All posts by Lodge Guide

Grizzly and deer grazing

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Click to enlarge

This is not an unusual scene in the spring at the river estuary in Knight Inlet. The grizzly bears come into the estuary at low tide to turn over rocks to gather the small invertebrates for the protein they contain.  Another favourite food this time of the year is sedge grass which is very high in protein and as the salmon have not arrived the beach is the grizzlies’ main source of food until the many variety of berries start to ripen in mid-June.  Not to be out done the deer also need to eat and sedge grass also provides them with a necessary source of food. The deer are always alert and keep an eye on the bears but I have never seen a bear attempt a chase.  The level beach area gives the deer an advantage and the openness prevents a surprise attack by the bears.

 

Spring grizzly bear teaching cub

mother and cub on beach
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One of the best ways to learn is to watch another and this is true of grizzly bears as it is of humans.  This mother grizzly in the Glendale River estuary of Knight Inlet is teaching by example. At low tide especially in the spring when the salmon have not arrived in the river to spawn will bring the grizzly to the beach.  The turning over rock produces food high in protein, which is made up of crab, clams, barnacles, amphipods and other tiny invertebrates. This cub is ready to share moms food and will soon be turning it’s own rock in search of a meal.

Humpback Whale mother and calf

Humpback Whale and CalfFor the past five years the number of humpback whales spending their summers in our viewing area has increased to eight to ten whales viewed on a daily basis.  The southern BC/Washington population, which includes our area, is approximately 200-400 whales. It is becoming more common to see calves with their mothers. The gestation period is approximately 11 months, calves being born between December and April. A calf will spent about one year with its mother before becoming independent. Our viewing area is rich in herring and therefore a feeding area for the calves and mothers. There also appears to be a correlation between feeding and breeding grounds. The majority of humpback whales feeding in the southern BC waters have been re-sighted off mainland Mexico, as well as Hawaii according to the B.C. Cetacean Sighting Network.

 

Black bear on a grizzly tour

black bear beach
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The day tour up Knight Inlet from Grizzly Bear Lodge is about an hour run to the Glendale River estuary an area frequented by grizzly bears. On this run it is common to see black bears coming to the shore eat the barnacles and muscles exposed by the low tide. Some of these bears are patient or maybe to interested in food and ignore our boat stopping for pictures other disappear as soon as we slow down.  The younger bears tend to run the older bears have accepted the intrusion and realize there is no danger.

Sea lions on whale watching safari

sea lion with brand
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Steller sea lions often “haul out” on the rocks near Stubs Island located not far from Telegraph Cove on Vancouver Island.  They pass through this area in the spring and fall traveling between California and Alaska.  The sea lion numbers are on a decline along the West Coast of North America and a branding identification program has been underway for about fifteen years. “The two sites chosen to mark Steller pups were Pyramid Rock at Rogue Reef, Oregon and Southwest Seal Rock at St. George Reef in northern California. These sites are the largest Steller sea lion rookeries in the lower forty eight states. Steller sea lion pups were branded along the left flank. Sea lions branded at Rogue Reef, Oregon have a letter R following the numbered digit (i.e. 25R). Quote from Patrick J. Gearin
NOAA, AFSC, National  marine Mammal Laboratory” Several of these branded sea lions are seen each summer and sightings are reported.

Guest question about grizzly bears

large male grizzly
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An often asked questions from the guests a Grizzly Bear Lodge is: Is that a male or female grizzly?  Some guidelines we use to go by are: The male is usually bigger and his head appears to be smaller in comparison to his body. Females appear to have shorter legs and are a bit more squat in appearance. The body difference is often hard to determine unless there are several grizzlies together. And of course in the spring when they have not had time to fatten on the salmon it may be even harder to determine the difference. In the May and June the mating season the male has a swagger, often walking with a swaying walk with their hind legs farther apart than normal. The tried and true way to tell the males from the females (as shown in this picture) is to watch them urinate. The males urinate forward, and the females backward! This picture also reinforces something I was told by a friend who spends allot of time in the bush “If you take a drink of water from a river or stream do not walk up river and look around he corner.”

Whale watching safari

dolphins playing

On the whale watching day we frequently encounter pacific white side dolphins. The area along BC’s coast between Vancouver Island and the mainland has become a feeding area for the dolphins. Until twenty years ago they rarely appeared in fact so rare that native people did not have a name for them in their language. Now these dolphins are becoming more common in our viewing area. We see pods of several hundred.

 

Grizzly Bear at ease

Grizzly on rock

This photo of a grizzly bear must be before all the fish appear in Knight Inlet’s Glendale River, as I do not see many fish in the water. Maybe why we have a “standing lean”, at least a better chance of seeing fish when they come. Our grizzly bear tours after August 25 leave the estuary and take place up the river where there is better chance of viewing bears as that is where the salmon are going to spawn.

 

Whale watching makes a splash

Humpback whale tail slapping

We know what is happening not sure why it is happening. The “Whale Trust website” says the tail lob or tail slap occurs when the whale extends its tail fluke above the water and slaps it forcibly down on the surface. This can be “right way up”, slapping the underneath side of the flukes on the water, or the reverse, with the whale belly-up slapping the dorsal (top-side) of the flukes on the water. This often, but not always, occurs many (35+) times in a row. As with the other behaviors, the meaning behind this behavior is unknown, but it has been speculated that it may be a way to ward off other whales, or to the contrary, to invite other whales to join a group. The explanation seems clear as mud but is sure exciting to watch.  This photo by Gary Wilson was from the area of Telegraph Cove on Vancouver Island.

 

Brown Bear Knight Inlet BC

Grizzly / Brown Bear

Is photo by Tim O’Neil of a brown bear or a grizzly bear? It’s either or both, because these are common names that have no scientific basis. Grizzly bears received their name because their brown fur can be tipped with white. This gives them a “grizzled” look, especially when blacklit by the sun. All the bears in North America are the same subspecies except one subspecies that occurs in the Kodiak Island.  The bears in BC’s rainforest are known as grizzly bears.  The Knight Inlet grizzly’s colour ranges from a very light brown which is almost yellow in some bears and almost white in others to a dark brown which may appear black.