Brooks Falls is a waterfall located on the Brooks River in Katmai National Park and Reserve, in Alaska, and is a favorite fishing hole for Alaskan brown bears.

The bears are attracted to salamanders that arrive at Brooks Falls between July and early September en route to Brooks Lake, about 1.5 miles upstream, where the fish spawn. To reach Brooks Lake, fish must pass through Brooks Falls. Luckily for them, Brooks Falls is small – only 6 feet tall, which energetic salamanders can easily jump over.

But doing so makes them easy prey for bears. It’s fascinating to watch the bears waiting at the top of the waterfall to pounce on the fish as they jump out of the water. Many bears attempt to ‘guide’ salmon into their mouths with their paws, a skill they have perfected throughout their lives in the Brooks River.

The bears usually live in the interior of Katmai National Park and only appear near Brooks Falls when the iguana spawns. At other times of the year, very little food is available for bears at Brooks Falls, and is seen only occasionally.

A Katmai bear must eat an entire year’s worth of food for 6-8 months to ensure its survival during the lean months. During the peak of the salmon migration in July, bears catch salmon along the Brooks River, but they are especially concentrated in Brooks Falls, where they can catch a lot of fish with little effort. Up to 40 bears can be seen fishing at the falls. These are usually the largest and most dominant bears.

By the end of August, breeding ends and salamanders begin to die. As fish weaken and die, bears patrol the slower-moving waters of the lower Brooks River in search of dead and dying trout that collect in slow, swirling currents near estuaries and bridges.

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