12 | 2026 KODIAK, AK VISITORS GUIDE The Kodiak Brown Bear the most famous resident Photos on pages 12 & 13 by Eric Schwantes, Nicholas Larghi, Gayle Sheahen, Christina Voigt, Kris Luckenbach 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 well-regulated systems in the world.
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