Otis, the King of Katmai, Bear #480

Bear 480 (Otis) with other large bears at Brooks Falls, Katmai National Park & Preserve

The big boys hanging out at Brooks Falls, Katmai National Park & Preserve, Alaska.   The bears are given numbers by bear biologists, and some bears also end up with nicknames, such as Bear 480 (Otis), pictured in the sunlight here on the right.  Bear 747 is in the foreground and Bear 801 is in the right rear.

Otis is a big old bear that has been coming to Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park & Preserve on the Alaskan Peninsula for at least 26 years.  Otis is estimated to be the oldest male bear (boar) at Brooks Falls.

Old Otis is missing three of his four canine teeth.  He has developed an efficient way of fishing in his “office,” a pool on river left, next to the falls.  In his office, Otis patiently waits for a salmon to be at the right place at the wrong time, where he easily pounces on it and eats it.

Otis won the internationally famous Fat Bear Contest in 2014, 2016,2017, and 2021.

Otis Bear 480 next to Bear 801 iat Brooks Falls, Katmai, Alaska

Bear 480 (Otis) is shown in August 2022 on the right, next to Bear 801.