The primary food source at this time of year in the Kluane region is soapberries. Yukon bears do not have access to the heavy salmon runs of coastal rivers, but many streams in the Yukon river drainage host moderate runs of salmon in late summer and early fall. Bears near the Fishing Branch River in the northern Yukon, take advantage of this stream's unusual late season chum salmon runs. Fallen berries and the first frosts of the season signal the approach of winter. In October, bears begin to move towards the high country as the denning period approaches.
Grizzlies usually den on south facing slopes near treeline.
To create a denning cavity, a bear might move as much as a ton of earth out of the hillside. The dens are about one meter high and one and a half meters in diameter. A clean mattress of grasses, moss, and twigs lines the den. Grizzlies were rarely hunted in those times. Before the arrival of firearms only the bravest men hunted bears.