This photo provided by a guest is the only time I have seen a grizzly bear nursing in such an open area. Often they will be in the taller grass or in the driftwood up the beach where photos “suggest” that they are nursing. This is pretty clear and the guests know it was special as we reminded them often enough.
Spy hopping is coming out of the water and staying above the surface the same way a human treads water. Some adult male killer whales spy hop for longer periods of time and get as much as half of its body above the surface of the water. Orcas spy hop to examine its surroundings and it is believed that an Orca can see as well above the surface as it can below. If an Orca hears anything strange, they may spyhop to see what is approaching. This past summer the Whale Research vessel in our area was using a drone for observation and we noticed much more spy hopping while the drone was in the air.
To set the record straight from National Geographic; “Marine scientists have undertaken the difficult task of replacing the beloved starfish’s common name with sea star because, well, the starfish is not a fish. It’s an echinoderm, closely related to sea urchins and sand dollars.” I stand corrected after all these years of living, playing and working Canada’s west coast I will start using the correct name. This photo was taken by the dock in front of Grizzly Bear Lodge.
As I recall on this day of whale watching we had two boats from Grizzly Bear Lodge in Johnstone Strait with a pod of killer whales. We re off Cracroft Point, in the tide ripe, a favourite place for the orca to feed. This is where you turn off the motor and sit and wait for the orca to “pop up” around the boat and provide photo opportunities and they did.
I neglected to mention that these two photos were taken in mid-June, which is the peak of the mating season for grizzly bears on the coast of British Columbia. The female swam along the shore and the male walked the shore. This lasted for several hours with the female swimming and walking the beach and all she wanted was food while the male had other ideas.
It is not uncommon to have a grizzly bear swimming in the waters of Knight Inlet’s Glendale Cove where we do most of our grizzly bear tours. It is less common to have them enter the water and swim toward the boat and then along the shore. On this day the closeness was for a reason as will be seen in tomorrow’s post….
The abundance of salmon does not always mean “food”. Not all fishers are created equal. Some grizzlies have the technique and are able to catch salmon with little effort while others need more time. The plus being that there are sufficient salmon that even the poor fishers are able to catch enough to fatten for hibernation and after all that is what matters on the “technique”.
The reason we have excellent grizzly bear viewing is the abundance of salmon. We travel up Knight Inlet to the area of the Glendale River, which is known for its salmon that come to spawn in the fall. In the spring and early summer we view the resident grizzly bears that eat the sedge grass in the spring and roll rock for the protein found beneath. And always they are waiting for the arrival of the salmon in August. Once the salmon arrive grizzlies come from the surrounding area to enjoy the abundance of food.
Just like that another season has come to an end. We are grateful for all the wonderful staff and the guests this season. It was an excellent season and we are already looking forward to next May.
One of the highlights of the season was all of the new cubs out. It was awesome to see so many new cubs of the year and that is great news for our bear populations moving forward. We had great spring viewing and this continued through summer. On our river trips we started to see salmon arriving in August and enjoyed some great shoulder season viewing. The fish at the viewing platforms were a little late showing up this year, but viewing during late September at the platforms was great and the estuary viewing remained strong throughout the season.
Out in the whale watching world it was another year that saw large numbers of resident Orca who remained in the area right into October. The Humpback viewing was also great with large numbers feeding in Blackfish Sound. It is so amazing to have these magnificent animals back in our waters in such numbers.
Over the winter and spring we will be doing some repairs and maintenance. We rebuilt the front deck last spring, utilising cedar cut on site. We will continue with some siding, rooms improvements and hopefully a floating sauna ready for the start of our season.
2026 is already looking like a very busy season for us. We only have limited high season availability so please book early to ensure we have space for your group.
Looking forward to seeing you next year
Angus Reid
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