Kodiak Island lies just off the south
coast of Alaska and is home to the
world's biggest brown bears local guides
Alex and Roman both grew up in this area
and now work for an eco-tourism venture
that gets travelers up close and
personal with the world's largest
carnivores
they do their job heavily-armed but the
first cartridge in the breech is just a
sandbag to warn off the Bears neither of
them has ever had to fire a live round
Kodiak bears can stand up to 3 metres
tall on their hind legs and are very
territorial
bears don't like surprises if they get
startled they can be dangerous
especially if they're with a young cub
kodiak's brown bears migrated here from
the mainland around 12,000 years ago
when the last ice age ended and the big
melt said in the bears were left
stranded on their new island home and
they've lived here pretty much in
isolation ever since