These black bears will get into the creek and capture a fish in their claws. Then, usually holding it against a rock, they will chow down on the fillets, and if in a charitable mood, flip what’s left to the waiting gulls!
Eagles are also part of the program here, feeding on the dead carcasses after the fish have spawned, so often you’ll see a lot of them as well.
Visitors are limited to 64 a day, so if you want to go, make arrangements in advance.
Small ships occasionally stop here - we were here with 25 other passengers on the Wilderness Adventurer, operated by Un-Cruises, and it was one of the highlights of our trip. It also made us realize that climbing a tree to escape a bear is probably not a great idea as a big 350 pound momma was higher up a tree near the viewing platform that I could possibly climb.
A number of air charter services like Family Air Tours (familyairtours.com) offer trips out of Ketchikan.
