Monday, June 1, 2009

Kodiak Grizzly Bear Facts



Our class has been studying animals and animal habitats. Mr. Yollis visited our class today to share the videos and photos he shot last summer on his trip to Kodiak, Alaska.

Enjoy and Learn!

Kodiak Island is the largest island in the Kodiak Archipelago, and is the second largest island in the United States.




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Transportation to rural areas in Alaska is done by float plane. Watch the video to see a float plane land on the ocean!







Did you know that grizzly bears love water! Here is one looking under the water for salmon!



Below is a video clip of a grizzly fishing for salmon at the bottom of a waterfall.



Below is a video clip of a mother bear playing with her three cubs!







What did you learn about grizzly bears?

Please leave a comment below!

33 comments:

  1. Mr. Yollis,

    Your trip to Alaska looked amazing and reminded me of the great time that I had when I went there twenty-five years ago. We flew in a similar float plane, called a Beaver, that dropped us off for a great week of King Salmon fishing.

    Talk to you soon,

    Matt (Taylor's dad)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Mr. and Mrs. Yollis,

    What great footage of the Kodiak bears! It must have been breathtaking to see them up close and in the wild like that.

    Our family visited the Columbia River in Oregon last year and we also saw a man-made salmon ladder. It was used there to help the salmon avoid the turbines from the power station. Oregon uses the flow of water from the river to create electricity.

    From,

    Jill Jepson

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Mr. Yollis,

    Thank you for coming to our class today. I had been anticipating this moment. The way you talked was so clear and exciting. I could not be more interested about an animal than the Kodiak grizzly bear.

    Hope you come again,
    James

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dear Mr. Yollis,

    I loved listening to your presentation today. It was at a good quality rate and loud enough when you spoke. I loved the fact that you were at our classroom to tell us what you did at Alaska and not just have the pictures and videos to watch.

    Love,
    Bethany
    P.S. I am going on a 7 day Alaskan cruse this summer!:]

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dear Mr. Yollis,

    Thank you for coming to our class today. I loved the footage of the bear that was so curious about fishing. I am glad that he finally caught a big salmon!

    Do you have any more exhilirating adventures that you can share with us?

    From Shane J. ;O ;D

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Shane J.

    Thanks so much for your nice comment. I had a great time meeting all of you and sharing my experience in Kodiak.

    Watching and waiting for that big bear to have success was fun for me! I thought he'd never catch one. Although, he was very heavy, so he had to be getting his share.

    I have always enjoyed adventure travel and try not to go back to the same place. I would much rather discover something new. Mrs. Yollis and I will be going up to the Arctic Circle to fly fish this summer, and that will be something neither of us has done before. Perhaps we'll write a travel blog post about the flora and fauna that we discover!

    I hope you get an opportunity to have an adventure of your own sometime soon.

    Sincerely,
    Mr. Yollis

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dear Mr. Yollis,
    What I'd like to know is, what was it like on Kodiak island? Is the nature as wild as it is shown in the movies? What was the average temperature while you were there, since most people think Alaska is always snowy and col? Was it scary to get too close the the bears? I really liked the part when the two cubs were wrestling and having fun. My other favorite part was when the confused bear finally caught the salmon.

    From,
    Behyan :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dear Mr. Yollis,

    Thank you for sharing the videos from your trip to Kodiak Island. It looked like you had a lot of fun. The float plane ride, the beautiful Alaskan nature and seeing the amazing Kodiak bears up close must have been a great experience.

    Behyan's Mom
    Mehrnoush

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Behyan,

    Thank you for your comment and questions.

    What I like most about Alaska is that it is always an adventure. I feel safe if I travel there if I've done some research beforehand.

    I'm glad that you liked the video clips I shared. Yes, there are a lot of wild animals in Alaska. I saw moose, deer, sheep, bald eagles, beavers, ravens, and a fox. What is exciting is, you never know what you'll see next.

    I always visit Alaska in the summer when the weather is more pleasant. It is typically 55-65˚ during the day, and we are usually hiking, so that is a comfortable temperature.

    I was a little scared to be so close to the bears, but I followed the advice of the fish and game wardens. They have spent years on Kodiak and knew the best way to view the bears safely.

    I'm glad that you enjoyed the presentation and that you had the curiosity to ask follow-up questions.

    Sincerely,
    Mr. Yollis

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dear Mr. Yollis,

    How do you reel in the string on you fishing rod? or did you forget to put it on?

    Thanks,
    Joshua from Mrs. Ranny's Class

    ReplyDelete
  11. Dear Mr.Yollis,

    Thanks for coming to our class and sharing some of your adventures with us. The Kodiak grizzly bears seem very interesting. I hope you can come back with more facts about the Kodiak grizzly bears.


    From your friend,
    Alasia

    ReplyDelete
  12. @Joshua,

    Your observation is correct, it was missing a reel.

    In Alaska, we fish use three types of reels: One has fly fishing line that floats, another has fly fishing line that sinks, and the last type has monofilament. The monofilament is used for spinners and other types of lures. I decided to show just the rod, but maybe next time I will bring the whole set up.


    Sincerely,
    Mr. Yollis

    ReplyDelete
  13. @Joshua,

    Thank you for commenting on our blog! I will leave a comment on your class blog. What a good observation.

    Love,
    Bethany

    ReplyDelete
  14. Dear Mr. Yollis,

    I was very excited before you arrived to our classroom. The Kodiac grizzly bears were very interesting to learn about. I enjoyed the terrific facts that you shared with us. Thank you for sharing your fun adventure.

    Your friend,
    Alasia

    ReplyDelete
  15. Dear Lindsay,
    Thank you for your great question about Kodiak cubs.

    The cubs you saw playing in the video were around eight months old. They will spend about three years with their mother. For the most part, adult Kodiak bears are solitary animals.

    Sincerly,
    Mr. Yollis

    ReplyDelete
  16. Dear Mr.Yollis,

    Thank you for showing us about the bears! I really enjoyed it because i understood everything! Do all bears know how to swim?

    Write back,
    Mia [from Mrs.Ranneys class]

    ReplyDelete
  17. Dear Mrs. and Mr. Yollis,

    I thought learning about Kodiak bears was astonishing. I did not know that these bears were so big. The best thing about your trip to Alaska was that you got to actually get that close to the bears!

    From,

    Colin

    ReplyDelete
  18. Dear Mr.Yollis,

    Were you scared when a bear was about 4 feet away. I know I would be terrified.

    From,
    Juliette[from Mrs.R's ciass]

    ReplyDelete
  19. Dear Mr. Yollis

    Wouldn't you freeze to death in the water?

    From,

    Colin

    (P.S please comment back)

    ReplyDelete
  20. @Colin,

    Thank for your your comments.

    Actually, being that close to the bears was astonishing. I felt like it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

    Your question about the temperature of the water comes up often when people look at my pictures. Some years when I've gone fishing, there has been snow on the ground and ice forming on the lake where we are fishing! We do still manage to stay warm. The way we do that is by using various layers of thermal clothing that are designed for warmth. I am usually very comfortable while I am fishing. Without the proper gear, I would not be able to go on a trip like that.

    Thanks again for you interest.

    Mr. Yollis

    ReplyDelete
  21. Dear Mr. Yollis,
    That was such a great presentation you gave to the class. What are the fish ladders made of.

    From,
    Sean

    ReplyDelete
  22. Dear Mrs.Yollis,
    Those cubs like to wrestle alot.
    The mommy has patience. I would want to play with those cubs if they were not dangerous.
    Peace

    Love,Scarlet

    ReplyDelete
  23. Dear Mrs. Yollis,

    I liked the video of the bear fishing. It was so cool to see the bear take a fish out of the water and eat it! That is how I feel when I eat sushi!

    The video you showed of the plane landing in the water was neat. I saw a water plane like that this past summer on Lake Coeur D' Alene, Idaho..

    From,

    Kate :-)

    ReplyDelete
  24. Dear Mrs. Yollis,
    I think it is so funny how the mama bear and the cubs were wrestling with each other. I learned that male grizzly bears can be 10 feet tall! Also when my papa is in Aspen he sees bears out side is house.


    Sincerely,
    Nick

    ReplyDelete
  25. Dear Mr. Yollis,

    I thought the videos of the Kodiak bears was so cool!
    They were Amazingly good. How did you get those videos so well? I wish was there.


    From,
    Sydney

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi Mrs. Yollis,

    Your kodiak bear videos are very interesting. My favourite one is the bear fishing. I learned that kodiak bears need to be really patient in order to catch fish. I don't think I could be that patient. Before I came to your blog I didn't know anything about kodiak bears. I didn't know a grizzly bear species could be as big as a polar bear, but I read in Wikipedia that polar bears stand taller and are longer. Does that mean that kodiak bears weigh as much as polar bears if polar bears are little bit longer? Kodiak bears look heavier and polar bears look skinnier.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi Mrs and Mr Yollis,

    I would love to visit Kodiak Island! It sounds fantastic! Those videos were awesome!
    Thank you for sending me the link with all that information.

    On my Fun Facts page, I only edit and add to the bottom each Friday. Each week I do another animal or subject.

    I look forward to reading more of your extraordinary posts.

    Thanks.
    Indy

    ReplyDelete
  28. Dear Mr. Yollis,
    Thank you for showing us videos of your trip to Alaska. My favorite video was Mother Bear and her Cubs. The cubs were so cute. I have some questions about your trip. How close were you to the bears while you were filming them? Were you scared that the bears would eat you?

    From,
    Miriam

    ReplyDelete
  29. @ Miriam,

    Thank you for taking the time to read my post and leave a comment.

    The first day I stayed very far away from the bears. I stood on the top of a viewing area and watched them. They were fishing and playing in the river below me...about 200 yards away.

    The second day, I had an incredible opportunity to go with a group of Alaska Fish and Game workers right down to river. These workers are the ones who set up the fish ladder and return each year to maintain it. They knew a lot about the bears and I felt somewhat safe with them. Their experience and knowledge eased my fears. Without them there, I would not have been able to get all of the great pictures and videos of the grizzlies that year. The closest I ever got while shooting those pictures was about 20 feet. It was very exciting!

    I am so glad that you enjoyed my videos. :-)

    Sincerely,
    Mr. Yollis

    ReplyDelete
  30. @ Mr. Yollis,
    Thank you for answering my questions about your trip.

    I looked up some interesting facts about Kodiac bears on Wikipedia. The Kodiak bear is the largest of the brown bear, and can weight up to 1500 pounds. Even though they are very large, they aren't in most cases dangerous to humans.
    Kodiak bears are shy and try to avoid people. They will attack only when they are surprised, threatened, or attracted by human food or garbage.

    From,
    Miriam

    ReplyDelete
  31. Dear Mr. Yollis and Mrs. Yollis,

    What a stupendous video you filmed. My grandparents live in Tahoe. They have a lock on their trash can so the bears can not get to the trash. They showed me a salmon bridge. I think it must be very hard to get up the tiny ladder! I also think bears are very cute. It is very fascinating, interesting, and cute how they play a giant game of tag.

    I have some questions for you.
    Have you seen a salmon ladder in real life?
    Do you think bears are cute?


    From,
    Ryan

    ReplyDelete
  32. Dear Mr. Yollis,

    This is Adia and Hannah from Mrs. Yollis' class. What a magnificent post and videos! We learned that bears like to eat fish and we are amazed that they are such huge mammals.

    We look forward to blogging with you again.


    Warm Regards,

    Adi★ and H★nnah

    ReplyDelete
  33. Amitai and Ryan☺☻♥♦♣♠•◘○December 29, 2010 at 6:28 PM

    Dear Mr. Yollis,

    We loved your adventurous Kodiak bear trip. It must have been the most breathtaking trip in the world! We would have hightailed out of the meadow if we saw a monstrous Kodiak bear. You were brave enough to film a video! The Salomon ladder was a genius idea. We hope you had a wonderful time!

    Have you seen Salomon go up the ladder? Did you swim in the freezing and rushing water?

    From,
    Ryan and Amitai

    ReplyDelete

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