KATMAI PLAYOFFS · 2026
The party's over. This is the read-only archive: browse the roster, the feast and the bears, or see how Bracket Night ended.
Bear 402 at Brooks River
Bear 402
ADULT FEMALEIN MEMORIAM
FISHESThe LipLower River
IN MEMORIAMNo longer on the river. This page stays in the guide.
ID MARKS AND HINTS

A medium-sized adult, #402 has a short, dark blonde coat of fur. Her face is crescent shaped with a straight profile.

Bear 402 at Brooks River
Another look from the guide. Coats darken and bodies fill out as the season goes on, so the same bear can look like two.
LIFE HISTORY

#402 has had three known litters, one of which she raised into their third summer.

In 2007, she arrived at Brooks River with a single spring cub but soon lost it. She then went back into estrus and was pursued by several males, most prominently #218. In 2008, she was observed caring for three spring cubs.

She can be seen fishing the lip of the falls and in the lower river. #402 is one of the few females that will fish at Brooks Falls with spring cubs.

DNA analysis has confirmed that #402 is the sibling of #403. These two bears share not only a mother and physical features, but also some behavioral characteristics. Both of these bears will dive for fish.

Text and photographs from Bears of Brooks River, National Park Service, Katmai National Park and Preserve. Page 31.