Brooks Falls
Live Cam
Brooks Falls is a low, wide waterfall on the Brooks River in Katmai National Park, and each summer it becomes the most famous bear-watching spot on earth. Sockeye salmon pile up below the drop trying to leap it, and brown bears take up position at the lip, in the plunge pool, and along the banks to intercept them.
Why Brooks Falls? Few places let you watch large wild predators behave naturally, at close range, without a guide or a plane ticket. The bears here are individually known and studied, some of them for years, and the falls concentrate them in one frame. Katmai sits on the Alaska Peninsula, remote enough that most viewers will only ever see it through this camera.
Brooks Falls highlights: As you enjoy the live view, be sure to look out for:
- Bears At The Lip: Watch for bears standing at the top of the falls with mouths open, waiting to catch salmon in mid-air as the fish leap.
- Fishing Styles: Each bear has its own technique, from patient snorkelling in the plunge pool to chasing fish through the shallows downstream.
- Gulls And Scraps: Gulls hover constantly around the falls, darting in to snatch salmon remains left behind after a bear has eaten its fill.
Beyond the Falls: Katmai National Park covers a vast stretch of the Alaska Peninsula, taking in volcanoes, tundra, and the ash-filled Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes left by the 1912 Novarupta eruption. Most visitors arrive by floatplane from King Salmon, and the same salmon run that draws the bears supports one of the world's largest sockeye fisheries in nearby Bristol Bay.
This view is shared by explore.org, which operates one of the largest live nature camera networks anywhere, working alongside Katmai National Park. The camera runs on solar power, so the picture comes and goes with the Alaskan light. Our thanks to the team for keeping this remote river within reach.
Tune in during the summer salmon run to see brown bears fishing at Brooks Falls in real time, and stay long enough to start recognising the regulars.
