408. Bear Cam

Leslie Cohn shares one of her greatest pleasures- the bear cam at Katmai National Park in Alaska.

Transcripts may not appear in their final version and are subject to change.

Leslie Cohn:  I‘m Leslie Cohn and it’s going to be okay. It is summer and the bear cam is live. My husband found the live stream Brooks Falls bear cam located within the Katmai National Park and Reserve of Alaska the summer of 2012 while recuperating from his radiation treatments.  Even prior to this, he would find the most incredible things via the magical Ustream site way back when we watched cats on a sofa, Richardson ground squirrels, and elaborate setups.

bunnies in habitats, squirrel cams, skunk cams, deer cams, otter cams, hummingbird cams, goats in a cafe cam. We attended weddings in India. Dog shows in New York, karaoke nights in San Jose, and the Cannon Hops in Denmark.  If you do not already know about Cannon Hops, please do an internet video search for 2010 bunny hopping championships, Mr.

Playboy. I’ll wait.  It doesn’t spoil anything to tell you that what you will see are willowy teens giving pep talks to bunnies, and after a series of clicking sounds, the leashed rabbits jump great heights, lengths, and through courses. Let me get back to the bears.  The camera can be found on explore. org and YouTube and is usually on 24 7 during the summer months.

It is a live nature show, which can be unsettling to some. The Alaskan brown bears claim their favorite fishing spots on top of and in the falls to plump up for their hibernation season. While the sockeye salmon are swimming upstream to do what they do, which is live and love.  During daylight hours, there are sometimes baby bears and tweens caught on camera.

Daylight noises include rushing water, occasional bear scuffles, and birds.  At night, you can see the salmon fervently hurling themselves up the falls, and hear the soothing white noise of the river.  I do not know if the rangers still go live and have informative talks,  I do know they have added other cams and chats and Instagrams. 

The bear culture and community for Brooks Falls goes.  I just enjoy the simple summer tradition of knowing the cam and the bears and the fish and the birds and the river are still doing their thing.  Too good to be forgotten.  Stay hydrated everybody.  It’s going to be okay.