Wildlife

Besides brown bear, Katmai provides a protected home to moose, caribou, red fox, wolf, lynx, several species of fish, and more.

NPS Photo/B. Plog

 

Katmai was designated a national monument in 1918 to preserve features associated with one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions ever recorded. However, later expansions and the change in status to Katmai did not focused on geologic activity but rather on the importance wildlife. Today, one of the primary purposes of Katmai National Park and Preserve, based on legislation, is to protect habitats for and populations of fish and wildlife, including, but not limited to, high concentrations of brown bears and their denning areas, and maintain unimpaired the watersheds and water habitat vital to red salmon spawning.

Learn More About Katmai's Wildlife

• 

  Birds

  The Alaska Peninsula is one of the best places in North America to watch birds.

• 

  Fish

  Every summer, Katmai's waters fill with salmon returning from the ocean to spawn.

• 

  Mammals

  42 species of mammals inhibit the park including the famous brown bear.