{"id":580203,"date":"2026-08-02T11:34:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T11:34:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/580203\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T11:34:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T11:34:41","slug":"it-felt-like-jurassic-park-gloucestershire-photographers-incredible-encounter-with-alaskas-giant-brown-bears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/580203\/","title":{"rendered":"‘It felt like Jurassic Park’: Gloucestershire photographer’s incredible encounter with Alaska’s giant brown bears"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Gloucestershire photographer has fulfilled a lifelong dream by travelling thousands of miles to one of the world\u2019s most remote wildernesses to capture dramatic images of giant brown bears feasting on salmon during Alaska\u2019s famous annual salmon run.<\/p>\n

Paul Nicholls swapped photographing royalty, prime ministers and celebrities for one of nature\u2019s greatest spectacles, spending three unforgettable days at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park and Preserve during the peak of the July salmon run.<\/p>\n

\"BROWN<\/p>\n

The annual event sees millions of Sockeye salmon battle powerful river currents as they return from the ocean to the freshwater streams where they were born to spawn, creating a feeding frenzy for the park\u2019s iconic brown bears.<\/p>\n

The journey itself was an adventure. Paul travelled from London to Seattle before flying to Anchorage, then onwards to the tiny Alaskan settlement of King Salmon. From there, he boarded a float plane for the final 25-minute journey into Brooks Falls \u2013 a place with no road access and where visitors are very much entering the bears\u2019 world.<\/p>\n

Before even seeing a bear, every visitor must attend \u2018Bear School\u2019, learning strict safety rules designed to protect both people and wildlife.<\/p>\n

\"BROWN<\/p>\n

\u201cI was putting up my tent when I had my very first bear sighting,\u201d said Paul. \u201cMy first impression was just how massive they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visitors are required to stay at least 50 yards from bears, step off trails if a bear approaches, and never carry food outside designated areas to avoid attracting curious wildlife.<\/p>\n

Paul joined the expedition with specialist wildlife adventure company Backcountry Journeys, guided by experienced wildlife experts Tiffany Taxis and Jon Kuiper.<\/p>\n

\"BROWNBrown Bears in Alaska.<\/p>\n

Timing the visit perfectly, the group arrived during the height of the salmon run. \u201cOn our first visit to Brooks Falls we counted around 30 bears all fishing and catching salmon,\u201d added Paul.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was breathtaking, stunning, superb, life-changing and probably one of the best things I have done in my 42-year career as a photographer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BROWN<\/p>\n

Unlike many visitors who only spend a few hours at Brooks Falls, Paul chose to camp for three nights behind an electric bear-proof fence, giving him early morning and late evening access to photograph the bears in changing light.<\/p>\n

Although not a keen camper, he says it was the perfect choice: \u201cThere is no Wi-Fi, no phone signal and no email. You are completely isolated from the world and I loved it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you walk through the gates onto the boardwalk overlooking the river, it genuinely feels like you\u2019re entering Jurassic Park.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BROWNBrown Bears fish for Sockeye Salmon during the sockeye salmon migration at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, Alaska.<\/p>\n

During guided walks through the forest, Paul watched wild bears catching salmon from only a safe distance away.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe golden rule is simple,\u201d he said. \u201cIf a bear comes within 50 yards, you retreat \u2013 but you do not run.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having spent decades planning the trip, Paul believes the experience was worth every mile travelled.<\/p>\n

\"BROWNGone Fishing: Brown Bears fish for Sockeye Salmon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have wanted to do this trip for decades and it is completely different from my day-to-day photography. As far as I could tell, I was the only Brit there. Everyone else in my group had travelled from different parts of the USA.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe park is beautiful and the bears are incredible to observe. I thoroughly recommend this trip \u2013 it\u2019s one of the true marvels of the natural world.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack to reality and jet-lagged, I came home to yet another new Prime Minister. The world kept spinning, and I was more than happy to step off it for three amazing days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s wildlife images from Alaska, along with examples of his other photography, can be viewed via Paul Nicholls Photography<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Gloucestershire photographer has fulfilled a lifelong dream by travelling thousands of miles to one of the world\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":580204,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[61,60,82,263],"class_list":["post-580203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=580203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580203\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/580204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=580203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=580203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=580203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}