Overview

• The video, first shared on July 31 by the Kraken’s official @SEAbuoy account, shows a grizzly briefly charging Buoy at Brooks Falls before turning away and leaving the mascot unharmed.
• The team confirmed professional guides oversaw the Brooks Falls fishing outing in Katmai National Park and that no injuries occurred during the recording.
• In an August 7 NBC News interview, John Hayden recalled “close calls” with multiple bears and quipped that Buoy’s costume may have drawn the animal’s curiosity.
• Social-media users have weighed in heavily, with some treating the clip as a humorous stunt and others voicing concern about risk management in remote wildlife environments.
• The excursion was part of the Kraken’s Bristol Bay community partnership promoting youth hockey and wilderness engagement and underscores the challenges of experiential marketing in sensitive habitats.