KATMAI PLAYOFFS · 2026
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Bear 420 at Brooks River
Bear 420
ADULT MALE
FISHESBrooks Falls
ID MARKS AND HINTS

#420 is easy to identify due to his protruding teeth on his lower-right jaw.

His is a long, large bodied bear with a blocky muzzle, rusty brown coat, tan-brown claws, and a floppy left ear.

He can be confused with Bear #247, but that bear is smaller and only has one protruding canine tooth on his left jaw.

Bear 420 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

#420 is aggressive around other bears and regularly steals fish.

In 2005, he was seen with a very large, open wound on the left front leg that has since healed and scarred over.

In 2007, he returned to the Brooks River with a broken lower jaw and large, open wounds on both sides of his body.

The jaw injury appeared to affect his ability to chew and swallow fish that he caught. However, he showed signs of rapid healing, both from the jaw injury and the wounds on his body. In 2009 and 2010, he was one of the most dominant bears fishing at Brooks Falls.

Even though #420 is aggressive around other bears, he does not appear to be habituated to humans and rarely approaches the Falls Platform side of the river.

Text and photographs from Bears of Brooks River, National Park Service, Katmai National Park and Preserve. Page 18.