SheBear stole my heart one day as she curiously stood by watching me flyfish for silver salmon (Coho). In turn, she showed off her unique style of fishing.

This is probably SheBear's first year on her own which would make her 3-4 years old. Cubs normally remain with their mother for 2-4 years before they are chased off and forced to fend for themselves.

There is a male bear in the area about the same age who is more than likely her sibling, given a bears propensity to remain solitude with the exception of sows with cubs and siblings who have recently been cut loose from their mother.

Bears are known to congregate in areas where food is abundant, such as salmon creeks. In these situations, bears tolerate one another with adult males being the most dominant individuals.

You can see from the picture above, the distinctive hump on SheBear's back. This hump is characteristic of brown bears. Kodiak bears, Grizzly bears and Coastal bears are all brown bears.

Grizzly bears are found inland on the mainland in mountainous and wooded habitats. Coastal Brown bears are found mostly along the coasts of Admiralty Island, Katmai and other parts of the mainland. The Kodiak brown bear is isolated to Kodiak Island in Alaska and is the world's largest bear, at times reaching twice the size of a Grizzly! This size difference is due to the abundance of food available to them.

The scientific name for the brown bear is, ursus actros horribilis, both grizzly and coastal brown bears fall into this category where the Kodiak brown bear is in fact a sub-species of brown bear called, ursus arctos middendorffi.