Another bear cub has died after an attack from an unrelated mother at Katmai National Park in Alaska. Park ranger Sarah Bruce confirmed that one of Bear 335’s (also known as Jolly) cubs died on Sunday, August 2 after following three unrelated cubs up a tree. The mother of the cubs already in the tree attacked Bear 335’s cub, who did not survive the encounter.
The identity of the mother bear who killed the spring cub was not confirmed. The incident follows a similar tragic event last week when Bear 806 attacked the spring cub of Bear 909. Explore.org, the organization that runs the park’s live cams, naturalist Mike Fitz noted this had been the first documented case of infanticide by a female adult at Brooks River.
Sunday’s incident occurred downstream from the Riffles platform where bears often congregate to catch fish and was not captured by the park’s cameras. Bruce told livestream viewers that a park visitor documented the encounter for park officials. “Even rangers on the ground weren’t sure what happened,” she said.
The cub’s carcass was located by Katmai’s bear management team near the river and relocated to a remote spot in the national park. This is standard practice for bears that perish in the park. Dead bears can “pose harm to humans and other bears and create sticky situations,” Bruce explained. “Nature can take its course,” she added. The area where the incident occurs remained closed to visitors on Monday.
Bruce also spoke to Michael Saxton, a wildlife biologist with the park, who estimated the survival rate for spring cubs (also known as COY or Cubs of the Year) is 33-50 percent. Bruce and fellow ranger Christine Loberg noted this year has seen a lot of “intolerance” from mother bears.
Park rangers believe Bear 335 is about six years old and was a first-time mom to three cubs. 335 stayed in the area with her two surviving cubs after the incident.
“She has been seen in the area still kind of huffing and looking for her cub,” Bruce said. “It’s likely that she knows her cub is dead. She’s still just kind of in that grieving process before she moves on from the area.”
At last count, park rangers spotted at least 25 spring cubs near Brooks River this year. Brown bear cubs typically stay with their mothers until 2.5 years old. “There’s a lot of activity going on with families at the falls platform this year, probably more than what I’ve ever seen ever,” Loberg said.
LIVE Brooks Falls – Katmai National Park, Alaska 2026 | explore.org
