Brooks River
Live Cam

Few places on earth put you this close to wild brown bears. This camera looks out over the Brooks River in Katmai National Park, a short stretch of Alaskan water where bears gather each summer to fish for salmon. The view is raw and unscripted, and what happens next depends entirely on the bears and the run.

Why Katmai? Katmai is bear country on a scale that is hard to imagine until you see it. Salmon push upriver in huge numbers, and the bears follow, feeding hard through the short northern summer. Because the cameras are fixed and the park is wild, every viewing session is different, from long empty stretches of water to sudden crowded activity.

Brooks River highlights: As you enjoy the live view, be sure to look out for:

• Salmon Season Feeding: During the summer runs, watch bears wade, dive and lunge after salmon, sometimes several animals working the same short stretch of river.
• Bear Body Language: Look for the constant sorting out of rank, with younger bears giving way and larger animals claiming the most productive fishing spots.
• Quiet Riverscape: Between bears, the camera offers gulls, drifting water and changing Alaskan light across the riverbanks and surrounding spruce and tundra.

Beyond the River: Katmai National Park covers a vast sweep of southern Alaska, a landscape of volcanoes, lakes, tundra and coastline reached mainly by float plane. The nearby community of King Salmon serves as the usual gateway. It is remote, weather-driven country, which is part of why a live camera feels like such a privilege.

This view is shared by explore.org, the largest live nature camera network in the world, working in partnership with those who care for Katmai. Their cameras bring one of the most remarkable wildlife gatherings anywhere to anyone with a screen, free and unedited.

Tune in and see who turns up on the river today, because in Katmai the cast changes hour by hour and the best moments arrive with no warning at all.