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 ripples 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 Saxon, a 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.

LIVE Brooks Falls – Katmai National Park, Alaska 2026 | explore.org

Livestream of Brooks River bears.

This is a developing story…

 

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