Grizzly Bear and Wildlife Viewing Blog: Monthly Archives: April 2013

Grizzy Bear Right-of-Way

river-scenery-8

If you choose to stay the extra night at our lodge the extra day is spent at a “wild” river on a wilderness tour.  We cross Knight Inlet pass through Thompson Sound to the Kakweikan River and spend a day with Trapper Rick.  The scenery on BC’s mainland in breathtaking and the wildlife viewing provides a reasonable chance of grizzly bear sightings.  Bears are viewed below the falls at Rick’s cabin or on the road to the cabin.  In this case it was on the road and we wait until the bear decides to let us pass.  Having guided for the past twelve summer I can say that seeing a grizzly bear at Rick’s is a different sensation than see one from a viewing stand on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River.

Orca Watching?

glensbest-spyhop08-b028

Spyhoping is an action taken by orca to get a better view of their surroundings. Although most books published on whale / orca behaviour show many pictures of this activity it is very hard to get a picture. If you have your camera pointed in the right direction and happen to be taking a picture on another orca activity you might just get a spyhop.

 

Grizzly bear fishing

So Many Fish So Little Time
So Many Fish So Little Time

This could be a two for one photo provided by Janis (from UK). A great shot of a grizzly bear with a salmon and also in the background, if you look closely a salmon coming over the small falls. If you click on the picture it will enlarge to give you a better view. On the wildlife safari trips it is easier to get a picture of a grizzly bear feeding than a salmon over the falls.

 

Whale identification

hbidentify

Many of the humpback whales we observe in the waters of British Columbia have been identified with a number / name and have their pictures in a catalogue. The underside of a whale’s tail shows a range of white patterns. These patterns added to any scars or other markings are unique to each whale.

 

Orca watching safari

orca1

The whale / orca watching requires a short run to Johnstone Strait in the area of Telegraph Cove on BC’s Vancouver Island. Guidelines are in place to prevent whale harassment but that does not mean that we don’t manage to obtain good photos. Orca being curious will frequently investigate us while we watch them.

 

Black Bear while Whale Watching

black-water

Wildlife viewing is where you find it and many of the black bears we find are on whale watching trips. This black bear has done a good job of putting on weight over the summer. He is in good shape for the coming winter. This one was not going swimming rather was concentrating on getting more muscles and barnacles from the rocks before the tide rose.

 

Whale watching in BC

sealionbrand

A whale watching safari from the lodge produces interesting photos. We normally see one or two branded stellar sealions in the area of Telegraph Cove every summer. This brand number was reported to one of the other operators in the area and he reported back (after checking an Internet database) that this one was from Alaska and had not been reported for five years. The Alaskan sealions are in dramatic decline, over 30% in the past few years.

 

 

Knight Inlet Grizzly Bears

On the lodges grizzly bear tours we often view bears quite close. The viewing stands are located on a narrow road next to Knight Inlet’s Glendale River and after the grizzlies have eaten enough salmon they often pass beneath or very close to the viewing stand. This is the reason we are in an enclosed cage and the bears are free to roam.

 

Knight Inlet Grizzly

Not all grizzly bears look “majestic” when you first see them. After diving for salmon their first appearance they look rather sad. Some of the bear’s fish in shallow water while other take to looking around sunken logs to trap fish. Wildlife viewing is never predictable and every tour is unique.