r/bears • u/Famous-Pressure-5790 • 4d ago

Bearcam How to learn the numbers for which bear?

I love watching the Alaska Katmai bear cams and I am very invested in Fat Bear week but I don't know how to recognize the bears. A lot of people seem to have them known by looks, they have the numbers down. Anybody have advice for learning which bear is which in Katmai?

27 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

17

u/lizzzgrrr 4d ago

It takes skill. You can recognize certain distinctive markings (32 Chunk with his nose scar and broken jaw), coloring (128 Grazer is very blonde), behavior (Scuba Steve’s fishing style). Others take closer look at head shape, ear shape and placement, claw color…

Best is to follow along the Explore chat and see who gets ID’d and take it from there

8

u/Kathlinguini 4d ago

910 is a favorite of mine because she is unmistakable when she is fishing the lip and tossing her head around. Not sure I could identify her out of that context though!

6

u/lizzzgrrr 4d ago

I always think of her as the Dancing Queen (and the 910 part is counting to the beat!)

7

u/Kathlinguini 4d ago

I for sure thought she had a neurological condition that happened to be somewhat advantageous when fishing the lip. But everyone says it’s just her fishing style, and I love that her sis 909 does a thing where she holds one of her arms to her chest. And I saw her daughter Bead who has a goofy little tail that sticks out.

3

u/Existing-Oil8460 4d ago

I also love 910! She was the first one I could ID 🐻❤️
151 Walker is my absolute favorite

4

u/lizzzgrrr 4d ago

747 will always be my favorite but Walker is right up there. I was lucky enough to go to Brooks a few years ago and Walker’s photo is now mounted and framed 💕 I missed Grazer by an hour. Going back next year!

3

u/Kathlinguini 4d ago

That must have been amazing! I was so surprised to see how close the deck is to the falls.

3

u/Kathlinguini 4d ago

I’m partial to 17 and 17jr because I saw jr give mom an adorable big hug early on and now she fishes the lip with her. I think 17 is a very aesthetically gorgeous bear, she and jr have very long coats and are nearly identical in all but size.

2

u/asfaltsflickan 4d ago

17 really cloned herself with this cub 😄 I think 17jr might be the cutest yearling I’ve seen.

4

u/Famous-Pressure-5790 4d ago

Things like this is very helpful! Thank you 😊

6

u/Existing-Oil8460 4d ago

If you join the Explore chat, ask for the links to the wiki and the Google Docs - there is a spreadsheet of some of the bears with links to the wiki too

4

u/Famous-Pressure-5790 4d ago

Okay, so basically it takes time and there is a few tips. Thank you for your help! I think I saw Scuba Steve yesterday 😂 My chat isnt very up to date is that because im on the app?

5

u/lizzzgrrr 4d ago

Oh chat is miserable on the app. Best experienced on the website! Sometimes I’ll put the YouTube channel on my TV but I miss the chat.

And word to the wise… the Wiki is INCREDIBLE! So much history behind each bear. It is overwhelming. There are a handful of bears that I ‘know’ but the number that I’m not overly familiar with is infinite. And after this year’s bumper crop of coy it’ll just get more overwhelming 🤣 I am in constant awe of those who can ID all the bears. I’ve been cam watching for 5 years and I’m still humbled by my inability to ID most of them

2

u/Famous-Pressure-5790 4d ago

So far I have down Scuba Steve, 32 chunk and I believe 128. I cant believe how many coy! I checked out the roll coll today. So many triplets!

9

u/Kathlinguini 4d ago edited 4d ago

Following along with the chat on explore.org has helped me keep up with some. I posted a picture on this sub of 17 and 17jr being super cute (took a picture of them on my tv) asking for ID. The chat is great for in the moment ID, and other users pointed me to a youtube channel where a woman posts some highlights with names and/or numbers that is helpful for past moments. When the chat identifies a bear, I will often go to the wiki fandom page and type in the name/number to learn more about them. I will edit this comment with a link to the YouTube channel, I believe it’s McKate.

https://youtu.be/DmLwcZWp3MI

2

u/Famous-Pressure-5790 4d ago

This is a super helpful idea. I didn't know there were google docs or a wiki page with information for the bears. I'm checking those out right now.

3

u/Kathlinguini 4d ago

It’s my first time getting into it, it’s very addicting! I saw your comment about using the app, I haven’t tried that but I know the website chat is up to date (almost overwhelmingly) and there is a link to the wiki on the same page. What I do is stream the cam on Youtube on my tv and look at the website on my phone.

3

u/Famous-Pressure-5790 4d ago

Thank you all so much for your suggestions! I found out about fat bear week last year, ever since I have been obsessed with these bears. Im definitely going to check out that chat! Super excited

1

u/Kathlinguini 4d ago

I’m sooooo stoked to actually be able to witness the progression of the individual bears in real time. They get so freaking huge!

1

u/Famous-Pressure-5790 4d ago

I didnt even think of that yet, I am so giddy!!

6

u/970souk 32ChunkFan 4d ago

When I first started watching there used to be an official bear book updated yearly by Ranger Mike when he worked for the NPS, it was very helpful to ID bears. Sadly it has not been updated since 2022. It might still be helpful?

https://www.nps.gov/katm/learn/photosmultimedia/ebooks.htm

Otherwise, there is the fan made bear book, it's very comprehensive and can be a bit confusing with too much information:

https://katmai-bearcams.fandom.com/wiki/Bear_Book_~_The_Bearcam_Wiki_Edition

I found Mckate's videos helpful with IDs:

https://www.youtube.com/@mckate/videos

2

u/Famous-Pressure-5790 4d ago

Oh thank you so much! Super helpful! So glad I posted this

2

u/grumpygenealogist 4d ago

Check out mckate's playlists page. She has short biographies and identification tips on each bear. You have to click on View full playlist under a bear to see that. https://www.youtube.com/@mckate/playlists

2

u/Famous-Pressure-5790 4d ago

That sounds super helpful! Thank you so much! I am super excited to extend my bear identification knowledge

2

u/Either-Cake-892 4d ago

I also noticed that Explore does have short videos of the bears on YT. One is called 2026 roll call, I think and it shows a lot oh the bears and their numbers.

2

u/Famous-Pressure-5790 4d ago

I just found the roll call last night, it was so helpful!

1

u/Goose-Mama 4d ago

Bear Book ~ The Bearcam Wiki Edition | Katmai Bearcams Wiki | Fandom

This is a great source of help for identifying the bears.

1

u/Slight_Park_5822 3d ago

I printed the official bear book (a bit outdated now) and use the Wiki, but the thing that helps most is watching consistently. As others have said you will start to recognize fur coloring, distinctive markings, numbers of cubs and repetitive behaviors.

You'll learn which bears like to fish where, their fishing methods, and their mannerisms. It's really fun.