The Alaskan Salmon run the bear gauntlet!

Sockeye Salmon spawning.

After a couple of years in freshwater and up to 3 in salt water the Sockeye Salmon return to the rivers of their birth to spawn.

They do this en-masse when the river conditions are right and somehow this strategy seems to work.

Maybe the sheer number of fish overwhelm the predators..... the bears certainly get their fill but the fish still seem to be here in vast numbers.

Everywhere we look we see salmon, alive and dead. The beaches, streams, rivers and lakes are teeming with dead and dying fish.

Not only were there Sockeye, but Pinks, Coho, and Chum Salmon.

Here are just a few images, sometimes gruesome, although I like to think of them as artistic!

The male Sockeye with its hump.

The male Sockeye with its hump.

These Alaskan Brown Bears can grow up to 900 lbs on the rich salmon diet.