Bill Wagner wins 2016 Alaska Bearfest photo contest

Bill Wagner of Redding won the 2016 Alaska Bearfest photo contest held annual in the City of Wrangell in Southeast Alaska.
The winning entry was announced July 31 during the week-long celebration that also features a berry pie contest, marathon, concerts and guest speakers
Wagner’s photo was of an Alaskan coastal brown bear coming up empty after trying to snatch a pink salmon from the waters of Anan Creek.
Bears have been coming to Anan for hundreds of years as the creek swells with several hundred thousand pink salmon coming home to spawn each summer.
The U.S. Forest Service maintains The Anan Wildlife Observatory located 30 miles southeast the of Wrangell, which is on the island of the same name. While on Alaska’s mainland, the Anan Creek is only accessible by boat or float plane.
Anan Creek has the largest run of pink salmon in Southeast Alaska, which in turn attracts both black and brown bears. In addition, the area is a favorite spot for bald eagles, which also feast on the salmon.
It is one of the few places where brown and black bears “fish” for salmon as they bulk up or a winter of hibernating.