Kurill Lake (or Kurile Lake) is situated at the southern end of the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia. Kamchatka is one of Russia’s wildest outposts where few humans live and nature gets on with its business happily and without fuss.
The Kurill Lake region is considered to have the most dense population of bears in the whole of Russia. If these pictures are anything to go by, then I don’t doubt that claim.
The lake itself was created by two massive volcanic eruptions, one 41,500 years ago and the other 6,440 years ago. The second of the two events was among the largest that earth has ever experienced, ash from the explosion has been found 1000 km away.
The other notable feature of Lake Kurill is its propensity to attract salmon in droves, this, in turn attracts a multitude of peckish bears.
Photographer Denis Bud’ko recently paid a visit and took these fantastic pictures. Apparently the bears are pretty used to tourists popping along every so often and don’t pay them much attention, especially when it’s fishing season. The bear’s main focus is filling its guts with fish and their delicious eggs…
Mummy bears teach the cubs to hide in the trees when she’s off hunting so they don’t get caught up in any trouble with marauding male bears.
If humans ever invent a shampoo with caviar in it (and let’s be honest that’s not the weirdest thing that’s ever been added to cosmetics) this could well be the advert:
Not a bad place to call home, is it?:
MORE BEARS:
BEARS HANGING OUT IN RUSSIAN STREETS
