‘Bear cam’ saves lost hiker in Alaska

ALASKA (WISH) — Viewers of a live bear cam situated in Southwest Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve witnessed the unexpected last week — they didn’t see any bears at that moment, but they did play a role in getting a lost hiker to safety.

Explore.org posted the video on “X” on Wednesday. The video shows a man soaking wet, walking up to the camera, and talking into it, although inaudible. People who happened to be watching the live stream of Dumpling Mountain at that time reached out to the camera’s host, Explore.org, to alert them to the sighting.

Once the hiker was found safe, Explore staff gave an update on “X” saying, “Bear Cam saves a hiker’s life! Today, dedicated bear cam fans alerted us to a man in distress on Dumpling Mountain. The heroic rangers. @KatmaiNPS sprung into action and mounted a search saving the man. – more details to come.”

So far, the man’s name has not been released, and it’s not known how he became lost.

Each summer, people stream Explore.org’s seven live video feeds to catch glimpses of bears fattening up with salmon at Brook Falls ahead of Fat Bear Week. It’s an annual celebration of Katmai National Park’s ecosystem as bears fatten up before retreating to their dens until the spring.

“Fat bears exemplify the richness of this area, a wild region that is home to more brown bears than people and the largest, healthiest runs of sockeye salmon left on the planet,” said the National Park Service.

The dates for Fat Bear Week 2023 haven’t been released. In 2022, the week began on Oct. 5 and culminated on Fat Bear Tuesday on Oct.11. People cast their vote for their favorite through www.fatbearweek.org. “747” received his second “Fat Bear Week” crown in 2022. His first championship was in 2020.