Grizzly Bear and Wildlife Viewing Blog: Monthly Archives: February 2016

Grizzly lesson learned

Knight Inlet grizzly first salmon

This could be this two-year-old grizzly bear cub’s first salmon. It was the first day that we noticed it had much interest in fishing. Prior to this it relied on it’s mother to provide the food. Time to become an active member of the family and obtain it’s own meals. There is a good chance that this is the last “fishing season” with mother and therefore the last chance to pick up the necessary techniques to survive on it’s own. Females will rear their cubs for 2-3 years. When a female grizzly bear leaves her mother, they often set up their home range in Knight Inlet quite close to their mother’s home range. Males will typically range further, but may also remain close by.

 

Better photo to post

Excellent lunge by Humpback whale

Little easier to tell that it is a humpback whale lunge feeding on a herring ball. Over the years it has become a much more common sight on the British Columbia coast as we frequently encounter a dozen or more whales on a day tour compared to one or two on a good day ten years ago. Still have a hard time convening my guests to ignore the humpbacks when there is a report of killer whales in the area. Saying “don’t worry they will be there when we return” does not seem to satisfy the need for photos.

BC waters have strange creatures?

Humpback lunge feeding mouth Knight Inlet

 

 

On this day’s whale watching safari it is hard to tell from this photo what is happening. It is a marine mammal of some kind doing something. It is all a matter of perspective or the guides positioning of the boat maybe even the fault of the mammal for not considering the location of the boat. Clearer photo in tomorrow’s post…

Steller Sea Lion Haulout

Sea Lions near Vancouver Island

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sea lions are a little larger than harbour seals. Their length is 2.4 to 2.8 m (7.75 to 9.25 ft) and they weight 1,133 kg (2,500 lbs.) and have average life span in the wild of 18 years for (males) and 30 (females). The sea lions have started to stay our viewing area all year but are more abundant in the summer. The rocky island haulouts in spring and fall may have over one hundred sea lions.

 

Overlooking seals

Harbour seals on a black bear tour

Harbour seals are found in British Columbia often in coastal waters, estuaries and river systems. The Pacific harbour seal inhabits the B.C. coast. The adult seal may reach a length of 1.6 – 1.9 m (5 –6 feet) and weigh from 60 – 120 kg (132- 265 lbs.), while ranging in colour from brownish to black with a speckled pattern. Your guide often takes them for granted because they are so abundant so remind them if you want a good picture.

Trapper Rick’s Grizzlies 3 of 3

Grizzly eating fresh salmon

 

 

When the grizzly bear eating the salmon is about fifty meters/yards across the river the guests get some good photos and memories to share around the dinner table back at the lodge. These are also the memories that have the guests return to the lodge for a second and third visit as well a recommend the Grizzly Bear Lodge to their friends.

Trapper Rick’s Grizzlies 2 of 3

Grizzly bear coming closergrizzly bear river fishing

Yesterday’s, today’s and tomorrow’s post photos are taken with a Pentax Optio Wpi 6MP and 3X Optical Zoom which does not have a “good zoom” lens for wildlife photo’s so with most cameras you would have much better photos. It is the feeling you get when watching grizzlies that are across the river from where you are sitting that is the adrenaline rush. You are not in a boat or a viewing stand but sitting on a rock bank across a river from the grizzlies. Trapper Rick knows these bears and they respond to his voice but he is still carries a gun to ensure your safety. The grizzly bear in the water is fishing for salmon and does manage to catch one…

Trapper Rick’s Grizzlies 1 of 3

Grizzly walking upriverGrizzly closer

On the extra day in camp we take a forty-five minute boat ride cross Knight Inlet through Thompson Sound to the Kakweikan River and spend a day with Trapper Rick.  This river is located on the BC mainland and once there we travel by road to Rick’s cabin. Below the cabin on the river is a waterfall and a fish ladder that help the salmon by-pass the falls. (For more photos of Trapper’s cabin and surrounding area go to “Categories” on the left and select “River Day”.) This grizzly bear is working its way up river to the falls and the salmon….

Grizzly bears drink in a tidal river

Grizzly Bears drink Glendale waterOn Grizzly Bear Lodge’s wildlife tours during the hot days of July and August we frequently see grizzly bears in the water. The water in Knight Inlet’s Glendale estuary is a mixture of salt and fresh water which the grizzly bears often drink when the tide is going out. On a rising tide the surface water contains more salt so less drinking. It is better to have the grizzlies wading and swimming and cooling off in the water than moving into the shade away from our viewing.

Grizzly bear claws

Grizzly Bear Claws

The grizzly bear claws are incredibly long, thick and powerful. The nails themselves can be 5 to 6 inches long. They use them to do more digging than any other bear species, digging dens, uprooting shrubs, shredding logs and stumps in search of insects and tubers, and turning over rocks on the beach. Also used to catch and hold salmon while they eat. This over head view is of a grizzly as it walks beneath the viewing stands on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River where we spend our viewing time after August 24th.