With over 60 National Parks scattered across the United States, they’re the perfect places to take in the diverse beauty of the nation. Each park is completely unique, with landscapes and wildlife that make them truly one-of-a-kind. For example, there’s only one place where tourists can have an unobstructed view of massive brown bears fishing, playing, and mating in their natural habitat.
Every year, Katmai National Park sees the majority of its visitors within a 2-month span in July and August. Not only is this the easiest time to travel to remote regions of Alaska, where the park is located, but it’s also the best time to observe Katmai’s famous brown bears.
On July 11, the National Park Service shared a breathtaking video from the park that has to be seen to be believed. As a huge brown bear hunts for salmon at the top of Brooks Falls, they leap to the bottom in the biggest belly flop I’ve ever seen!
I give that dive a ten out of ten! It reminded me of a dog jumping into a swimming pool, though with a much bigger splash. Imagine being in the water when someone does a belly flop like this!
“Belly flop? I think not. It’s a bearly flop,” one clever commenter joked. I suppose you’re right! Whatever you want to call it, there’s no denying what a majestic and adorable dive it was.
Related: Wildlife Photographer’s Images of Grizzly Bears Fishing Are Just Stunning
It’s almost like the Katmai brown bear was showing off for their audience! Although this footage was found on one of the many bear webcams in the Brooks Falls area, there are also several bear viewing platforms throughout Brooks River where people can observe the massive animals from a safe distance.
As sweet as it would be for the bear to actually show off, it’s more likely they were hunting for salmon or just moving from one part of the river to the other. Bears’ actions may be cute, but they’re not that deep!
Brown Bears vs. Grizzly Bears
Katmai brown bears are a great segue into an important distinction between bear subspecies. Are these brown bears the same as grizzly bears?
Not quite! While grizzly bears are a subspecies of brown bear, not all brown bears fall under that umbrella. The main difference between the two lies in their habitat and diet.
A grizzly bear is a brown bear living more inland, with no access to coastal resources like salmon to eat. Brown bears, on the other hand, live closer to the coast and have access to marine resources. That means the bears in this video are brown bears, not grizzlies.
Katmai National Park is home to thousands of brown bears like this professional diver, and you can check in on them anytime thanks to bear webcams like the one that gave us this priceless video!
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