One of the largest populations of brown bears in the world is in Katmai National Park, numbering over 3000 bears. The area is rich in salmon and 250 times higher in bear population than in other areas where bears are unable to hunt salmon. We photographed  for hours as bears came in search of food. They came from all angles. You would be photographing a number of bears to the left, only to find more coming from the right and often others coming from behind. The pattern was always the same. Fur up, ears up, eyes scanning, noses smelling, listening, watching, feeling, sensing. They would advance or charge downstream, herding the salmon in front, sight one, pounce with their massive paws, then plunge head down into the water and come up with a salmon secured in its mouth . Sometimes. Occasionally, they came up- empty mouthed- only to stand there looking about, a bit disappointed and a little confused. Frequently, they stood on their hind legs to get a higher view of the activity in the water. If they snared a salmon, it was carried to shore where it was secured  by huge paws and shredded- top to bottom. At the beginning of the season, when the salmon is very plentiful, the bears will often consume only the richest parts, the caviar and brain, leaving the rest. As this was the end of the salmon season, the bears we observed ate most of the fish. If it was a sow who caught the salmon, she ate first. The future of her cubs depends on her being able to safeguard them. After that came the cubs and then the rest belongs to the gulls. The seagulls are always near the bears. Hovering over, under, and next to the bears. Waiting patiently for any scraps, they are nature's waste management system . Sometimes the bears sauntered into the river, sometimes they plunged. I set my shutter to high speed in an effort to capture 400 to 600 pounds of focused, forward motion.