Changes at Brooks Camp

I landed in Brooks Camp and was amazed at the changes.  First of all the bears were everywhere.  Three were sleeping along the beach, six were in the mouth of the river fishing and I saw one heading through camp and that is just what I could see from getting off the boat. 

The next thing I noticed is that it was so quiet.  Without the interpretive staff and planes full of visitors, camp was really quiet.  As I walked into camp the lodge had boarded all the doors and windows to all the cabins and the lodge itself.  The maintenance staff were working on shutting off the water to the north side of camp where everyone use to stay.  Maintenance and biology staff stay on the south side of the river.  In the ranger station the computers and cold sensitive equipment had been boxed and ready to move back to King Salmon.  It was very strange to see the place so humanless. 

As I got my gear loaded in a gator to haul over to the cabin I stay in, I noticed 402 but I only saw one cub.  I looked and looked for the other but the one cub was all I saw.  When I asked where the other cub was I was told that 747, a dominant male, had attacked and eaten the poor cub.  It was sad, as usually this time of year cubs are not attacted by the males.  It was sad to think three months ago I stood 35 yards away and watched 402 nurse the cute triplets and now there was only one left.  Cub mortality was high this year.  Milkshake who had four last spring, lost one in the fall last year, came back with two this spring and this fall she showed up by herself and was very thin and sick looking.  We are thinking that she died as she was only seen a couple of days and then disappeared.  I am hoping she kicked the cubs off early and somehow they are surviving but it may not be likely.  Another sow who had four cubs last spring came back without any this spring.  608 who usually fishes regularly at the river was here in the spring with her two yearlings but she did not come back this fall.  Then of course, 402 now losing two of hers.  If all the cubs were lost that makes the mortality rate higher than normal which is 33% survival rate for cubs.  I am hoping that next year we have a bumper crop of spring cubs.  For now we just have to wait and see.