The fight is over and time to go back to waiting and being bored. The only one really upset is the crow as it lost its chance to scavenge.
All posts by Lodge Guide
Grizzly Bear Cubs 2 of 3
The “mouthing” from yesterday’s post turned into a fight that lasted three or four minutes. Does not seem like a long time but the guests got some great photos. Note that the crow is still in the background eating.
Grizzly Bear Cubs 1 of 3
It starts mostly out of boredem as the cubs wait for their mother to catch a salmon. Notice the crow in the background picking up pieces of salmon. That is where the mother grizzly shares the samon with her cubs. Also notice in the lower lefthand cornes of the photo mother’s backside.
Got it!!
Hard to believe that the whale breached twice in a row. That is often the reason one gets a good photo because you are now prepared. Do not think that a long lens is necessary I use a waterproof Pentax Optio Wpi 6MP with a 3X Optical Zoom. A good lens is better but over the past few years I have seen some great photos taken on Phones and Tablets.
Trying for?
Unfortunately this is an all to common photo from a whale watching trip. Not to say that humpback whales do allot of breaching but rather that it is hard to get a good photo. In this photo it is possible to see a pectoral fin if you look real closely. But the splash is impressive. Tomorrow’s post is much better.
Grizzly Waiting for Lunch
This was the before photo for the Nov. 7th posting. Not all grizzly bears are good salmon catchers but this one had the patience to wait and save energy until a fish came close. The photo was taken from the viewing stands that we use after August 24th.
Steller Sea Lions
AKA Steller sea lion, Steller’s sea lion, northern sea lion are in are viewing area all year around but much more abundant in late May to early June on their way North and again in late August through September when returning south. These male Steller sea lions average a nose-to-tail length of 3 m (9 ft.) and weigh about 700 kg (1500 lbs.). When dry, Steller sea lions are a tan to golden-brown color and darken to a chocolate brown on their flippers and underside. They appear dark brown or black when wet.
Resident Killer Whales
Looks like a good photo of some resident killer whales until you look closely and realize that all the dorsal fins are not going in the same direction. Resident orcas are the ones that eat salmon. This was an occasion when they stopped travelling and started to feed. From this point on they stayed in the ripe tide off Craycroft Point and fed on salmon for over an hour. We turned off our engine and sat in the ripe while the orca fed all around the boat.
Fall Grizzly Bear Fishing
This is the more “expected photo” of a grizzly bear than yesterdays posting. In late August once the salmon have arrived in the rivers of Knight Inlet the grizzlies have access to their preferred food – salmon. This is the food that provides the necessary calories for the bears to add the layer of fat need for them to survive hibernation.
Spring Grizzly Bear Grazing
“Bears are omnivores that have relatively unspecialized digestive systems similar to those of carnivores. The primary difference is that bears have an elongated digestive tract, an adaptation that allows bears more efficient digestion of vegetation than other carnivores (Herrero 1985). Unlike ruminants, bears do not have a cecum and can only poorly digest the structural components of plants (Mealey 1975). To compensate for inefficient digestion of cellulose, bears maximize the quality of vegetal food items ingested, typically foraging for plants in phenological stages of highest nutrient availability and digestibility (Herrero 1985).” From Yellowstone
National Park website. Its fun to quote sites that give scientific facts for: – grizzlies eat anything and in the spring sedge grass is consumed in great amounts because they are not cows and have a hard time digesting the high protein sedge grass. But it is still strange seeing such a large animal with a fierce reputation eating grass.
