Grizzly bears thrive here and the viewing opportunities are spectacular. We have operated our Grizzly Bear Lodge for decades and know the prime spots for bear watching. The ultimate grizzly bear photo opportunities.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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….
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.
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.
On the other side of the platform mentioned in yesterday’s post we have caught the attention of a bald eagle for the same reason. Wildlife is very aware and we become more aware the longer we spend in our “nature” surroundings. Moving up river when viewing grizzly bears in the spring we use an aluminum skiff and need to be very careful as an “eagle eye” is OK but the absence of grizzlies because of carelessness is not.
This grizzly bear cub sitting in the middle of the river trying to stay dry looks rather forlorn. But it is not looking for its mother she is about two meters (yards) the other direction. We are in a grizzly bear viewing platform overlooking the entrance to a spawning channel and a guest bumped a bench which made a “non nature sound” and got us the “look”.
After August 24th we are permitted to use two viewing platforms on the Glendale river for our grizzly bear watching tours. This photo is from the first platform and shows nine bears (two on the right, three in the middle, two side by side to the left by the bush, one tight to the bank beside the bush and one down river). These grizzly bears are all here to catch the salmon as they move up the river to jump the weir and move into the man-made spawning channel. Viewing from a raised platform means that all photos are from above the bears. Most of our viewing is from the second platform which eliminates the metal weir in the photos but we use both if the bears are in only one area.
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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