Not all guests are this lucky when spending time fishing off the dock at Grizzly Bear Lodge. This is a 30 k (app. 65 lb.) halibut that we were able to bring onto the dock after getting it free of the anchor chains holding the dock in place. Not sure how that happened but it did and with Angus’s help we got it up for a picture. With halibut this would mean about 45 lbs. of meat which also means several dinners at the lodge and many happy guests.
A killer whale’s inverted Tail Lob – while on its back, it raises its flukes above the water’s surface and brings them down with force. This type of behavior is often viewed when the whales are in close contact with their pod or grouped together with other pods and seems to be a form of communication. Whether tail slapping is a friendly or an aggressive form of behaviour is not proved beyond a doubt but a majority of the times it seems to be a playful thing especially within the Northern Resident Whales that are in our viewing area. The sound that echoes after a tail slap can be very loud.
They were not paying attention because there were two humpback whales of the stern. And one was closer than the one from the front but I missed the tail again. I did get the photo I wanted one that shows a guest getting a close up of the whale activity we frequently experience on your marine wildlife trips. It in not uncommon to see a dozen or more humpbacks on a day trip from Grizzly Bear Lodge and when we stop for lunch and drift in an area where the whales are feeding it can get very interesting.
While on one or our whale watching tours I took the photo too soon and missed the tail and it was a good show. Made that comment to the guests but when I turned around to the back of the boat nobody was paying attention…
Yes this is the same mother grizzly bear from yesterday’s post. Most first year cubs prefer to stay dry so would rather walk a log than swim the river. But they are sitting down looking into the river and this is their favourite perch when their mother is fishing. As soon as she catches a salmon they leave the perch and go to mother for their share but some times (see yesterdays post) they are too late.
Most grizzly bears that catch a salmon will take it to shore or at least use a rock as a table to make it easier to eat. This grizzly sitting on the rock and eating the salmon almost in the water seemed to be hiding its catch. It was hiding its catch from one of its cubs. Above the bear to the right you can just see one of her cubs and the fact that she has two means she needs a meal on her own and does not share all her catches.
Yesterday’s post was a black bear on a whale watching tour while today’s is a grizzly bear on an evening black bear tour. On your first evening in the lodge we go for an hour or so boat ride looking for black bears and other wildlife. I remember this trip as it was the longest evening black bear tour that lasted two and half hours (we did get back before dark but just). We found a mother grizzly and two cubs on the beach and we followed them for over an hour as they slowly made their way along the beach turning over rocks and at time stopping to berries and eat grass above the high tide mark. Our tours do not normally have a tight schedule if we find something interesting we watch.
This black bear mother was spotted on the way to our day’s whale watching tour. It is a good area to find black bears especially if there is a low tide in the morning. This nursing mother (look closely at the photo) was on the beach alone that means she must have left her cub sleeping in the bush the above high water mark. We know she has one cub because we had seen them in this area on the previous day.
The common murre is a medium-sized waterbird with a black back and head, white underside and a long, slender, pointed bill. Ironically except for the waterbird and bill it also describes an orca / killer whale. On this morning we came upon a lone transient or Biggs orca (they are the mammal eaters). It was odd enough for this orca to be on its own but apparently it travels this way frequently. It was also playing with the murres with unfortunate side effects. It would come up beneath the birds and grab them and then toss them into the air. It would play with them for a while and then find another. It was fascinating to watch but also sad as there were four murres left on the surface.
A choice that guests make when photographing orca : Is it better to have an exhaled breath or the white eye patch in the photo? Your choice.
Just like that our season has come to an end. I would like to thank all of our wonderful guests and staff who made this year a huge success. I am happy to stay that all of our team is planning to return next season. We are actively taking bookings, with dates starting June 1 2025. Hope to see many of you next season.
The wildlife viewing this season was awesome. A couple highlights that come to mind was the shear number of salmon in our local rivers, as well as the abundance of Resident Orca. With salmon returns being so strong this year, we were happy to see bears in excellent condition. By the end of our season most of the bears had packed on a lot of weight and were getting very “picky” about what parts of the salmon they would eat. Hopefully this will translate into more cubs being born this winter. Another positive was the weather conditions. We had enough rain to keep our fire risks low and it made for some excellent wild berries. The bears took full advantage of this, with the berry season extending far past its normal conclusion. This did mean that we had to work hard to find bears during our summer season, (as they were often feeding on the berries deep into the forest), but moving forward it is excellent that they had such an abundant food supply. The Humpbacks also didn’t disappoint, with great numbers and a few new calves returning with their mothers to feed. After a slower year for resident Orca sightings, this season was one of the best that I can remember. In fact as Im writing this the A62 and A23’s are still being spotted in the area by dedicated biologists. Strong numbers of Chinook and Chum salmon are providing them with a steady food source. There are a lot of positive signs and we are hopeful that 2025 will be another great season.
Over the winter and spring we will be doing some repairs and maintenance. We plan on having a new cedar front deck built in time for the 2025 season, as well as new ceilings and paint in parts of the lodge and rooms. Theres always projects on the go.
Felix, Julien, Ryan, Zack and Myself all look forward to welcoming guest in June. See everyone soon.
Angus Reid
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