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Hallo Bay, in Katmai National Park guided by author Steve Stringham and photographer Kent Fredriksson Bear Viewing Association (c) 2003. Kent Fredriksson Want to watch bears? Want to know: Where and when they can be found? How to watch them at photographic range without being attacked & without disturbing the bruins? If so, you aren’t alone. Bear viewing is one of the fastest growing forms of ecotourism in North America, especially on the Pacific coasts of Alaska, Kamchatka and British Columbia. In response to that rising interest and demand for information on viewing opportunities and techniques, this book documents enough insights to meet the needs of every viewer,from the most casual to the most dedicated. These insights come from decades of Dr. Stringham’s personal experience watching bears from Maine to Oregon, and southern California to northern Alaska. Dr. Stringham has watched bears (and other wildlife) for recreation, for his livelihood as a guide, for science, and for filming. Insights he learned on the job have been combined with wisdom drawn from a host of other viewing guides, viewers and wildlife biologists. Insights of broad interest to viewers are packed into five books and two videos available at www.bear-viewing-in-alaska.info. The Bear Viewing Association (BVA) hosts this and other websites (see the menu bar at the top of this page) to provide additional information, especially on issues that require frequent updating. They also provide a wealth of color photos by BVA members, as well as features that books can’t, including audio/video clips and a blog where members can describe their viewing experiences, concerns or ideas. Want to comment on bears, bear viewing, or bear safety -- visit BVA blogs  (Want to join BVA? Visit their home site  and fill out a membership application).   Websites and contents (c) 1972-2006 S. Stringham unless otherwise attributed. http://web.mac.com/gobearviewing/iweb/gobearviewing/Home.html
   Successful viewing isn’t as easy as it might sound. Even viewers who select sites with a great reputation may go away frustrated and disappointed. Either they don’t see any bears; or the sightings are all too brief; or the bears aren’t doing anything more interesting than grazing or sleeping. Or maybe the bears are perfect, but viewers can’t get within 300 yards of the animals; or fog and rain are so heavy that viewers can barely see the bears, much less make great photos.
 
    Don’t let that happen to you.  And don’t let a tour company waive off your complaints by telling you something like “Nature isn’t predictable.  It’s not always comfortable. That’s why we call it ‘wild.’”
 
    Really?  
 
    Yes, there is always an element of luck in finding viewable bears.  You can get skunked even during the seasonal viewing peak at the best viewing locations.  However, the annual peaks (and pits) at each site are reasonably predictable, plus or minus a couple of weeks. Any competent guide should know them.  But tour companies need to stay in operation even during slack periods.  So don’t expect them to turn down your business during those pits and recommend that you look for bears in another area with another tour company.    
 
    If you really want to have the time of your life watching bears, don’t depend on luck, recommendations by friends or on glib sales pitches.  Depend on preparation and information.
 
    Worldwide, there are over 100 popular viewing sites -- most in North America, especially Alaska, as well as a few in the contiguous 48 states, Canada, and the Kamchatka Peninsula of Siberia.  At many of these sites you can watch bears fish for salmon, but at only a few sites can you watch them dig clams or court and mate.  Fishing occurs all summer long, but fishing at any given site might last only a week or few.  Arrive at any other time and you might be lucky to even glimpse a bear.  There are countless sites where you can happen upon a bear and watch it from hundreds of yards away for short periods, but far fewer where you can reliably find bears and watch them for hours on end within 100 yards.  There are only a handful of even mediocre viewing sites that can be reached by road,  plus a short hike; most can be reached only with a long hike and/or by boat or aircraft.
 
       With so many sites to choose from, and so much variation in viewing opportunities, how do you pick the site and times that best meet your needs?  
 
    A good way to start is by defining your goals, for instance by asking and answering the following questions.  Then use your answers as criteria for evaluating the suitability of each site during the weeks you‘ll be viewing.  
  1.  
  2. ★What is it about bears that interests me the most? Do I want to watch them digging clams, chasing salmon, eating berries, mating or nursing cubs?  
 
  1. ★Do I want to photograph them, and if so, what quality of images would I like to have?  Would I be satisfied with pictures of bears in the landscape?  Or do I want to be able to fill the frame with just the head or nostrils of a bear?
  2.  
  3. ★Am I after a sense of acceptance by bears or even spiritual kinship with them?  Am I seeking recreation or  “re creation.”                
  4.               
  5. ★Am I hungry for the thrill of encountering animals that seem ready to kill someone with a single swat, but have never done so?  
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  7. ★Would I be satisfied with viewing along a road or on an elevated viewing platform; or would I prefer being in a bus or boat?
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  9. ★Do I want to be alone or part of a small group, or would I be content being among twenty or even fifty other viewers?
  10.  
  11. ★Am I after a “true wilderness experience” where our group doesn’t see other people?
 
  1. ★Am I prepared for the unpredictable climates of the wilderness?  What are the harshest conditions I’m willing to face, and under which I’m prepared to keep myself and my photo gear warm and dry?  Could I cope with several hours or even days of rain and overcast, high winds, or clouds of of mosquitoes and no-see-ums?
  2.  
  3. ★How can I learn the special challenges of photographing at each site, and means of meeting those challenges? For example, will I be in a boat that never stops rocking or where there isn’t room to set up a tripod?  Will I have to face into the sun or cope with strong glare off water?
 
    Verbalizing what you hope to accomplish, and identifying the constraints under which you can operate, provides criteria for assessing each site.  But where can you find so much information about even a few sites, much less a broad selection of them?  
 
    If you’re a workaholic with unlimited free time to invest, you can start searching from scratch by reading conventional bear books or by surfing vendor advertisements on the web -- which will tell you only what each business wants you to know -- which may be whatever makes the most profit for them.  You can compile all that information, weed out the sales hype, develop comparison charts, and rate each site according to your own criteria.  
 
    Or, you can take advantage of the fact that all this work has already been done and condensed it into a book: Bear Viewing in Alaska.  It provides detailed information on over 60 viewing sites, as well as cursory information on more than 40 other sites.  
 
    After you define your goals, compare them to the summary charts in Bear Viewing in Alaska.  These charts contrast sites according to which species of bears and kinds of bear activity can be seen, means of access to the site (e.g., by road, water or air), availability of on-site lodging, and other factors.  Further details on sites that interest you can be read in narrative descriptions.  
 
    Bear Viewing in Alaska also answers the following questions:
 
  1. ★    What techniques can be used to minimize disturbance of wildlife?  
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  3. ★    What techniques can be used to minimize personal risk?  
 
  1. ★    Under what circumstances would you need the assistance of a guide?   How can you find one with the appropriate qualifications?
  2.  
  3. ★    If a boat or plane is required to reach a site, can you use your own; can  you charter one or buy a seat fare; or must you join a commercial tour?
  4.  
  5. ★    Which sites require a viewing permit?  How is it obtained?  How long in advance need you apply?
  6.  
  7. ★   If you want to watch bears on more than one day, do you have to travel back and forth between town and the site each day, or can you overnight nearby, for instance in a wilderness lodge?  Is camping allowed and reasonably safe?
  8.  
  9. ★  How does your choice of transportation affect opportunities to watch wildlife on the way?   Each form of transportation, including hiking, has advantages and disadvantages, including hazards, that you should keep in mind when planning your trip.  For example, take a boat if you also want to see whales, seals, other marine mammals and sea birds.
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