Black Bear Cubs, Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area, Juneau, Alaska – Image 2684

The Mendenhall Glacier area has a large population of black bears. Salmon start running up Steep Creek next to the visitors center in late July or early August. Once the salmon arrive in the stream, about 10 to 14 black bears come down from the hills to start feasting on the sockeye salmon. These two cubs were born to a mother bear that has had three sets of black and brown cubs that she has raised along Steep Creek. Black bears are not all black, they come in many color phases including dark black, brown, cream and white. I shot the photo of these two cubs from the raised bear/salmon viewing platform built by the Forest Service along Steep Creek. This image illustrates the month of September in my 2011Southeast Alaska Calendar. Enjoy the photo and thanks for visiting.Camera body: Nikon D200, Lens: Nikkor 80-400mm, ISO 200, Ditigal Capture, hand held© Mark Kelley