Katmai Bearcams Wiki

KNP&P Ranger Naomi Boak's August 7, 2020 Morning Commute at Brooks Camp:[]

KNP&P Ranger Naomi Boak shared here August 7, 2020 morning commute with cam viewers (p 08/07/2020 09 :):

"Just another morning commute in bear country. So I left extra early for work this morning so I wouldn't be late for a meeting. The bears had other ideas. First, as I walked down from the Lake Brooks Y, there was a good sized subadult walking my way. So, back to the Y where I would have an easy getaway. That lasted 10 minutes. Then, when almost to the bridge, I turned a corned and this head popped up. The "402's" as I call 402's emancipated trio were sleeping just off the road. They saw me and decided I was boring enough they could go back to sleep. It was another half an hour before they decided to slowly stroll along. I love my commute."

Pelagia Melgenak, Native Family in Brooks Camp Area:[]

In the people section of the KNP&P website they updated this on August 7, 2020:

Pelagia Melgenak  "Quick Facts

SIGNIFICANCE:

Matriarch of her family, community and culture

PLACE OF BIRTH:

Savonoski, Alaska

DATE OF BIRTH:

1879 (or 1877)

PLACE OF DEATH:

South Naknek, Alaska

DATE OF DEATH:

1974

To learn the story of Pelagia (also spelled Palakia) Melgenak is to learn the sanctity of shared traditions, the loving bonds of kinship and the reverence of a spiritual connection to the land around you. Born in the late 1870s in the remote village of Savonoski in Alaska, Pelagia grew up learning about hunting, gathering, navigating and guiding in the area. In 1897, she married Petr Kayagvak and together they had several children. Records indicate they were known in and travelled between many villages in the area, but Savonoski was always home. 

That all changed in 1912 with the hot ash falling like a blanket covering the region with the eruption of Novarupta. “Grandma Pelagia said they thought the end of the world was coming when the mountain started erupting,” recalled Teddy Melgenak. Obviously Pelagia talked about this event with her family, and oral traditions such as this are exactly what saved Pelagia and her fellow townspeople during that fateful day in 1912. People knew from their ancestors to overturn boats to prevent them from filling with ash, to collect fresh water before it was tainted and to protect as much of their portable property as possible to enable a safe escape. Due to the importance they placed on the stories of those that came before them, no known deaths occurred in any of the villages impacted by this volcanic eruption despite the severity of it (it was 30 times larger than the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption in Washington State!). Residents that fled the area of Savonoski tried returning shortly after, but the hot ash made a return impossible. Instead, they settled along the Naknek River in a town they named New Savonoski.

Pelagia’s husband Petr was forever immortalized as “American Pete” after he was interviewed by a member of the Griggs volcano research team in 1918 and quoted as the closest witness to the eruption of 1912. Sometime soon after that interview, Petr died leaving Pelagia a widow and New Savonoski lost one of their leaders. Nikolai Melgenak changed both fortunes as he stepped in to help finish the construction of the chapel in New Savonoski and married Pelagia in 1919. A hunting accident cost Nikolai an arm, but he gained the nickname “One Arm Nick” and this setback never seemed to slow him down. Unfortunately, the flu pandemic of 1918-1919 had other plans for the area and over 25% of the Savonoski villagers perished as a result. Pelagia’s family survived unscathed, said to be the result of closing her doors to outsiders and villagers while deploying traditional medicine made from local plants, skills she learned through family and cultural practices.

Despite not permanently returning to the area she grew up in, Pelagia still made annual trips until she was in her 90s to Qit’rwik (also spelled Kittiwick), the Native Sugpiaq-Alutiiq name for the Brooks Camp area of what was now known as Katmai National Park. “Upon arrival at Kittiwick, Grandma would joyfully go ashore, make the sign of the cross on herself and venerate the earth by putting her forehead on the ground,” recalls Mary Jane Nielson. While there with her family, Pelagia was recalled as the fastest at filleting a fish for drying and the best at removing the bones. Family and fellow community members venerate Pelagia as a matriarch of her family, community and culture who would pass on stories, songs, customs and traditions to help link them all to their collective past. 

Pelagia Melgenak’s story shows a grit and determination to survive as an individual but also as a vessel to help a culture survive. Despite losing her homeland to the largest volcanic eruption of the twentieth century and having her community shaken, Pelagia was one of the people who never gave up living, teaching, and sharing her culture and values including a spiritual reverence for the very land she lived on. Our world will continue being a better place when we learn from examples set by people like her."

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32 Chunk and the Junk in his trunk, August 7, 2020:[]

Nee BP created this gif of 32 Chunk from his back side (p 08/07/2020 18:21 ).:

25 & 26 (435's Holly's 2017 Offspring) Visit Brooks Falls, August 7, 2020:[]

Lani H's video of 25 and 26 at the falls.:

25_and_26_visit_the_falls_8_7_2020_by_Lani_H

25 and 26 visit the falls 8 7 2020 by Lani H

Lani H's August 7, 2020 Daily Update Summary:[]

Lani H's daily update summary for August 7, 2020 (p 08/08/2020 04:53 ).:

Good Morning Bear Peeps although it was a rainy day there were still plenty of bears around. Here are the bears that were seen yesterday: 151 Walker, 18, 747, 32 Chunk, 435 Holly and Coy, 480 Otis, 128 Grazer and 2 Coy, 610, 909, 907, 812, 821, 910, 273 and 3 yearlings, 801, Unknown Sow (39?) and 2 yearlings, 708 Amelia and 2 yearlings, 719 and 2 yearlings, 902, 57, 25, 26, 913, 912, a few other subadults and unknown bears.
Here are some video highlights of the day:
747 has words with an unknown boar, video by Lani H.:

747_has_words_with_unknown_boar_8_7_2020_by_Lani_H

747 has words with unknown boar 8 7 2020 by Lani H

151 Walker and 480 Otis have a kerfuffle with an unknown boar, video by Lani H.:

151_Walker_and_480_Otis_have_a_kerfuffle_with_an_unknown_boar_8_7_2020_by_Lani_H

151 Walker and 480 Otis have a kerfuffle with an unknown boar 8 7 2020 by Lani H

128 Grazer bluff charges 32 Chunk, video by Lani H:

128_Grazer_bluff_charges_32_Chunk_8_7_2020_by_Lani_H

128 Grazer bluff charges 32 Chunk 8 7 2020 by Lani H

18 tries out the jacuzzi, video by Lani H:

18_tries_out_the_jacuzzi_8_7_2020_by_Lani_H

18 tries out the jacuzzi 8 7 2020 by Lani H

Close up of the unknown sows (39?) yearlings, dark cub is male, video by Lani H:

Close_up_of_Unknown_Sows_(39?)_yearlings_dark_one_is_a_male_8_7_2020_by_Lani_H

Close up of Unknown Sows (39?) yearlings dark one is a male 8 7 2020 by Lani H

435 Holly's coy up the tree again, video by Lani H:

435_Holly's_coy_goes_up_the_tree_again_8_7_2020_by_Lani_H

435 Holly's coy goes up the tree again 8 7 2020 by Lani H

Subadult with leg wound video by mckate:

7_Aug_2020_Another_Look_at_Sub_with_Leg_Wound_by_mckate

7 Aug 2020 Another Look at Sub with Leg Wound by mckate

Bear checks out Ranger Barbara's work on cleaning the UW cam gif by Blair-55.  Gif is 10.6 MB, wiki won't permit gif to ba uplaoded.  Click link to view gif.

Unknown sow (39?) and yearlings in back with 912 and 913 video by mckate:

7_Aug_2020_39_and_Four_of_Her_Offspring_at_the_Falls_by_mckate

7 Aug 2020 39 and Four of Her Offspring at the Falls by mckate

Unknown sows cub takes the express route down the hill gif by Scooch.   Gif is 13.2 MB, wiki won't permit gif to be uploaded. Click link to view the gif.

719 nursing her yearlings on the spit, video by Lani H:

719_nursing_her_yearlings_on_the_spit_8_7_2020_by_Lani_H

719 nursing her yearlings on the spit 8 7 2020 by Lani H

128 Grazer and coy at the falls, video by Lani H:

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128 Grazer and Coy at the falls 8 7 2020

708 Amelia and yearlings, video by Lani H:

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708 Amelia and yearlings 8 7 2020 by Lani H

Diving subadult, video by Lani H:

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Subadult diving 8 7 2020 by Lani H