10 | 2023 KODIAK, AK VISITORS GUIDE Photos by Kris Luckenbach, Lisa Eastman, Denise Stork, Gerry Coban-Knagin, Rena Rankin, Shane Parker, Nicholas Larghi Bear viewing is one the most popular activities on Kodiak Island. Kodiak bears are a unique subspecies of the brown bear (Ursus arctos middendorffi). They have been isolated from other brown bear populations for over 12,000 years. Two-thirds of Kodiak Island is made up of the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, however, the bears know no borders and are found archipelago-wide. The Kodiak Bear population is healthy and usually consists of about 3,500 bears. Kodiak’s bear management program, which includes carefully regulated hunting, is looked to across the globe as one of the most successful and wellregulated systems in the world. The Most Famous Resident resident bears
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