Black Bears at Annan Creek Alaska

 We had a wonderful day at Annan Creek about an hours jet boat ride from Wrangell and were lucky enough to see quite a few bears in the wild. We were so excited as this was the highlight we had been waiting for and they obliged by putting on quite a show. They were feasting on the salmon which had made their way up the river to spawn. Many of the bears had cubs. We walked in to the creek by trail which took about an hour but was mainly narrow boardwalk so a reasonably easy access. At the creek site we were able to stand on fenced platforms, and also a bonus, when for 15 minutes, 6 people had access to a tent tube tunnel which you walked down through to the creek level and we could look through small windows, where, if you were lucky, you had a very close up view of the bears catching salmon. We were very lucky with our turn as a brown bear arrived and made his presence felt by scaring off the black bear that had been catching fish in the same spot.
The authorities only allow 60 permits a day and not all at the same time so we were really lucky to view in an uncrowded situation.

This mother bear had a cub which was so cute. She went down to the creek and got a salmon which she shared with the cub behind the small building (below) which just happened to be a long drop toilet. If anyone needed to use the toilet the armed guide had to unlock it and stood guard at a short distance.
The guide were extremely vigilant and needed to be as of course these are wild animals. We had a very serious talk given to us before we entered the forest on what we should do and what we shouldn't. Obviously no food or drink to be taken along the trail. We had also been told not to wear perfume.

 Only scraps for this one. They are very fussy and only eat certain parts of the fish when they are so plentiful. They love the brain and the fat layer between the skin and the flesh as its the most nutritious .  It was amazing how easily they stripped the skin from the fish.

 The bald eagles and ravens are always around to pick up the leftovers.