Anan Bear Observatory

(So before I start this next edition of Ella goes to AK, I must take a moment to give credit where credit is due. Like my dad once said "good writing is good editing," and I am travelling with a great editor. This is for sure a co-created blog with Anna and I writing and Ella running around trying to find something to fall off, jump into, or poke metal things into...)



As I write this I am currently at the Stikine Inn on Wrangell Island in Southeast AK. In the lower 48 the rooms at the Stikine could be rented by the hour, but on Wrangell Island one pays $150/night… welcome to Alaska. I was lulled into a sense of excitement when the website said “Wrangell’s only waterfront hotel,” but they failed to mention that it’s the ONLY hotel in Wrangell… waterfront or otherwise. Our room has shag carpet, which I think went out of style in the 70’s, and unfortunately I think this carpet was bought in the early 70’s.




However, one doesn’t come to Wrangell for the accommodations but instead comes to Wrangell for the natural beauty, the Stikine River (fastest free flowing undammed river in North America) and for Anan Bear Observatory. Since we figured Ella would not enjoy a 5 hour boat tour, we chose the Anan Bear Observatory. And we’re really glad we did! Anan Bear Observatory is essentially a deck with a blind where one can see both Black and Brown (Grizzly) bears feeding on wild salmon. Usually Black and Brown bears avoid each other (rather Blacks avoid Browns since Browns are on the top of the food chain and will kill Black bears), but since the fish are so plentiful in this area the bears tacitly agree not to try to kill each other during fishing season.




To get to Anan we left the dock at 7:00 AM (sans coffee) and took a 1 hour jet boat trip southeast of Wrangell where we were met by a Forest Service ranger who explained to us that we shouldn’t bring food, get separated, or surprise a bear. However, in case a bear got a hankering for a plump tourist, our guide had a huge shot gun and a large canister of bear spray. To get to the observatory we walked through the woods for about a mile… below you'll the first bear we saw… on the trail: a 3-year old Grizzly female.




After this grizzly decided to go back to the stream we walked up to the observatory where I took about 200 pictures… of which about 190 were blurry. Below are some of the better pics:
Needless to say… being able to see wild bears feeding in their natural habitat was quite exhilarating, and a highlight of our trip thus far. Even Ella really enjoyed watching the bears, and has taken on dada’s tendency to yell “hey bear” whenever we walk in the woods. It’s very cute, and I will try to capture this on video, but we’ll be walking along and you’ll hear “hi bear… hi bear” out of little Ella… it’s quite cute.




Tomorrow we get back on the ferry for Juneau… more to follow when we get there.


Our guide and his gun

The first bear we saw on the trail... a 3 year old Grizzly female

My mama bear and cub

Cub bear... very blurry

Grizzly feeding

2 Black bears vying for feeding space... right after this pic they started fighting... very cool

Black bear on log

An example why you want to eat at reputable sushi restaurants... this is a female black bear with about 4 tape worms coming out of her tail end. They get them from feeeding on the salmon. YUK!