Grizzly Bear and Wildlife Viewing Blog: Monthly Archives: June 2015

Arrival snack

Fresh crabs to eat

Guest normally arrive from Campbell River by seaplane around 3:30. Luggage is carried to the lodge, rooms are assigned and a snack set out on the main lodge deck. The snack is a variety of cheeses, crackers, antipasto, tea or coffee and of course the main item either fresh dungeness crabs or prawns. And I think the table also shows a can of pop and a beer. While you are eating and Angus has a captive audience he will go over the operation of the camp and outline the day’s itinerary. Before you eat again at 6:30 there is time for a black bear tour of the local area where you become familiar with the boats and guides and of course look for black bears, bald eagles, seals, and occasionally seeing grizzlies.

 

 

Grizzly bear Giving Directions?

Grizzly Bear claws

This mother grizzly does not have her claws out in anger to discipline her cubs. A grizzly’s claws are not retractable they are meant for digging or on this day catching salmon. This is a bear that was tired of having the cubs too close which made it harder to catch salmon.  Once they moved off a ways she was able to catch more and then shared but the sharing was on the shore where the cubs were able to eat.

 

 

Grizzly watching us?

Grizzly Bear Watching

 

Every once in a while it appears that we are in a zoo. By that I mean our guests and myself are in a cage, the viewing platform, and the grizzly bears are free on the outside and watching. On occasion the bears do pause from their catching and eating salmon to glance our way. It may be the clicking of a camera or a sudden movement above their head but they do notice but not for long as food has a higher priority and not “something” in a cage.

 

Pacific Whitesided Dolphins

Dolphins playing

Grizzly Bear Lodge has three different day trips: one to grizzly bears, second to watch killer whales and humpback whales and the third a visit to a wild river and Trapper Rick. The pacific whitesided dolphins of this photo may be seen on all these trips. The dolphins we encounter are often in pods of several hundred and are always interested in playing with the boats as they ride the bow wave or come within a meter (yard) of the prop at the stern of the boat. There is not much marine wildlife that can compare to running with a pod of dolphins that are with in an arm length of the boat.

 

 

Almost three heads whale watching

Humpback lunge feeding

Whale watching over the past five years has become more interesting as the number of humpback whales in our viewing area has increased from four or five to twelve on a normal day. On this day the first head of blonde hair is to give you perspective for the closeness of the humpback whales lunge feeding through a balls of herring. One whale has not completed its lunge out of the water and the other to the left side of the picture is just starting to poke its head out of the water. If I had waited about ten seconds it would have been a great photo but that is the reason we normally spend several hours with the humpbacks so you can get the “good” photo. My excuse is it is hard to run the boat and take good pictures.

 

 

Estuary Grizzly Bears – extra legs

River Grizzly Bears

 

Prior to August 25th the grizzly bear tours from the lodge spend the day in the Glendale River and it’s estuary. We use a 5.5 five meter (yard) flat bottom skiff to move along the shore and quietly up the river while we watch grizzlies. As the tide rises we move up river and encounter bears digging roots, eating sedge grass and chasing salmon once they arrive. This summer (2014) Bella and her cubs were frequently in this area to entertain guests and provide photo opportunities. Their attention is not on us but rather two sub-adult bears that have come to the beach, in fact we have become part of the scenery and are normally ignored by the grizzlies.

Grizzly being protective

Mom protecting triplets

 

For most of the summer (2014) this one cub of the triplets was a little “off”. Normally the cubs stay close to their mother for protection and comfort but the one cub was constantly lagging behind while walking the river, wander off while mom was fishing or just being that “kid in the mall” wanting to do its own thing.

 

Killer Whale Breathing

Killer Whale Surfacing

 

 

An interesting sequence of photos taken on a whale watching day in the Johnstone Strait. This area is a fifty-minute boat ride from Grizzly Bear Lodge, a time spent looking for black bear, bald eagles, dolphins and enjoying the morning scenery. The photo above shows an orca just breaking water and starting to exhale as shown by the bubbling water marking the start of the blow. The photo below the final exhale and then breathing in before it disappears.

Killer whale breathing

 

 

 

Wild River Day

Trapper Rick's river

 

If you book the extra day in camp we cross Knight Inlet and travel through Thompson Sound to the Kakweikan River and spend a day with Trapper Rick.  This river is located on the BC mainland and we travel by old logging roads to Rick’s cabin. Once we cross the river and start the short hike to Rick’s cabin the first stop is often an abandoned bridge, which provides an excellent view of the river and the spawning salmon in the river. The photo above is looking down river and the small flat area at the end of the portion of the river you can see is the  “front yard” of Rick’s cabin. The photo below shows a guest looking into the fish ladder that bypasses the falls in front of the cabin. This is also the area frequently used by grizzly bears to fish for salmon. If bears are not present then guests may fish for salmon below the falls but while you fish one of the guides is always watching for bears as we do move when they arrive.

Ricks Fish Ladder