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

Humpback Missing a Lunge?

Humpback feeding

A good photo of a humpback whale lunging up through a herring ball. The photo is good but the lunge appears less than successful. The water coming out of the mouth should not contain so many herring. The mouth should be closed and the water forced out through the baleen and trapping the herring inside. The number of whales in our viewing area has increase dramatically over the past five years so we often see more than a dozen different whales on each safari. So we are successful even if the whales are not.

 

 

Intersting Grizzly Encounter

Grizzly bear coming

Spring grizzly bear tours from the Lodge require an hour and quarter boat ride up Knight Inlet to the Glendale River. Arriving in the river estuary we tie to a float and transfer to a flat bottom skiff, which allows us to move along the shore and up the river in shallow water. As the tided rises and we move up river to view grizzlies digging for eatable roots, eating wild rice or sedge grasses. On both banks of the river is sedge grass that is over a meter (yard) high so when you are on the river below the top of the bank a grizzly can approach unseen. On this day the grizzly walked out of the grass it was probably startled by our presence. When we are in the river there is no motor rather it has “one guide power” meaning your guide is in the water pulling the skiff so it is quiet. Startled or not the bear did not stop or change directions but crossed the river about fifteen meters (yards) away as we did not even have time to back down river. The grizzly bears have accepted our presence and we are part of the background.  It is the guests who have the “comfort zone” that we occasionally cross.

 

 

Arrival Day 5 of 5

Grizzly Diner

Back at the lodge and it is time to eat again. The lodge is known for its excellent food (check TripAdvisor) and this night it looks like Seafood Paella and Greek salad also somewhere on the table is fresh homemade bread and wine (white or red). Dinner is a social affair as you eat with your guides around a large table and this means the meal and conversation will last several hours.

 

 

Arrival Day 4 of 5

Black Bear Tour

After your snack and normally before dinner it is time for a tour of the local area. The tour is an hour to an hour and a half depending on the wildlife we encounter. We look for bald eagles, harbour seals and black bear. The bears come to the beach to turnover rocks. This inter-tidal zone “food” is high in protein and is made up of crab, clams, barnacles, amphipods and other tiny invertebrates. The tour also familiarizes you with the boat and guide although your guide may change depending on the day’s activities.

 

 

Arrival Day 3 of 5

Lodge Crab

Once the guides have move your luggage to the lodge and rooms are assigned it is “snack” time. The means fresh dungeness crab or prawns depending on the season, a selection of cheeses, crackers (biscuits), and drinks (tea, coffee, pop / soda, maybe a beer). While you are eating Angus will explain the operation of the lodge and facilities as well as the itinerary for your stay.

 

Arrival Day 2 of 5

Grizzly Bear Lodge

Your first view of the Lodge, except for the plane landing, is from the dock. The camp staff will be on dock to greet you and unload the plane. Unloading means your luggage and food coming into the camp as no plane leaves Campbell River without food if there is extra room. The first building partially hidden by the tree is the main lodge. This building has three guestrooms up stairs and one down (this is seldom used). The second building is the owner’s (Angus and Krystle ) home and over in the corner on the point is the cabin. Between the cabin and the lodge there are normally a maximum of eight guests in camp so the boat on the dock with four guests has room enough to move around for pictures and travel comfortably.

 

 

Arrival Day 1 of 5

Plane arrival

On your afternoon flight to the lodge your plane leaves Campbell River about 3:00. Somedays earlier if all the guests are early or possibly later because of weather (that is rare.). The number of guests determine the size of plane: six or eight gets you the de Havilland Beaver or Twin Otter while four or less and you have the Cessna shown in this photo. The forty-five minute flight is over some amazing scenery so have your camera ready.

 

 

Grizzly Spotter

Grizzly Bear Lookout

The grizzly bear viewing prior to August 25th is in a river estuary of Knight Inlet. The larger male grizzlies are more concerned with our presence than are the sub-adults or the mothers with cubs. The concern does not mean they run for cover just that they more frequently look our way and are very aware of sudden movements and how fast we proceed up river. This grizzly noted our position but remained in the area for over half an hour.

 

Grizzlies and blacktail deer

Grizzly and deer

This is a common sight in the Glendale River estuary of Knight Inlet, which is the main location for the lodge’s grizzly bear tours. The spring sedge grass that both the deer and grizzlies graze is high in protein and keeps the bears going until the salmon arrive in August. Only once in my ten years guiding have I seen a bear attempt to catch a deer and that was after a deer had swum across the bay and the bear assumed it was tired but it wasn’t. On the flat of the beach the deer have an advantage and the energy use does not compare to the possible gain.

 

 

Grizzly Enjoying a Swim?

Grizzly mating season

It is early June and this female grizzly is not in the water to cool off, actually the male should be in the water to cool off. Mating occurs from May through July with a peak in mid-June. Female grizzlies begin bearing young at 3 to 8 years of age, and litter size varies from one to four cubs, with an average litter of two. Grizzly bears have a promiscuous mating system: cubs from the same litter can have different fathers. The different fathers can be very obvious when the siblings have dramatically different colours or colour patterns. This male persisted and the female was in the water for more than two hours.