorite toys of young bears. He put on the cutest show for all of us until his mom told him to cut it out and come take his nap. :) Adorbs! 402 and cubs, September 18, 2019." Scooch also shared a GIF of 402's yearling playing with a stick, 9/18/2019. "He was having a blast all by himself. Here's a short gif, taken from a cell phone video of him playing with a stick."
Please request Scooch's permission prior to using her photographs!
2019.09.21: 402's three yearlings are bored at the Falls, 9/21/2019 video by Birgitt.
2019.09.22: 402's cub successfully independently fishing from the bank of Brooks River below the falls gif by GABear. Note: The gif is unavailable.
2019.09.29: KCanada captured this snapshot of 402 with her smallest yearling. When KCanada posted her snapshot of 402 with her smallest yearling, deelynnd went looking for other snapshots of 402 and her 3 yearlings from the same day. Deelynnd found these snapshots that a CamOp had captured (#1 , #2 & #3 ), unfortunately the identity of the CamOp that captured the snapshots was not made available. Debbie (Bearz61) captured this snapshot of 402 with her 3 yearlings on the spit. Bookmom captured this snapshot of 402 that provides evidence that the lighter of the yearlings is a female. Ratna captured these snapshots (#1 , #2 , #3 , #4 , #5 & #6 ) of 402 and 1 of her 3 yearlings. Cruiser created this collage of snapshots of the 402 family group. BearBell captured this snapshot of 402 with 1 of her remaining yearlings. GreenRiver captured this snapshot of 402 that shows 402's lower front teeth.
402 and cubs on the Falls road, 9/29/2019 video by Birgitt.
402's smallest yearling is a male video by Mckate:
October 2019:[]
2019.10.04: 402 is submerged diving in the jacuzzi and 812 approaches the jacuzzi. 402 pops up out from under the water and 812 is right there. Video by mckate.:
2019.10.16: 402 and her 3 remaining yearlings were observed. BearPause created this gif of the 3 remaining yearlings. BearPause created this gif of two of the remaining yearlings and a magpie. MMT captured this snapshot of 402 and her 3 yearlings. Ginray captured this snapshot of 402 with her 3 yearlings in the riffles. BearPause created this gif of one of 402's yearlings standing up.:
Birgitt's 10/16/2019 video of 402 and her pudgy yearlings making one last visit to the falls.
Tralfamadore (aka Casper Pike/DCS1955) created this video of the 402 family group.:
402 and yearlings falls and riffles video by Lani H.:
402 and yearlings in the riffles again video by Lani H:
2019.10.23: 402 and her 3 yearlings visited the falls on October 23, 2019, but the cams were popping in and out of highlights so this is all we saw of them,
Cruiser created this video .:
Lani H created this video .:
Note: The Lower River East Cam was turned off on 10/1/2019 so there was no view of the spit. LR, RW and the UW cam were turned off on 10/10/2019. Sows and cubs may have still been at Brooks Camp after those dates.
2020: Single Adult Female[]
402 was included in the 2021 Bears of Brooks River book page 41.
2020 Season:[]
Deelynnd (aka Deanna Dittloff) created this 2020 season video of 402.
June 2020:[]
2020.06.??: GreenRiver created a video "The King and I" which follows the courtship of 402 by 856.
2020.06.16: Ranger Naomi Boak stopped in chat on 6/17/2020 and announced that bear 402 with her three 2.5 year old cubs had been seen and identified the evening before by Ranger Tammy. 151 Walker was seen pursuing the family. Is 151 Walker pursuing 402 to mate? If 402 goes into estrus her cubs will probably be emancipated. 402 has never been known to keep her cubs beyond 2.5 years old.
"BREAKING NEWS from the Brook River Gazette -- Ace cub reporter Ranger Tammy was on evening duty by our cabins when she spotted bear 402 with her 3 - 2.5 year old cubs walking by. Shortly after that she saw a boar -- bear 151, Walker. Reportedly, he was huffing and agitated. Then 402 and cubs began to run and 151 pursued. That's the news from the Brooks River."
2020.06.22: 402 was first observed on the cams on 6/22/2020. She was being courted by 856 and has emancipated her three 2.5 year old cubs. The cubs have not been observed. Multiple videos were recorded of the continuing "saga" of 856 and his frequent courting of 402 over many years.
856 courting 402, 6/22/2020 video by Cruiser.
Phillydude captured these snapshots (#1 , #2 , #3 , #4 & #5 ) of 856 courting 402) (p 06/22/2020 17:39 )
6/22/2020 video by mckate, 856 and 402 fishing in the riffles.
6/22/2020, 856 courts 402, video by mckate.
402 on the lip, 856 in the jacuzzi, 6/22/2020 video by mckate.
6/22/2020 video by Ratna Narayan.
6/22/2020 video by Ratna Narayan.
6/22/2020 video by Ratna Narayan.
6/22/2020 video by Lani H.
6/22/2020 video by Lani H.
6/22/2020 video by Lani H.
6/22/2020 video by Birgitt.
2020.06.24: 151 Walker approaches 402 and 856 runs from the J to chase him off, 6/24/2020 video by Lani H.
856 spots 151 Walker approaching 402 and takes off like a freight train, 6/24/2020 video by mckate.
2020.06.25: 402 being courted on the spit by 856, 6/25/2020 video by Ratna Narayan.
2020.06.27: 856's pursuit of 402 continues unabated, 6/27/2020 video by mckate. "
2020.06.28: 402 (near) and 812 her son (far) who haven't fished the lip since he was just a yearling in 2016, 6/28/2020 video by mckate.
402 (near on the lip) sends a message to 856 (below in the jacuzzi) by relieving herself and sending it his way, 6/28/2020 video by mckate.
July 2020:[]
2020.07.01: 402 and 856 came in like wrecking bears, 7/1/2020 video by Lani H.
2020.07.04: 402 watches 32 Chunk brunch with 482 Brett, 7/4/2020 video by mckate. "I think 32 Chunk was supposed to be courting 402, but he got waylaid by his stomach. To add intrigue, he's also been seen courting 482. 32 seems to have a fairly laid back approach to courting."
2020.07.08: 402 gives 747 a kiss, 7/8/2020 video by mckate.
2020.07.09: 402 fishes the lip with her sons 503 and 812, 7/9/2020 video by mckate. "She and 812 fish well next to each other, but 503 appeared to be feeling a bit left out so had to join in the family fun. I would give anything to be able to read 402's mind. What a wonderful sight!"
Lani H's 7/9/2020 video of 402 fishing the lip with her sons 503 and 812.
775 Lefty gets lucky?7/9/2020 video by mckate. "That was an invite to some afternoon delight by none other than the beautiful 402. It's ironic that 856 chased her all over the river for weeks on end, and all Lefty had to do was sit on the lip burping to get her attention. Makes me rethink 812's parentage a little."
2020.07.12: 402 is seen climbing to the top of the falls where 151 Walker (left) and 503 Cubadult (right) are standing. They make way for her. 402 then heads to the lip where 812 yields so she can fish the lip, 7/12/2020 video by Birgitt.
2020.07.17: 402 on the lip, 7/17/2020 video by Lani H.
2020.07.20: 402 in the riffles, 7/20/2020 video by Lani H.
2020.07.21: 402 on the lower river, 7/21/2020 video by Lani H.
2020.07.24: 402 on the lower river, you can see her dive near the end, 7/24/2020 video by Lani H.
September 2020:[]
2020.09.16: 402 returns to Brooks River after not having been seen since the end of July, 9/16/2020 video by Lani H. She is observed fishing along the lower river.
Lani H's 9/16/2020 video with a good look at 402 on the spit.
402 diving along the lower river, 9/16/2020 video by Lani H.
2020.09.20: 402 waddles down the road on the lower river, 9/20/2020 video by mckate.
October 2020:[]
2020.10.02: 402 passes through the riffles, 10/2/2020 video by Birgitt. This was the last sighting of 402 in 2020. Will she return with her 8th litter of cubs in 2021?
2021: Adult Female[]
402 was included in the 2022 Bears of Brooks River book page 44.
2021 Season:[]
Deelynnd (aka Deanna Dittloff) created this 2021 season video of 402.
July 2021:[]
2021.07.09: During a 7/10/2021 play-by-play it was announced that 402 had been seen on 7/9/2021. She was not seen with cubs.
2021.07.10: 402 was first observed on cams in the riffles being courted by 856, video by Hey Princess.
856 followed 402 to the lip as she wanted to fish, 7/10/2021 video by Hey Princess. She was boxed in and soon left with 856 following her.
2021.07.11: 402 fishes the lip, 7/11/2021 video by JG.
2021.07.13: 89 Backpack and 402 have a rendezvous at the riffles, 7/13/2021 video by mckate.
2021.07.15: 402 fishes the lip on 7/15/2021, gif by LunaCre.
2021.07.16: 402 fishes in the prime spot with 821 next to her. 903 is trying to catch from an impossible position in back, or maybe he's just biding his time. But who the heck is this little bear in front? Everyone wants to lip fish! Video by mckate on 7/16/2021.
2021.07.17: 503 Cubadult (402's 2013 biological offspring) expresses interest in 402 on the lip with 747 below Brooks Falls. 747 has been courting 402 recently. Flyer 4477 (aka SteveCA) created this video.:
402-503-747 on 2021 07 17 Courtesy of Explore.org
503 expresses interest in 402 (503's biological mother), 747 does not approve July 17, 2021 video by Flyer 4477 (aka SteveCA)
634 Popeye can be seen courting 402 at 0:11 into this 7/17/2021 video by markindify.
2021 07 17 BFL Explore.org -634--402-806`s yearling--128
634 Popeye courts 402, 7/17/2021 video by markindify
2021.07.19: 128 Grazer, 402, and 812 on the lip, 7/19/2021 video by mckate.
19 Jul 2021- 128, 402, and 812 on the Lip (explore.org)
128 Grazer, 402 and 812 fish the lip, 7/19/2021 video by mckate
2021.07.24: 402 snapshot by Larinor, 7/24/2021.
2021.07.25: 402 catches a fish on the lip and gets chased by a pirating bear, 7/25/2021 video by markindify.
2021 07 25 Explore.org BF "Pirates" are also on the way early
402 catches a fish and gets chased by a pirating bear, 7/25/2021 video by markindify.
2021.07.29: 402 catches a fish on the lip, 7/29/2021 gif by oregonshefisher.
2021.07.31: 402 (near) fishes the lip, 7/31/2021 snapshot by Tim Farmer.
August 2021:[]
2021.08.01: 402 catches a salmon, but slips making her jump from the falls, 8/1/2021 video by Flyer 4477.
402 Slips from the Lip 2021 08 01 Courtesy of Explore.org
402 slips from the lip, 8/1/2021 video by Flyer 4477
2021.08.02: 402 enjoys her catch, 8/2/2021 gif by LunaCre.
2021.08.05: 806 charges 747 on the lip, 402 ignores him, 8/5/2021 (not 8/6) video by Birgitt.
806 Charges 747 on the Lip 402 Ignores Him 2021-08-06 00-24 (explore.org)
806 charges 747 on the lip, 402 ignores him, 8/5/2021 video by Birgitt
September 2021:[]
2021.09.08: 402 returns to Brooks Camp after a one month hiatus, 9/8/2021 video by JG.
2021.09.09: Ranger Naomi Boak shared a 9/9/2021 photo of 402 on Naknek beach.
Please request NSBoak's (aka Ranger Naomi Boak) permission prior to using her photographs!
2021.09.11: 402 can be seen entering from the bank and diving in the jacuzzi area, 9/11/2021 video by markindify. 402 is known for her great diving skills.
2021 09 11 Explore.org BF Diving in the Jacuzzi -) possibly 402
402 dives in the jacuzzi area, 9/11/2021 video by markindify
402 eating by the picnic area, 9/11/2021 video by JG.
2021.09.12: 806 is not happy when 402 snorkels by, 9/12/2021 video by JG.
806 not happy when 402 snorkels by - Explore.org September 12, 2021
806 not happy when 402 snorkels by, 9/12/2021 video by JG
2021.09.15: 402 walks through the riffles in this 9/15/2021 video by JG.
402 walks through the riffles - Explore.org September 15, 2021
402 walks through the riffles, 9/15/2021 video by JG
2021.09.22: LunaCre's 9/22/2021 gif of 402 walking along the spit.
2021.09.25: 402 shows off her heftiness in this 9/25/2021 video by JG.
402 shows off her heftiness - Explore.org September 25, 2021
402 shows off her heftiness , 9/25/2021 video by JG
2021.09.27: 402 walks the spit passing by 435 and cub, 9/27/2021 video by JG.
402 walks the spit passing by 435 and cub - Explore.org September 27, 2021
402 walks the spit passing by 435 and cub, 9/27/2020 video by JG
2021.09.28: 402 passes behind 435 Holly and her yearling (4:56-6:02) in this 9/28/2021 video by markindify.
2021 09 28 Explore.org Scenes from LR
402 passes behind 435 Holly and her yearling, 9/28/2021 video by markindify
October 2021:[]
2021.10.05: 402 eating clay and snorkeling for fish on the lower river, 10/5/2021 video by JG.
402 - Explore.org October 5, 2021-2
402 eating clay and snorkeling on the lower river, 10/5/2021 video by JG
2021.10.07: 402 eating her catch on the lower river, 10/7/2021 gif by LunaCre.
2021.10.08: 402 dives for fish, 10/8/2021 video by Birgitt.
2021.10.09: 94's female subadult is startled by 402, 10/9/2021 video by mckate. This was the last day that 402 was observed on the cams.
9 Oct 2021- 94's Girl Startled by 402 (explore.org)
94's female subadult is startled by 402, 10/9/2021 video by mckate
2022: Adult Female with 2 Spring Cubs, Lost 1 Spring Cub October 14, 2022 or Prior, 8th Known Litter[]
2022 Season:[]
Deanna Dittloff (aka deelynnd) created this 2022 season video of 402 and her 2 spring cubs, "Bear 402 and cubs 2022."
July 2022:[]
402 appears on the list of Bears Monitored in July 2022.
2022.07.??: Roadtrip Ramblers July 2022 video of 402 and her 2 spring cubs. "Experienced mom, 402, keeps close to her two spring cubs by the Lower River, Katmai National Park. Very cute cubs hang with their mom."
2022.07.14: 402 returned with 2 spring cubs, her 8th known litter.
402 returns to Brooks Camp with 4 spring cubs, SteveCA created this gif (p 17:49). Cruiser created this gif of 402 & her 2 spring cubs (p 18:08). JoFL created this gif of 402 with her 2 spring cubs (p 18:21). HeidiK created this gif of 402 with her 2 spring cubs, Blair-55's gif, Scooch's gif.
402 returns to Brooks Camp with 2 spring cubs, her 8th known litter, 7/14/2022 video (long) by JG.
402 returns with 2 spring cubs video by Jody Bennett:
Cheryl B (aka BearNecessities) captured this video of 402 with her 2 spring cubs, her 8th known litter.:
2022.07.16: Kara Stenberg's 7/16/2022 Instagram photo of 402 and her spring cubs. "402 walked by my cabin yesterday with her 2 spring cubs!"
2022.07.18: Ranger Chris's comment in chat on 7/19/2022. "402 was spotted at the falls last night. She seems to be doing well."
2022.07.20: 402 fishes by the cutbank while her 2 cubs wait on the shore, 7/20/2022 video by JG.
LunaCre's 7/20/2022 gif, 402 and her cubs surveyed the river from above the cutbank.
2022.07.21: 402 and her 2 spring cubs part I, 7/21/2022 video by Brian Lashchuk.
402 and her 2 spring cubs Part II, 7/21/2022 video by Brian Lashchuk.
2022.07.22: 402 and her 2 spring cubs along the lower river, 7/22/2022 video by Jen Schneider.
2022.07.23: 402 and her 2 spring cubs along the lower river and then at the riffles, 7/23/2022 video by markindify.
2022.07.25: 402 and her 2 spring cubs and 719 with her 1 spring cub (at 1:26) are seen at the cutbank in this 7/25/2022 video by Cheryl B.
2022.07.27: 402 and cubs are seen in the riffles and the low cam in markindify's 7/27/2022 video. At 1:08 one cub is calling for mom and then doesn't recognize her when she runs to them at 1:59.
2022.07.28: 402 and her 2 spring cubs at the riffles. The cubs prefer to sit on the bank, 7/28/2022 video by JG.
2022.07.30: 402 does some early morning fishing with her cubs at the riffles and falls, 7/30/2022 video by JG.
2022.07.31: 402's spring cubs spend a lot of time rock sitting while mom fishes in the riffles, 7/31/2022 video by Ratna Narayan.
August 2022:[]
2022.08.01: The 402s enjoy some salmon in the riffles, 8/1/2022 video by Ratna Narayan.
MOM! Leggooooooooo. salmon tug of war 402? and coys on riffles Explore.org 8-1-22
Video by Ratna Narayan
2022.08.02: One of 402's cubs slips out of a tree into the water, 8/2/2022 video by JG.
2022.08.03: 402 gets a little time on the lip while her cubs sit on the wall, 8/3/2022 video by JG.
2022.08.05: 402 exhibited very defensive behavior on 8/5/2022. She charged 747, 22 and 747 when she felt they were a threat to her cubs.
402 pushes back 747, 8/5/2022 video by JG. 402's cubs are out of the frame.
402 flies at 22, 8/5/202 video by mckate. "I can't believe how fast 402 was on him. He knew she and the cubs were up there, yet he took his chances. 22's also not particularly afraid of 128. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing."
402 pushes back 151 (high and low cams), 8/5/2022 video by JG.
402's spring cubs wait on top of the fish ladder, 8/5/2022 video by twelve22.
2022.08.06: 402 and cubs at the falls, 8/6/2022 video by markindify.
2022.08.07: 402's cub slips down the falls, 8/7/2022 video by GA Bear. "In a deja vu for 402, one of her coy go over the falls. It wouldn't be 402 and coy if this didn't happen at least once. All was well. 402 rushed down and the cub swam out."
Katmai Bear Cam-Brooks Falls - 402 cub slips down the falls (all is well!) - explore.org 8-7-22-2
Video by GA Bear
LunaCre's three gifs of 402's cub slipping off the fish ladder, #1, #2 and #3. "402’s cubs were very curious about 806 Jr and one of them slipped off the old fish ladder as a result. Not to worry, though, mom raced over to get that little bear. And even the sibling ran over to make sure everyone was okay."
September 2022:[]
402 appears on the list of Bears Monitored in September 2022.
2022.09.??: Melissa Freels shared a September 2022 photo of 402. "Here's a fun one of her after she came up from a dive."
Please request Melissa Freel's permission prior to using her photographs!
2022.09.09: 402 and her 2 spring cubs return after a 4 week hiatus, 9/9/2022 video by mckate.
2022.09.13: 719, 402 and their cubs running down the spit road, 9/13/2022 video by angerbodha. "Sorry for the terribly shaky camera work. This starts with 719 getting concerned because her cub has taken off running down the spit road. She starts running to catch up with it, and is joined by 402’s 2 cubs next to her. Then 402 comes chasing after the whole group. What are they running from? As far as I could tell, nothing. 719's cub got spooked by the 402s and took off. They eventually made it to the spit, woke up 94 and her 4 cubs and the whole crowd of 7 cubs and 3 moms milled around for a while sorting each other out."
9/13/2022 video by Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises of 719, 402 and their cubs running down the spit road (7:05-7:12).
Brown Bears, Brooks Falls, Alaska in September- Fun Foto Tips and Trips Episode -39
Video by Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises
Angerbodha's four 9/13/202 photos of 402's two spring cubs, #1, #2, #3 and #4.
Please request angrboda's permission prior to using her photographs!
402 diving and eating while her cubs talk over scraps, 9/13/2022 video by angerbodha.
402 diving and eating while her cubs talk over scraps in the Lower River, Katmai NP, 9-13-22
Video by angerbodha
402 shows her cubs how to find and eat clay by the bridge, 9/13/2022 video by angerbodha.
402 shows cubs how to find and eat clay by the bridge, Katmai NP, Brooks Camp, 9-13-22
Video by angerbodha
2022.09.15: 402 nurses her 2 spring cubs, 9/15/2022 video by Brian Lashchuk.
2022.09.16: Olatz Azcona Munárriz shared a 9/16/2022 photo of 402 and one of her spring cubs on 1/4/2023. "402 and her little ones hung out near the picnic area for a few minutes. 402 dived several times in that spot, before the family swam across the river toward the grassy area under the bridge." Olatz Azcona Munárriz shared four 9/16/2022 photos of 402 and her cubs on 1/4/2023, #1, (only 402's foot is visible) #2, #3 and #4. The photos show 402 diving and 1 of the cubs under the bridge. Olatz shared a 9/16/2022 photo of 402 and 1 of her 2 spring cubs on 2/19/2023. Olatz shared a 9/16/2022 photo of one of 402's 2 spring cubs on 2/22/2023. "This is one of 402´s spring cubs swimming across the river from the picnic area, where 402 had been diving and eating salmon." Olatz shared a 9/16/2022 photo of 402's two spring cubs on 4/12/2023. "402 and her spring cubs were hanging out near the picnic area when I first saw them, the early afternoon of my fourth day trip to Brooks River. The family later swam across the river toward the bank where Lower River cam is set up."
Please request Olatz Azcona Munárriz's (aka Olatz) permission prior to using their photographs!
Melissa Freels shared two 9/16/2022 photos of 402 and one of her 2 spring cubs, #1 and #2. "The elusive 402 sharing a snack with one of her cubs on September 16. Someone who visited in early season commented about how protective she seemed of her cubs. It's sad to know that despite being so cautious, she still lost one of her littles later in the season."
Please request Melissa Freel's permission prior to using her photographs!
2022.09.17: Bears on the spit yield their space to 402 and her 2 spring cubs (7:59), 9/17/2022 video by Ratna Narayan.
2022.09.18: 402 dives for fish and her cubs share leftovers, 9/18/2022 video by markindify.
2022.09.21: 402's cubs hang out by the bridge while mom fishes, 9/21/2022 video by JG.
2022.09.23: 402 and her 2 spring cubs rest by the spit road, 9/23/2022 video by JG.
2022.09.24: 402 cuddles with her cubs the spit, 9/24/2022 gif by LunaCre.
2022.09.26: 402 finds herself surrounded by cubs, 9/26/2022 video by twelve22. "It was family time on the spit today with the 94s and 402s hanging around. The 94s seemed very curious about the 402s. 94 came to claim her cubs at the end of the video."
October 2022:[]
2022.10.05: 402's darker cub is male, 10/5/2022 video by mckate. "This contradicts an earlier video in which the cub appeared to be female. There isn't much doubt here!"
402 and cubs across the river near the bridge, 10/5/2022 video by JG.
402 was observed with 2 spring cubs on October 5, 2022 at 16:44. Former Bear shared this gif of the family group (p 10/07/2023 17:20).:
2022.10.14: On 10/14/2022 402 was observed with only 1 spring cub, 10/14/2022 video by twelve22. "If this is 402, then it appears that she's unfortunately lost one of her cubs." It is unknown what happened to the missing cub.
2022.10.15: A nice long look at 402 and her remaining cub as they rest by the bridge, 10/15/2022 video by twelve22.
2022.10.18: 402's cub watches her from the bank, 10/18/2022 video by mckate. This was the last date that 402 and her cub were observed.
2023: Adult Female with 1 Yearling, Female[]
July 2023:[]
2023.07.11: 402 and her female yearling visited Ranger Naomi Boak outside of her cabin (GABear posted 07/12/23 08:58).
From Ranger Naomi:
"Here was my visitor outside my cabin last night. 402 and cub. They were there for nearly an hour."
2023.07.12: 402 and her female yearling make their first appearance on the live cams for the 2023 season, twelve22 captured this video.:
402 and Her Yearling Make Their First Appearance on Camera This Season - July 12, 2023 (explore.org)
video by twelve22
402 and her remaining female yearling make their live cam debut of the 2023 season, video by mckate.:
12 Jul 2023- 402 and Her Yearling Arrive (explore.org)
video by mckate
402 and her female yearling's 2023 season debut on the live cams video by JG:
402 and cub season debut on cam - Explore.org July 12, 2023
video by JG
402 and her female yearling on the spit video by veeriabroadcast:
402 and yearling are back. July 12, 2023. Explore.org. Brooks falls
video by veeriabroadcast
2023.07.13: 402 and her female yearling take a break in twelve22's video.:
402 and Her Yearling Take a Break - July 13, 2023 (explore.org)
video by twelve22
402 and female yearling explore the lower river in this video by JG:
402 and cub - Explore.org July 13, 2023-2
video by JG
2023.07.14: 402's female yearling rests in the road video captured by mckate:
14 Jul 2023- 402's Cub Rests in the Road (explore.org)
video by mckate
KossTG captured this video of 402 and her female yearling in the lower river:
402s(07-14-2023-KRV-explore.org)
video by KossTG
402 and her female yearling video (long) captured by JG:
(Long) 402 and cub - Explore.org July 14, 2023
video by JG
402 & her female yearling hang out on the bank of the riffles video by twelve22:
402 and Her Yearling Hang Out on the Riffles Bank - July 14, 2023 (explore.org)
video by twelve22
2023.07.15: 402 and her female yearling at the riffles video by JG:
402 and cub - Explore.org July 15, 2023-2
video by JG
402 brings her female yearling to the riffles in this video captured by mckate.:
15 Jul 2023- 402 Brings Her Cub to the Riffles (explore.org)
video by mckate
2023.07.16: Theresa Bielawski (aka tbielawski1) captured this series of photographs (#1, #2. #3, #4, #5 & #6) of 402 and her female yearling during her trip to Brooks Camp (p 07/31/23 17:41).:
Please request Theresa Bielawski's permission PRIOR to using her photographs!
402 and her yearling were observed together on the morning of July 16, 2023. CyndiL captured these snapshots, #2 taken at 09:00 AKDT & #1 taken at 09:21 AKDT (p 07/19/23 07:41)
Amy (NWBEARLOVE92) shared this photograph of 402 and her female yearling near he riffles on July 16, 2023 (p 08/30/2023 07:23).: Please request Amy (NWBEARLOVE92)'s permission prior to using their photographs!
402 and her yearling at the riffles video by twelve22:
402 and Her Sweet Cub - July 16, 2023 (explore.org)
video by twelve22
402 and her remaining female yearling at the riffles video by JG:
402 and cub - Explore.org July 16, 2023
video by JG
2023.07.17: Liztannica shared this snapshot of 402 with her female yearling taken at 07:50 AKDT (p 07/19/23 07:56).:
2023.07.18: 806's spring cub helps itself to 402's salmon video by JG. 402's yearling was not observed with 402 today, we do not know for sure if 402 and her cub were separated or if the yearling was just tucked away out of frame. All we know for sure is that 402 was not observed with her yearling when she was fishing the lip of the falls on July 18, 2023. It is possible that more information will become available at a later date.:
806's cub helps itself to 402's salmon - Explore.org July 19, 2023
video by JG
2023.07.19: 402 and her female yearling were observed together today. If they were separated yesterday, they have reunited. LeafyHyrax created this gif of the family group from the River Watch live cam (p OT 22:32 from earlier today). LunaCre created this July 19, 2023 gif of 402 with her yearling (p 07/20/23 10:34).:
2023.07.21: 402's yearling trees herself in this video mckate captured:
21 Jul 2023- 402's Cub Trees Herself (explore.org)
video by mckate
402 slips the lip in this video by mckate:
21 Jul 2023- 402 Slips the Lip (explore.org)
video by mckate
2023.07.22: 128 Grazer can't move 402 in this video mckate captured:
22 Jul 2023- 128 Can't Move 402 (explore.org)
video by mckate
2023.07.24: 402's female yearling comes to the lip video mckate captured:
24 Jul 2023- 402's Girl Comes to the Lip (explore.org)
video by mckate
2023.07.25: 402 waits with her female yearling in this video by mckate:
25 Jul 2023- 402 Waits with Her Girl (explore.org)
video by mckate
402's female yearling slips the lip and gets 747 in trouble in this video mckate created:
25 Jul 2023- 402's Cub Slips Lip, Gets 747 in Trouble (explore.org)
video by mckate
402 warns 17 (aka "505F") & 913 "Moomba" away in this video mckate captured:
25 Jul 2023- 402 Warns 913 and 17 Away from Her Cub (explore.org)
video by mckate
2023.07.26: 402 slips the lip, dives for fish, checks on yearling, smacks 821 Pepper in this video mckate captured:
26 Jul 2023- 402 Slips Lip, Dives for Fish, Checks Cub, Smacks 821 (explore.org)
video by mckate
2023.07.28: 402's female yearling has a look around in this video captured by mckate. Not to worry because 402 was also behind the shrub (that is one of 402's hang-out spots).:
28 Jul 2023- 402's Cub Has a Look Around (explore.org)
video by mckate
veeriabroadcast captured this longer version of 402's female yearling independently exploring on July 28, 2023:
402’s yearling. July 28, 2023. Explore.org. Brooks falls
video by veeriabroadcast
2023.07.29: Blair-55 created this series of gifs (#1, #2, #3 & #4) of 402 jaw-popping & huffing July 29, 2023 (p 13:50):
402 suggests 821 "Pepper" take his shortcut in this video captured by mckate. 821 wanted to leave but was barred from taking the fish ladder, so had to use his new shortcut.:
29 Jul 2023- 402 Suggests 821 Take His Shortcut (explore.org)
video by mckate:
402 slips the lip and lost her fish. 907 and 402 appear to want to recover 402's lost fish. 907 seems a little surprised by 402's diving in the jacuzzi in this video by mckate:
29 Jul 2023- 907 a Little Surprised by 402's Diving (explore.org)
video by mckate
2023.07.30: 402's and 910's yearlings sneak glances in this video mckate captured. Note the size difference of the two yearlings, if their histories were not known to us, it would be easy to mistake their ages.:
30 Jul 2023- 402 and 910 Yearlings Sneak Glances (explore.org)
video by mckate
August 2023:[]
2023.08.02: 402's female yearling washes over the falls in this video captured by mckate. 402 had been crossing slowly waiting for him to pick his way across and seemed shocked when he washed over right in front of her. That was 39 who watched the cub bob up in front of her. This little boy is a trooper though and got right back up on the lip.:
2 Aug 2023- 402's Boy Washes Over Falls (explore.org)
video by mckate
September 2023:[]
2023.09.02: 402's yearling appeared to have "dangly bits" when she was observed today...turns out, this yearling is a FEMALE, NOT A MALE. (see 09/26/23 indisputable urination evidence)
402 and her female yearling returned from the walkabout. 402's yearling is a female. Blair-55 created these gifs (#1, #2, #3, #4, #5 & #6) of 402 and her female yearling's return (p 19:54). Jami created this gif of 402's female yearling, dangly bits of bunched-up/thick/wet fur visible (p 20:28).:
Birgitt captured this video of 402's female yearling's "dangly bits", which turned out to likely be some thick/bunched-up/wet fur, not actually dangly bits. See 9/26/23 indisputable urination evidence.:
402Jr "I'm a Boy" 2023-09-02 21-07-39 (explore.org)
402's yearling is a FEMALE NOT A MALE
video by Birgitt
mckate's video of 402's female yearling:
2 Sep 2023- 402's Cub is Male (explore.org)
video by mckate
402 and her female yearling make their rounds in this video mckate captured:
2 Sep 2023- 402 and Her Boy Make Their Rounds (explore.org)
video by mckate
2023.09.15: 402's female yearling is curious about 94's male yearlings, but in the end, 402 Jr was too shy to meet 94's offspring in this video mckate captured:
15 Sep 2023- 402's Boy Shows Curiosity About 94's Yearlings (explore.org)
video by mckate
2023.09.16: 402 and her female yearling fish the lower river in this video by mckate:
16 Sep 2023- 402 and Her Boy Fish the Lower River (explore.org)
video by mckate
402's female yearling chases single adult female 224. Did 402's cub see the sow (224) with her fish and mistake 224 for his mom, 402? 402 appeared to do her best to head her yearling off at the pass. It is uncommon to see a yearling chase a sow, even when the sow has a fish. It would have been nice to see how this interaction ended. Mckate captured this video of the event:
16 Sep 2023- 402's Boy Chases 224 (explore.org)
video by mckate
2023.09.21: 402's female yearling casually approaches 94 and her two male yearlings in this video by mckate. 402's yearling was ostensibly watching 402 fish, but you know what she really wants is to meet the 94 brothers. Maybe it will happen before the 2023 season ends.:
21 Sep 2023- 402's Boy Casually Approaches the 94s (explore.org)
video by mckate
435 Holly relaxes on the spit until the 402 family group disrupts 435's leisure in mckate's video:
21 Sep 2023- 435 Relaxes on the Spit (explore.org)
video by mckate
2023.09.23: 402's female yearling makes a little run at 435 Holly in this video captured by mckate. Holly looked like she grumbled at 402 to get her naughty cub under control.:
23 Sep 2023- 402's Boy Makes a Little Run at 435 (explore.org)
video by mckate
2023.09.24: 402 momentarily loses sight of her female yearling in mckate's video. 402 had been out diving, when she emerged she appeared relieved when she found her female yearling under the permanent bridge.:
24 Sep 2023- 402 Momentarily Loses Sight of Her Boy (explore.org)
video by mckate
402 nurses her female yearling on the spit in this video captured by mckate:
24 Sep 2023- 402 Nurses Her Cub (explore.org)
video by mckate
2023.09.25: 402 searches for her wayward female yearling in this video mckate captured. mckate shared this information in the description of her video: "She was supposed to stay put for the five minutes her mom went diving for fish, but instead made a beeline for the opposite beach. I don't know when she made it back across the water to the willows on the spit road, but 402 was calling her and actively trying to track her scent the whole time she was missing. Little stinker is going to give her poor old mom a heart attack.":
25 Sep 2023- 402 Searches for Her Wayward Girl (explore.org)
video by mckate
2023.09.26: 402's yearling is a FEMALE, not a male as originally believed. 402's little lady provided cam viewers with clear urination evidence to accurately sex this 402 offspring. mckate captured this video of 402's female yearling's indisputable urinating evidence:
26 Sep 2023- 402's Yearling is FEMALE (explore.org)
video by mckate
402's female yearling vs. 225 video by mckate. 402's girl seemed to think that since she had so much fun chasing 224 that she'd try running after her sis, 225. She got a response that seemed to surprise her. 94 was watching the interaction with interest from the grass. Naughty cub.:
26 Sep 2023- 402's Girl vs. 225 (explore.org)
video by mckate
2023.09.29: 402 family group bookends video by mckate:
29 Sep 2023- 402s Bookend (explore.org)
video by mckate
October 2023:[]
2023.10.01: twleve22 captured this video of 402 and her yearling fishing in the lower river:
402 and Her Yearling Fish in the Lower River - October 1, 2023 (explore.org)
video by twelve22
2023.10.03: KNP&P's bear monitor, Ranger Tammy Carmack, observed 402's female yearling being injured by 94. Ranger Tammy shared this information with LTC in a direct message at 20:17 AKDT:
"You can tell people on Webcam that I saw what happened to 402s yearling. 94 attacked her pretty viciously on the spit. "protecting her cubs" She's lucky ... there are at least 3 bite marks. If 402 hadn’t returned, she most likely would have been fatally injured."
The live cam that provides a view of the spit and the mouth of Brooks River is off for the month of October to respect the privacy of the native family making it impossible for cam viewers to have observed the altercation between 94 and 402's female yearling. Shortly before 19:46 AKDT, cam viewers did observe 402 and her female yearling grazing under the permanent bridge after 94 attacked 402's yearling. From the KRV cam, viewers observed a bite mark on both sides of the yearling's neck posterior of her ears; and wounds on her left hip and ankle. 402's female yearling has recently appeared curious about 94's two male yearlings, see mckate's September 21, 2023 video for an example cam viewers observed.
Cam viewers captured the following snapshots and created these gifs and videos of the 402 family group after 94 attacked 402's yearling:
Bearoplane747 gif (p 20:12). Caligirl1218 snapshot (p 19:48). BearLove56 snapshot (p 19:53). 901fan snapshots (#1 & #2) (p 19:54 & 20:03). Call_Me_Maeby snapshot (p 19:54). kazbear snapshot (p 21;46). luvak64 snapshot (p 19:46). WinterRose snapshot (p 19:46).:
twelve22 captured this video of the 402 family group (longer & includes 402):
402 and Her Yearling Graze Under the Bridge - October 3, 2023 (explore.org)
video by twelve22
mckate captured this video of 402's yearling (shorter, focuses on yearling & shows wounds):
3 Oct 2023- 402's Girl Grazes Under the Cam (explore.org)
video by mckate
2023.10.04: For bears, motherhood is not easy and neither is Match 2 of the 2023 Fat Bear Week competition. In this juxtaposed joust, 402, a seasoned sow, goes up against 901, a fledgling first-timer. No catch was too deep for diving diva 402 while bulky beach babe 901 basked in her bounty on the shore. Even while providing for cubs, these two sows still succeeded in slammin’ sockeye. Which mega-mom earns your vote?
2023 Fat Bear Week voters chose their lardaceous lady as 901 took this match paws down with 115,392 votes over 402's 24,216 votes.
2023.10.06: 402 dives for fish in this video mckate captured:
6 Oct 2023- 402 Dives for a Fish (explore.org)
video by mckate
2023.10.18: 402 still hold her girl near in this video by mckate. Here is an October 15, 2022 video by mckate of 402 and her then spring cub in the same pose.:
18 Oct 2023- 402 Still Holds Her Girl Close (explore.org)
video by mckate
2023.10.19: 402 and her yearling fish the oxbow in this video captured by mckate. 402's yearling didn't like 299 lurking behind them.:
19 Oct 2023- 402s Fish the Oxbow (explore.org)
video by mckate
402 and her yearling come to the falls in this video by mckate:
19 Oct 2023- 402s Come to the Falls (explore.org)
video by mckate
2023.10.21: 402's female yearling stands guard in mckate's video:
21 Oct 2023- 402's Girl Stands Guard (explore.org)
video by mckate
2024: Adult Female (with? or without? her 2.5 year-old female cub)[]
For Future Use
402 Does Not Have An Official Nickname:[]
402 does not have an official nickname that is known to us. 402's sister, 403 does have an official nickname, Egberta. Why would one sibling get a nickname and not the other? We don't know. Could 403's nickname Egberta just have been one that "stuck"? Could a nickname that 402 was given by bear monitoring staff just not have "stuck"? We may never know the answer to these questions.
In 2012, cam viewers called 402 by multiple unofficial nicknames such as "Brooke" and "Beauty". While Beauty is a beautiful name and 402 is a beautiful bear...Beauty is also the official nickname of 209, 402's mother. Cam viewers were not aware that 209 Beauty even existed when they began calling 402 "Beauty"...but as interpretation and education staff at KNP&P continued to share knowledge of the bears that have used the Brooks River over the years the 209 Beauty and 402 connection was revealed to cam viewers. "Brooke" was also a name that did not "stick" for 402 among many cam viewers. The cam viewer given nicknames has been a heated topic of discussion over the years since 2012..."Brooke" is a cam viewer given nickname for 402 that has been laid to rest for the majority of cam viewers and is typically no longer used.
Known Courting & Mating:[]
2010:[]
218 Ugly: 402 Mated with 218 Ugly on July 8, 2010. )also mated with 856 the same evening .:[]
856: 402 Mated with 856 on July 8, 2010. 402 also mated with 218 Ugly on the same evening .:[]
2012 or Prior: (Publishes April 2013)[]
32 Chunk and 402 mating in this video by Josep Mª Puig Bernaus:
2017:[]
July 2017:[]
2017.07.04: 402 being courted by 801, 7/4/2017 photo by reweaver33.
2021:[]
July 2021:[]
2021.07.10: 402 being courted by 856, 7/10/2021 video by Hey Princess.
2021.07.13: 89 Backpack and 402 have a rendezvous at the riffles, 7/13/2021 video by mckate.
2021.07.17: 634 Popeye can be seen courting 402 at 0:11 into this 7/17/2021 video by markindify.
2021 07 17 BFL Explore.org -634--402-806`s yearling--128
634 Popeye courts 402, 7/17/2021 video by markindify
747 can be seen guarding 402 as she fishes the lip, 7/17/2021 video by HeyPrincess.
747 naps on top of the falls while guarding 402 on the lip Explore.org 07.17.21
Video by Hey Princess
Known Litters of Cubs:[]
1st Known Litter: 2004[]
2004: 2 Spring Cubs
2005: 2 Yearlings
2006: 402 was observed on May 27, 2006 with her two 2.5 year old cubs from her 2004 litter, but was then observed without them later in the season. They are confirmed by DNA to be 858 Artie (male) & 859 Stella (female).
2nd Known Litter: 2007[]
2007: 1 Spring Cub, Lost by July 8, 2007
3rd Known Litter: 2008[]
2008: 3 Spring Cubs
2009: 3 Yearlings
4th Known Litter: 2011[]
2011: 3 Spring Cubs, 2 lost before Sep 25, 2011
2012: Single
402 lost her only remaining cub from her 2011 by spring of 2012, and returned to the Brooks River area as a single female in 2012.
5th Known Litter: 2013[]
2013: 3 Spring Cubs
402 lost one of these spring cubs in September 2013 when the cub was fatally injured up near Lake Brooks and lost a second cub prior to returning to the Brooks River area in 2014.
2014: 1 Yearling (male)
402 returned to the Brooks River area in 2014 with only 1 remaining yearling from her 2013 litter. 402 was separated from her yearling on multiple occasions in early to mid July of 2014. 402 was being courted by 856 at this time, and they were observed mating on July 21. The male yearling was an independent subadult after being separated from 402 for the final time on July 9, 2014, and was officially assigned the number of 503 by Ranger Leslie Skora, the bear monitor. 503 was adopted a short time after by 435 Holly and included in the family group with 435 Holly's 2014 female spring cub.
6th Known Litter: 2015[]
2015: 4 Spring Cubs
On July 8, 2015 402 returned to the Brooks River area with 4 spring cubs. 402 is one of four bears known to have a litter four spring cubs in the Brooks River area in the past ten years.
2016: 3 Yearlings, Lost 1, 2 Remaining
402 returned to Brooks River with 3 yearling cubs, but one of the yearlings was lost between 6/17/2016 and 6/19/2016. 402's smaller cub is believed to be female and the larger cub is male.
Prior to 2013, 236 Milkshake was the only bear that frequented the Brooks River area previously known to produce five litters of cubs. 402 producing her 5th known litter totaling 12 known offspring between 2004 and 2013, tied her with 236 Milkshake as one of the most fecund bears known to utilize the Brooks River area. In 2015 when 402 produced her 6th known litter of cubs totaling 16 known offspring has now captured the status of the most fecund bear known to frequent the Brooks River area.
2017: Single Female
7th Known Litter: 2018[]
2018: 4 Spring Cubs, Blondest Cub is Female
2019: 3 Yearlings
Smallest dark yearling is male. Medium-sized yearling is female.
8th Known Litter: 2022[]
2022: 2 Spring Cubs
On July 14, 2022, 402 returned to Brooks Camp with 2 spring cubs. After Oct 14, 2022, 402 was only seen with one female spring cub.
2023: 1 Female Yearling
On July 11, 2023, 402 and her yearling visited Ranger Naomi Boak at her cabin.
On September 26, 2023, 402's female yearling provided indisputable evidence that she is a female. Mckate captured this video of the cub urinating.
Known Relatives:[]
.jpeg){kind=link}
NPS photo from DNA research slide included in a presentation by Sara Turner, Tamara Olson, Troy Hamon and Jennifer Nielsen.
Mother: 209 Beauty, DNA Confirmed
Father: 24 BB (aka Bald Butt), DNA Confirmed
Littermate: 403 Egberta, DNA Confirmed
Offspring:
858 Artie (Male) and 859 Stella (Female), 2004 litter (DNA Confirmed)
503 Cubadult, 2013 litter (Speculated)
811 and 812, 2015 litter (Speculated)
101, 102 and 103, 2018 litter
Genetics Study Samples Obtained:[]
2005 & 2006: Hair & Tissues Samples by Wildlife Biologist, Tamara Olson[]
In 2005 and 2006 former KNP&P Wildlife Biologist, Tamara Olson obtained hair and tissue samples from 402.
2016: Successfully Darted by Ranger Michael Saxton[]
402 was successfully darted by Ranger Michael Saxton in 2016.
2017: No Darting Attempts, Successful or Unsuccessful[]
There were no darting attempts, successful or unsuccessful, by Ranger Michael Saxton in 2017.
A special thank you to KCanada for the NPS photos from the 2012 Brown Bears of Brooks Camp iBook.
A special thank you to Xander-Sage for creating the gif of the NPS photos from the 2012 Brown Bears of Brooks Camp iBook.
NEED TO MOVE THE INFO AND PHOTOS BELOW TO THE APPROPRIATE SECTIONS ABOVE:
ID Marks and Hints
A medium sized adult, #402 has a short, dark blonde coat of fur. Her face is crescent shaped with a straight profile.
402 Sept 2014
402 comparison July 18 and Sept 28, 2014