The spring grizzly bear tours from Grizzly Bear Lodge travel up Knight Inlet to the Glendale River estuary is search of mother grizzlies and their cubs. They come out of hibernation in late March or April and bring their cubs to the beach and river estuaries in search of food. Turning over rocks in the inter-tidal zone for high protein food made up of crab, clams, barnacles, amphipods and other tiny invertebrates. They also graze on the protein rich sedge grasses…..more tomorrow
With the ever-increasing number of humpback whales remaining in the whale watching tour area there are also more calves. The number of whales normally viewed on a given tour day has increased from five or six whales six years ago to fourteen to sixteen this past season. The humpback calves are much more active than their mothers often spend time tail lobbing and breaching however it is the adults that provide the best classic whale tail photographs.
The perfect eagle picture is hard to achieve but Grizzly Bear Lodge tries to provide the perfect opportunity. First by keeping an eye out for bald eagles on the whale watching trip, grizzly bear tours and extra day at the river. Secondly when the resident eagles are still in their nest behind the lodge we will occasionally throw out a bottom fish and encourage them to come for an easy meal. Glen, one of our guides, provided another great photo.
The end of September and the grizzlies are looking ready for hibernation. They have added the necessary body fat to survive the winter but are still coming to the area of the viewing stands for another meal. The fat bears are selective in what they eat, mostly eggs and belly fat while other are after the whole salmon. This grizzly was one of the selective feeders and more interested in a viewing platform of clicking cameras than food. Glen, one of our guides, provided this photo.
Like much success in life it all comes down to timing and the same applies to a good wildlife photograph. Grizzly bears are easier for the obvious reason that they are always visible on land and once you find them they are there for a while. On a whale watching tour once you find the marine mammals they are not always available for a photograph. A breaching humpback or killer whale is especially difficult as they do not announce their intent and often the result is the first photo posted. The second posting is the result of preparing to take one photo when another occurs. Luck!
Early September on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River and two great photos taken from the viewing platform overlooking the entrance to the spawning channel. A lonely looking eight month old grizzly cub looking for its mother and two minutes later the mother comes to check that everything is OK. Not much else to say!
These grizzly siblings are in the natural river next to the finger viewing stand use by the lodge when on the fall grizzly bear tours in Knight Inlet BC. Siblings will often stay together for several years after leaving their mother and form a close bond. They are on the beach in the spring turning over rocks and fish the river in the fall. As shown they keep an eye on other bears in the area and use the fact that they are “two” to intimidate other bears of a similar age.
Grizzly Bear Lodge is on Minstrel Island BC and on the southern edge of the Broughton Archipelago. This is an area of many islands varying in size from small (100 square meters / yards) to large (100 square km /miles) and therefore many passages that need to be swum when black bears want to move from island to island. The current estimate of the black bear population in British Columbia is 120,000–160,000. This is about one quarter of all black bears in Canada. Its natural range includes Vancouver Island and most coastal islands to the north. This means that a swimming black bear is common rather than rare. This appears to be a healthy bear with a good layer of fat as shown by how high it’s body is out of the water. In the early spring often all that is visible is their head.
As I have said frequently in this blog that one of the best methods of whale or killer whale watching is to sit quietly. If you are able to be in an area as we were on this day with no other boats the orca tend to approach closer and are curious. They are a dolphin and dolphins like to play with moving boats and orcas seem to approach resting boats. The picture is the proof.
All three cubs are now awake and the tide is starting to rise. The mother grizzly bear starts up the beach to the mouth of the river and the flat land estuary, which provides for protection in the taller grass. The river estuary also has easier access to the surrounding forest with its tall trees if the cubs need to escape a large male bear. Yes grizzly cubs can climb trees while the large males cannot.
Bald Eagles are frequently sighted in our area. At times they can be seen in large numbers. This is usually where food supplies are high. For example this could be in areas with high concentrations of baitfish or along the rivers in the fall when the salmon are spawning. They are not migratory, but do move around with the food supply. As mentioned earlier when the salmon are spawning we often see many along the rivers, while there will be fewer along the coastline. With little need for camouflage their white head and tail feathers can be spotted easily. The female is slightly larger and her white head extends down a bit farther onto the body, but it is subtle. It takes these birds 4.5 – 5 years to acquire this unique plumage. As juveniles they are a brown colour. With exceptional eyesight and the ability to view 270 degrees they are understandably often seen in high perches and in trees near points and passageways.
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