Where else in the world can you see Steller Sea Eagles soaring and huge brown bears splashing through rivers to catch amazingly abundant salmon? Whales cavort offshore along Kamchatka's coast. Giant Capercaillie Grouse dance their spring mating ritual on dazzling snow. Lynx stalk silently through the forest and wolverine traipse the high country. Experienced tour operators and guides will take you where you're most likely to see these animals in their natural habitat.

     On the sea.

     Along Kamchatka's shores visitors may see an abundance of wildlife that might include seals, whales, sea otters, and many species of seabirds. Often in summer at the entrance to Avacha Bay pods of Orca whales swim and play. Gray whales, minkes, and humpback whales migrate past Kamchatka's coastlines feeding on rich marine nutrients that well up from the deep Kuril Trench.

     Wildlife along rivers.

     Salmon are the threshold species feeding myriad of birds and mammals from as small as the mink to the grand Kamchatka brown bear. During the annual summer salmon migration it is possible to view bears and a variety of waterfowl, eagles, and gulls all feasting on the bountiful fish harvest. In the Kronotsky Preserve is the last stronghold of the once plentiful wild reindeer.  High among the mountain peaks are Kamchatka's majestic snow sheep, a tawny brown color, shy and not easily seen.

     Peninsula birding.

     Birdwatchers find a rich and exciting variety of birds to see on Kamchatka and with such habitat diversity, there is distinctly a wide range of birds. Tours take birders to seabird cliffs where thousands of Common and Thick-Billed Murres, Tufted Puffins, Black Guillemots, and Black-Legged Kittiwakes cry and careen in the sky. The rare white-phased Gyrfalcon is one of the grandest birds of prey one can see and Kamchatka is home to a resident population of these royal birds. Of course Kamchatka is home to half of the world's population of Steller Sea Eagles.

     Fantastic flora.

     Hike the tundra, meadows, and the park-like stone birch forests to discover a land full of delightful flowers with endemic species including the Kamchatka rhododendron, Lady's Slipper, Kamchatka lily, and larkspur, fireweed, and monkshood. Wild nettle and cheremsha-a wild onion are just two of the many edible plants. Berries from low bush cranberry to wild raspberry, blueberry, crowberry, and a delicious zhimolost in the honeysuckle family provide fruit for homemade preserves. Locals will tell stories of Kamchatka's abundant mushrooms that sprout during the summer and early fall.   Even if you don't wish to pick and eat them, mushrooms' colors and variety are wonderful subjects for photography.