Learn by observation or by doing? In the case an adult bald eagle has come down and picked up dinner from the surface and a young eagle is right on its tail to try and duplicate the action. Tomorrow’s post less so….
Grizzly Bear and Wildlife Viewing Blog: Yearly Archives: 2016
Conservation of Energy
I posted a photo on August 26th of a grizzly bear and a deer that were in knee deep water and said: The chance of a bear catching deer is so low it is not worth wasting the energy trying. As proof of that statement here is a grizzly and deer almost side-by-side on dry land and still the grizzly has no interest.
Salt Water Swimming Grizzly
Where else would you rather be on a hot July day if you were wearing a fur coat. This behaviour is partially to cool down and also for the mother to get the cub to “like” the water. I have mentioned in other blog postings that cubs seem to have an aversion to getting wet but I have also seen mothers intentionally sit in the water to encourage their cubs.
Dolphins come to Play
I have tried over the years to parallel a pod of dolphins but they have their own idea of fun. Their plan is to either ride our bow wave of stick their nose right into the prop wash of the motor. The blackness in the water to the right of the dorsal fin is a third dolphin coming in for a check on our prop. I have developed my own idea (no scientific proof) why dolphins like the prop wash and it is the same reason why people like the water jets in a hot tub – they feel good.
Concerned Black Bear 2 of 2
These two cubs were at the top of the beach on a steep rock bank. When were first arrived we though that we might have scared them off the beach but soon learned that they were trying to get to their mother on the beach. We waited and they did manage climb down and show no interest in our boat. The beach appeared to be a new experience for them and we were just part of that experience. If the mother shows no fear then the cubs have the same attitude.
Concerned Black Bear 1 of 2
This mother black bear was concerned with our presence in the boat. The reason for her concern was because she is a mother and tomorrows post shows the problem….
Road Congestion
Using the grizzly bear viewing stands after August 24th requires a short drive from the river estuary to the stands. On the drive we pass by the man-made spawning channel that contains thousands of salmon and many grizzly bears feeding. On this day a bear was standing on the road looking down into the channel to see if it was safe to continue down the bank to fish. It is a minor problem when grizzly bear viewing is delayed by grizzly bears.
Grizzly Bear Triplets
Spring grizzly bears grazing on the sedge grass in the Glendale River estuary. This mother and cubs were frequent visitors to the estuary because of the protein rich grass and the good beach for rolling rocks for a different protein. Triplets are reasonably common and on occasion a mother with four cubs will pass through our viewing area. The reason the bear population is increasing is the number of births some of which are multiple births and with the abundance of food means most of the cubs survive. It is an interesting circle because when a pregnant bear hibernates if it is in good health (because of lots of food) the eggs are not absorbed and therefore more bears give birth and so on.
Humpback Whale Identification
Not a good photo to be used for whale identification as IDs are based on the underside of the tail, which is called flukes with each side or lobe called a fluke. However this is a good photo if you are in the boat and a whale is coming toward you and dives close to the boat and you know that is is passing under your boat.
Non Lunge Feeding Humpback Whales
Humpback whales normally explode from beneath a herring ball with their mouth open to engulf as much herring as possible. These two whales rose slowly with mouths open and were almost treading water as they slowly twisted in circles. Humpbacks have throat groves that run from chin to belly. These grooves allow the throat to expand, which allows large volumes of water and food into the mouth. Closing its mouth the whale will press down with its tongue forcing out water through baleen plates and capturing the herring.
