Bears - Sounds Wild
Malaspina bears

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Malaspina Bears

In the remote country west of Yakutat, coastal brown bears are fighting, foraging and exploring a landscape that's still emerging from the ice age. Wildlife biologist Anthony Crupi and fellow researcher Lavern Beier captured 18 brown bears and equipped them with GPS radiocollars, providing researchers with insights into the bears' movements, resource needs, reproduction and seasonal behaviors.

The country around the Malaspina Glacier, where the Southeast Alaska panhandle meets Southcentral Alaska, is a rugged beach landscape of tide flats, wetlands, young forests, rising foothills, barren rock and glaciers. In many places, trees are growing on thin soil over glacial ice. Bears here have large home ranges, covering vast areas in search of food. They come out of hibernation in late April and feed on emerging, green vegetation. Most come straight down to the flats at sea level, eating the first spring green up. Females with cubs avoid other bears; they stay higher up and seek south-facing slopes with green up.

In summer, beach strawberries are an important part of the bears' diet. These bears spend a lot of time beach combing, scavenging dead marine mammals and whatever they can find washed up. In late summer, they feed on salmon. They hibernate in November, later than most brown bears, taking advantage of late season coho in area streams.