Nature Photography 2

Bear Photography Journal- Flounderstompin’!

By · On October 10, 2020


One of the many magical aspects of bears is their endless range of behaviors- they never cease to surprise you by doing something different. I happen to guide on the Katmai Coast where bears have so many unique ways of getting a meal from the ocean. Over the years I have noticed bears becoming more skilled in catching founder, which years ago seemed to happen very infrequently and usually by accident. In the last few years I have witnessed a behavior that can be called “flounderstomping,” which is when bears walk slowly and carefully in the water, hoping to step on a flounder hiding on the bottom. Flounder move in and out of the river deltas with the tide, ambushing smaller fish by hiding flat against the bottom, perfectly camouflaged and partially buried in the sand. Capturing images of bears with flounder is always a unique and exciting addition to any wildlife image collection.

Flounder will often swim into the freshwater streams during the salmon runs. They feed on salmon carcasses, eggs that dont get buried properly, and salmon smolts. This tiny spring cub was quick enough to snag this starry flounder. The was likely this cub’s first ever fish!

Spring cub with a starry flounder!

It isnt uncommon for us to step on flounder when making our way from the skiff to the beach. Normally they shoot from under your foot and give you a startle. One time the flounder was stuck under my boot and I was able to catch it and show it to my group! Image by Chris Duffield

This female was walking very slowly in the water, appearing almost to be cooling off. She was probing the bottom for flounder, and it worked!

In recent years I have noticed more bears perfecting the art of the flounder stomp. Since flounder prey on baby salmon, it is another example of bears managing their habitat, as they limit flounder numbers to some degree.

Grizzly brings a flounder to the beach, brad josephs image of bears, alaska
Flounder for breakfast, sunrise on the beach.

grizzly catches starry flounder in the surf, alaska, alaska grizzly image
a large female grizzly brings a starry flounder she caught in the river delta to shore

It looked like this bear was waiting for salmon, but they had not arrived yet. When bears fish for salmon, they normally stand still until they see fish and then chase them. When fishing for flounder they walk slowly.

Got one!

This female came ashore to eat the fish. Flounder have extremely tough skin, and their heads, unlike salmon, are too tough for the bears normally to consume. There is always leftovers for the eagles, gulls and ravens.

Thanks for reading guys! Please comment below with any questions. Stay tuned for more “Bear Photography Journal” in the future!

Keep exploring and conserving! Brad


Brad has been a Natural Habitat Expedition Leader since 2005, guiding Alaska grizzly bear tours, Churchill polar bear tours, northern lights expeditions and China panda tours. His specialty is bear biology and ecology of the north country.

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2 Comments

  • Barbara Hendrix says: October 10, 2020 at 7:55 am

    Hi Brad,
    I loved the photos and reading about flounder stomping.
    I hope you are doing well. Let’s hope Biden wins and Trump goes to prison! He gets scarier every day.

    Reply
  • Teri says: October 10, 2020 at 1:38 pm

    This is a wonderful page. Can we not leave politics out of it? No matter your voting preference, Shame on your for using this as you own Bully Pulpit. It’s not the purpose of the page.

    Brad, please keep up the incredible work you do. You bring inspiration to us all. Thank you.

    Reply

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